Indiana Code
Ind. Code § 36-1-3-5 (2026)
Powers of unit; exercise; township exception
✓ current as of May 2026
Sec. 5. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), a unit may exercise any power it has to the extent that the power:
(1) is not expressly denied by the Indiana Constitution or by statute; and
(2) is not expressly granted to another entity.
(b) A township may not exercise power the township has if another unit in which all or part of the township is located exercises that same power.
[Pre-Local Government Recodification Citations: 17-2-2.5-1 part; 17-2-2.5-3 part; 18-1-1.5-1 part; 18-1-1.5-16 part; 18-1-1.5-19 part; 18-4-2-33 part; 18-5-10-2.]
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.211, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.251-1993, SEC.2.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 26
cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1982–2025 · leading case: City of North Vernon v. Jennings Nw. Reg'l Utils., 829 N.E.2d 1 (Ind. 2005).
City of North Vernon v. Jennings Nw. Reg'l Utils., 829 N.E.2d 1 (Ind. 2005). “§ 36-1-3-5 [providing that a unit "may exercise any power it has to the extent that the power: .”
Town of Plainfield v. Town of Avon, 757 N.E.2d 705 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001). “Ind.Code § 36-1-3-5. The Indiana General Assembly has vested municipalities with the authority and power to establish, operate, maintain, and regulate sewers, sewage disposal systems, and systems to collect and dispose of waste substances.”
T.W. Thom Constr., Inc. v. City of Jeffersonville, 721 N.E.2d 319 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999). “A zoning ordinance cannot be administered ad hoc, or without authority, but must be administered according to its terms.”
Metro. Dev. Comm'n v. Pinnacle Media, LLC, 836 N.E.2d 422 (Ind. 2005). “, Ind.Code § 36-1-3-5(a) (2005), Pinnacle provides us with no authority that there is state preemption here.”
Kole v. Faultless, 963 N.E.2d 493 (Ind. 2012). “Ind.Code § 36-1-3-5 (2007); see also City of Gary ex rel.”
Bd. of Commissioners v. Town of Plainfield, 909 N.E.2d 480 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009). “" Ind.Code § 36-1-3-5(a). Accordingly, Appellants argue that where, like here, "a county has been expressly granted jurisdiction to exercise a power in a given area, a town may not exercise the same power in that area.”
City of Evansville & The Evansville Dep't of Parks & Rec. v. Benjamin A. Magenheimer, 37 N.E.3d 965 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015). “” I.C. § 36-1-3-5. In 2011, our legislature determined that the public interest would be best served by denying local governments the power to regulate firearms.”
Town of Merrillville v. Merrillville Conservancy Dist. Ex Rel. Bd. of Directors, 649 N.E.2d 645 (Ind. Ct. App. 1995). “§ 36-1-3-5, so we shall only address the applicability of the home rule statute.”
Osborne v. State, 439 N.E.2d 677 (Ind. Ct. App. 1982). “" Ind.Code § 36-1-3-5: “Powers of unit; exercise Sec.”
City of North Vernon v. Jennings Nw. Reg'l Utils., 799 N.E.2d 1068 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003). “Ind. Code § 36-1-3-5 . The Home Rule Act applies only to "units," Ind.”
Town of Newburgh v. Town of Chandler, 999 N.E.2d 1015 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013). “" Ind. Code § 36-1-3-5 (a)(2) (1993). Nonetheless, it found that strict application of this provision, which would result in judgment for JNRU, was at odds with the express grant of statutory authority given to municipalities to operate sewer facilities within and without their…”
The Bd. of Commissioners of Union Cnty., Indiana v. Brandye Hendrickson, in her Off. capacity as Comm'r of the Ind. Dept. of Transp., & the State of Indiana, 67 N.E.3d 1061 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016). “I.C. § 36-1-3-5. “Any doubt as to the existence of a power of a unit shall be resolved in favor of its existence.”
— Ind. Code § 36-1-3-5(1) — 1 case
City of North Vernon v. Jennings Nw. Reg'l Utils., 829 N.E.2d 1 (Ind. 2005). “§ 36-1-3-5 [providing that a unit "may exercise any power it has to the extent that the power: .”
— Ind. Code § 36-1-3-5(a) — 2 cases
Metro. Dev. Comm'n v. Pinnacle Media, LLC, 836 N.E.2d 422 (Ind. 2005). “, Ind.Code § 36-1-3-5(a) (2005), Pinnacle provides us with no authority that there is state preemption here.”
Bd. of Commissioners v. Town of Plainfield, 909 N.E.2d 480 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009). “" Ind.Code § 36-1-3-5(a). Accordingly, Appellants argue that where, like here, "a county has been expressly granted jurisdiction to exercise a power in a given area, a town may not exercise the same power in that area.”
— Ind. Code § 36-1-3-5(a)(1) — 2 cases
Delaware Cnty. Reg'l Wastewater Dist. v. Muncie Sanitary Dist. (Ind. Ct. App. 2020).
— Ind. Code § 36-1-3-5(a)(2) — 2 cases
David Anderson, Comm., Joe Wray, Comm., & Bd. of Trs., Brown Co. Fire. Prot. Dist. v. Susanne Gaudin, Janet Kramer, & Ruth Reichmann (Ind. Ct. App. 2015).
Town of Avon v. West Cent. Conservancy Dist., 937 N.E.2d 366 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010).
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