Tony Cook, and Kaitlin L Lange

IndyStar

It was last call Tuesday at the Indiana Statehouse for bills passed during the 2017 legislative session.

Gov. Eric Holcomb signed into law the final 10 bills of his first legislative session, including controversial measures restricting cold, carryout beer sales and reducing solar energy incentives.

With the bill signings, Holcomb has acted on all 271 bills that lawmakers sent him before wrapping up their work on April 22. He saved some of the most hotly debated bills for last.

Lawmakers did not intend to tackle beer sales this legislative session, but after GOP leaders discovered Ricker's convenience store was using two restaurant liquor licenses to sell cold, carryout beer, they decided to put a stop to it by altering existing legislation.

House Bill 1496 prohibits grocery and convenience stores from selling cold, carryout beer, unless 60 percent of their profits come from on-site alcohol consumption — a mark opponents say no stores will meet.

Jobs deal: Indiana gives Infosys the largest state incentive package — ever

House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, and Senate leader David Long, R-Fort Wayne, both said the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission's decision to issue a restaurant liquor license to two small burrito restaurants within Rickers went against the will of the General Assembly.

Holcomb disagreed with that sentiment and at a news conference in February said the agency followed the law. He also added that the alcohol commission would follow any new laws passed by the General Assembly.

“I sign this bill with the understanding we need to review and make common-sense changes to Indiana’s alcohol laws," Holcomb said in a statement after signing the legislation Tuesday.

The act grandfathers in companies that obtained a license by Nov. 1, 2016; Ricker's obtained its first license just a few weeks later and misses the cutoff.

Lawmakers in support of and against the legislation agree it is time to sort through some of Indiana's more outdated alcohol laws. House Bill 1496 lets Ricker's renew their alcohol licenses prior to April 1, giving lobbyists an additional session to try to appease lawmakers.

Jay Ricker, the owner of the Indiana chain, issued a statement, promising the fight would continue next legislative session with "public sentiment clearly on (their) side."

“While we believe this bill merited a veto, we are heartened by Gov. Holcomb’s statement that Indiana’s ridiculous and restrictive liquor laws need a common sense review," Ricker said. "Throughout this year’s legislative session, Ricker’s has been targeted by anti-free market forces whose sole objective is to limit the choices of Hoosier consumers."

Holcomb also signed a measure championed by big utility companies that will make small-scale renewable energy production more expensive.

Senate Bill 309 reduces the rate that utility companies such as IPL, Duke and Vectren pay for excess energy that homeowners, schools, churches and small businesses with solar panels or wind turbines sell back to the grid, an exchange known as net metering.

It met vocal opposition from solar power enthusiasts who criticized the measure as a money grab for large utilities and a major blow to clean energy innovation. But supporters called the final product a compromise because it postpones the rate change for existing customers and those who install renewable energy by the end of the year.

“I support solar as an important part of Indiana’s comprehensive energy mix,” Holcomb said in a written statement after signing the bill. “I understand the concerns some have expressed, but this legislation ensures that those who currently have interests in small solar operations will not be affected for decades.”

Environmental groups and companies that produce and install solar panels criticized Holcomb’s decision to support the bill on the same day that he touted an economic deal with global technology company Infosys that is expected to bring 2,000 jobs to the Indianapolis area over the next four years.

“There is something extremely contradictory in Indiana's decision-making,” Jesse Kharbanda, executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Council, said in a written statement. “By signing SB 309, Governor Holcomb has chosen to go against his No. 1 legislative priority, which is for Indiana to be a magnet for jobs.”

Holcomb also signed:

House Bill 1350, which will alter the state's gaming taxes. The state will lose about $5 million per year, while local governments with casinos will lose a collective $2.68 million per year once the changes are completely enacted. The goal, proponents said, was to deal with the decreasing revenue of casinos and set up a tax system that encourages casinos to invest in other amenities to draw in business.

Senate Bill 213, which gives telecommunication giants broad discretion to place antennas on hundreds of poles in cities to upgrade their wireless connection speeds. Many cities opposed the legislation because it stripped much of their authority to regulate the antennas, which they fear will be a blight in business districts and residential neighborhoods.

Senate Bill 558, a wide-reaching bill proponents say is intended to prevent fines for rental tenants who call the police in the event of possible criminal activity. Many cities worried the bill would limit their ability to take action against nuisance property owners, but the amended version of the bill that Holcomb signed Tuesday addressed many — though not all — of those concerns.

The Republican-dominated legislature began the session with more than 1,426 bills. Holcomb signed all but one bill sent to him, last week vetoing House Bill 1523, which would have allowed governments to charge a $20 fee per hour after the first two hours of a records search. Former Gov. Mike Pence had a similar number of vetoes each session, never topping three.

Call Evansville Courier & Press reporter Kaitlin Lange at (812) 549-1429. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange.