★ Fully Sourced

The Record | District 78 Accountability

A sourced look at Representative Tim O'Brien's votes, campaign donors, and their impact on District 78 households: utility rates, school funding, and housing.

Timothy A. O'Brien II represents Indiana House District 78. This page lays out, with sources, how he's voted on utility rates, school funding, and housing, and who funded his campaigns while he did it. You can draw your own conclusions.

★ Why This Page Exists

Why a Teacher Spent Her Summer Reading Campaign Finance Reports

Sally didn't set out to become an expert in utility dockets and campaign finance disclosures. But when she started knocking doors and hearing the same story: a power bill that jumped $40 or $50 in a month, a school budget stretched thinner every year, she wanted to know why.

This page is what she found, with the sources to back it up.

Executive Overview

How O'Brien Got, and Has Kept, This Seat

The path to office, the committees he sits on, and the industries that have funded his campaigns since.

Closed-Door Political Succession

O'Brien assumed office on March 30, 2021, through a closed-door caucus of Republican precinct committeepersons rather than a general election, filling a vacancy left by Holli Sullivan. Following this installation, he won election in 2022 and ran unopposed in 2024 and 2026.

Industry Ties & Key Committee Controls

O'Brien brings deep professional ties to real estate as an active broker for F.C. Tucker Emge Realtors and past president of the Southwest Indiana Association of Realtors (SIAR). In the General Assembly, he sits on Ways and Means, Veterans Affairs and Public Safety, and serves as Chairman of the K-12 Education Funding Subcommittee, granting direct authority over billions in educational capital.

Campaign Finance & Voting Record

Who Funded His Campaigns, and What They Got

Campaign contributions across the 2022, 2024, and 2026 election cycles and their direct correlation to legislative votes affecting District 78 households.

Industry / Backing PACs	Contribution Footprint	Supported Legislation	Key Policy Impact
Real Estate & Commercial Builders Realtors, Builders & Multi-Family PACs	$91,000+ Total $40k ('22), $17.5k ('24), $16k ('26) + $5.5k+ Builders PAC	HB 1001 (PL 73), HB 1575	Preempted local municipal zoning authority; froze local permit/impact fees after Dec 31, 2026; outlawed local multifamily fire safety AFCI rules; purged independent safety experts from Building Safety Commission.
Utility Monopolies CenterPoint Energy PAC, NiSource PAC, Duke Energy	Continuous Maximum Allowable Contributions	HEA 1002, HB 1191, SB 271, HB 1221	Supported URT tax repeal smokescreen (~1.4% cut) ahead of $80M CenterPoint base rate hike (+114% fixed service fees); shifted nuclear reactor financial risks directly onto ratepayers.
Industrial Elite & Heavy Manufacturing Koch Family & John C. Schroeder / Plastics	$26,500+ Total $6.5k+ Kochs, $10k per cycle Schroeder	HB 1209, SB 389	Legalized subterranean CO2 forced pooling against private property owners; transferred 100% geological liability of CO2 reservoirs to Indiana taxpayers after 10 years; repealed state wetlands permitting.
Education Privatization Hoosiers for Great Public Schools PAC	$15,000 Total $5,000 per election cycle	HB 1136	Co-authored bill to dissolve 5 public school districts, convert 68 public schools to private charters, terminate collective bargaining for 2,050 educators, and liquidate public school real estate.

HOUSE BILL 1001 (PL 73) & HB 1575 • REAL ESTATE NEXUS PAC Footprint: $91,000+

1. Fire Safety Codes and Municipal Fees

O'Brien co-authored HB 1001 ("Housing Matters"), which permanently freezes local municipal permit and impact fees after Dec 31, 2026, and prohibits local fire safety codes from requiring arc-fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) in multifamily housing. Real estate and builder PACs contributed $91,000+ to his campaigns across the periods covered.

★ SALLY BUSBY'S DISTRICT 78 SOLUTION

Restore local municipal home rule and protect independent building safety commissions. Residential electrical fire safety standards must never be sacrificed to boost corporate developer profit margins.

HEA 1002, SB 271, HB 1191 • UTILITY MONOPOLIES CAC Pro-Consumer Score: 38% Lifetime

2. The CenterPoint Rate Hike

O'Brien co-authored HEA 1002, repealing the 1.46% Utility Receipts Tax. That same year, the IURC approved an $80 million base rate increase for CenterPoint, raising average monthly bills by $47-$50 and fixed service fees by 114% to $23.20. O'Brien also voted for SB 271, shifting the financial risk of experimental nuclear reactor construction onto ratepayers.

★ SALLY BUSBY'S DISTRICT 78 SOLUTION

Hold utility monopolies accountable before the IURC, repeal SB 271 ratepayer subsidies, and champion localized solar and wind micro-grids so communities control affordable power independently.

HOUSE BILL 1136 • EDUCATION PRIVATIZATION PAC Footprint: $15,000 ($5,000/cycle)

3. HB 1136 and School District Dissolution

O'Brien co-authored HB 1136, which would have required the dissolution of public school districts in which more than 50% of resident students used vouchers or charters, affecting 68 schools and ending collective bargaining agreements for 2,050 educators. The Hoosiers for Great Public Schools PAC contributed $5,000 per cycle to his campaigns.

★ SALLY BUSBY'S DISTRICT 78 SOLUTION

Protect public school corporations from forced liquidation schemes. Fully fund our neighborhood classrooms, guarantee competitive teacher compensation, and put student stability ahead of private asset grabs.

HOUSE BILL 1209 & SB 389 • HEAVY INDUSTRY PAC Footprint: $26,500+

4. Forced Pooling and CO2 Storage Liability

O'Brien supported HB 1209, which lets companies compel adjacent landowners to accept underground CO2 injection if a developer leases 60% of the surrounding area. The statute shifts long-term legal, environmental, and geological liability to the State of Indiana ten years after completion. The Koch family and John C. Schroeder contributed $26,500+ across cycles.

★ SALLY BUSBY'S DISTRICT 78 SOLUTION

Defend private landowner sovereignty against industrial forced pooling and hold polluting developers permanently liable for underground storage and water safety.

Citizen Action Roadmap

How to Verify This Yourself

Because county permit logs, deed transfers, and public-utility docket filings are kept on localized databases, citizen researchers and civic coalitions can use this 3-zone roadmap to verify local developer maneuvers ahead of the December 31, 2026 preemption deadline:

ZONE 1 • PERMIT RUSH RECORDS

Dec 31, 2026 Building-Fee Freeze

Request commercial and multi-family permit application logs from the Vanderburgh and Warrick County Plan Commissions filed since March 4, 2026. Cross-reference applicant LLCs against Indiana Election Division CFA-4 donor records.

ZONE 2 • FLOODPLAIN MITIGATION

Ohio River Corridor Infill Checks

Inspect floodplain development permits at Vanderburgh County Surveyor's Office and compare deed transfer dates against county commissioners' minutes to identify developers exploiting the 3:1 statutory compensatory cap.

ZONE 3 • GRID STRAIN & DATA CENTERS

Utility Data-Center Acquisitions

Query IURC online dockets for CenterPoint CPCN filings and check county GIS records for agricultural-to-industrial rezoning near transmission substations (including the 600 MW 'Project Greater' or Sourcecolo acquisitions).

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