The following is a summary of the bills from the last legislative session that may be of interest to our membership. For the full text of each bill please go to: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2023/bills/.
This page was last updated on 5-12-2023 at 9:00 a.m.
Senate
SB 136 – Conviction data. Defines “prohibited person” as a person prohibited from possessing a firearm or carrying a handgun. Provides that the office of judicial administration may establish a system to transmit certain data to assist in determining whether a person is a prohibited person.
- Passed the Senate 49-0 on Tuesday, February 28th.
- Passed the House 85-6 on Tuesday, March 21st.
- Signed by the Governor on Thursday, April 20th.
SB 158 – Domestic violence. Provides that a person arrested for certain crimes committed against a family or household member may not be released on bail for 24 hours. Provides that a charge of invasion of privacy is elevated to a Level 6 felony if the person has a prior unrelated criminal stalking conviction. Provides that certain crimes are considered a serious violent felony for the purposes of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon.
- Passed the Senate 47-2 on Monday, February 13th.
- Passed the House 94-0 on Tuesday, March 21st.
- Signed by the Governor on Thursday, April 20th.
SB 286 – Credit time. Permits a person placed on pretrial home detention to earn accrued time and good time credit in the same manner as other persons on home detention, but provides that specified misconduct will result in the deprivation of all credit time earned on pretrial home detention. Amends the sentencing guidelines for a habitual offender.
- Passed the Senate 47-2 on Tuesday, February 28th.
- Passed the House 92-1 on Tuesday, March 21st.
- Signed by the Governor on Thursday, April 20th.
SB 343 – Various criminal law matters. Makes it organized retail theft, a Level 6 felony, for a person to exercise unauthorized control over the property of a retail merchant with the intent to directly or indirectly distribute the property for resale, and increases the penalty to a Level 5 felony if certain circumstances exist. Permits a person to petition for expungement of an arrest if no charges have been filed within one year of the arrest. (Under current law, the arrest is expunged without a petition after 180 days.) Requires a court, in granting a petition for expungement, to include in the order statutory language specifying that the person’s civil rights are restored. Allows disclosure of expunged records to a school in connection with the employment of a person likely to have contact with a student. Specifies that an expunged record may not be destroyed or deleted. Repeals the requirement that certain acts taken by a prosecuting attorney are invalid without a seal. Makes conforming amendments and a technical correction.
- Passed the Senate 39-10 on Tuesday, February 28th.
- Passed the House 85-12 on Monday, April 10th.
- Signed by the Governor on Thursday, May 4th.
SB 415 – Juveniles. Provides that a statement made by a juvenile during custodial interrogation in response to a materially false statement from a law enforcement officer is inadmissible against the juvenile unless certain exceptions apply. Requires, unless certain circumstances exist, that a law enforcement officer who arrests or takes into custody a child on school property or at a school-sponsored activity must notify or request a school administrator to notify the child’s: (1) parent or guardian; or (2) emergency contact.
- Passed the Senate 48-0 on Tuesday, February 28th.
- Passed the House 96-0 on Tuesday, April 4th.
- Signed by the Governor on Monday, May 1st.
SB 417 – Various tax matters. Makes certain changes to the nonprofit organization sales tax exemption threshold after which nonprofit organizations are required to collect state sales tax. Authorizes a county to impose a local income tax (LIT) rate for county staff expenses of the state judicial system in the county. Provides that the expenses paid from the LIT revenue may not comprise more than 50% of the county’s total budgeted operational staffing expenses related to the state judicial system in any given year. Requires certain reporting requirements related to the use of the LIT revenue. Specifies a three business day grace period following the postmark date of a document during which the department of state revenue will consider the document received to be timely filed for purposes of a due date. Makes certain changes to the nonprofit organization sales tax exemption threshold after which nonprofit organizations are required to collect state sales tax.
- Passed the Senate 47-2 on Monday, February 27th.
- Passed the House 94-3 on Tuesday, April 4th.
- Signed by the Governor on Thursday, May 4th.
SB 445 – Electronic monitoring standards. Permits the justice reinvestment advisory council to develop electronic monitoring standards and to submit an annual report as to the standards. Permits the justice reinvestment advisory council to conduct a workload study of electronic monitoring and home detention, make certain findings, and submit a report to the legislative council not later than July 1, 2025. Provides that a contract employee of a supervising agency is required to notify the supervising agency of certain actions with respect to a tracked individual not later than 12 hours after the action occurs. Requires this notification to be sent within 15 minutes if the tracked individual is serving a sentence for a crime of violence or a crime of domestic or sexual violence, and additionally requires the supervising agency to notify a vulnerable victim and request law enforcement to perform a welfare check, if there is a vulnerable victim. Specifies that a supervising agency must include in a quarterly report the number of tracked individuals who are on parole supervision and the number of false location alerts, device malfunctions, or both. Provides that a local supervising agency shall report directly to the local justice reinvestment advisory council each quarter, and that the division of parole services shall report to the statewide justice reinvestment advisory council each quarter. Requires the statewide justice reinvestment advisory council to transmit an annual electronic report to the legislative council and to the judicial conference of Indiana not later than March 15 of each year.
- Passed the Senate 48-0 on Monday, February 13th.
- Passed the House 93-0 on Tuesday, March 14th.
- Signed by the Governor on Wednesday, April 5th.
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- POPAI worked with IACCAC on a few changes on the bill and submitted our recommendations to Senator Walker, who authored a second reading amendment in the Senate that included most of our recommendations.
SB 464 – Jurisdiction. Provides that an adult criminal court has jurisdiction over a person at least 21 years of age who committed an offense as a child (an adult child offender), if the offense could have been waived to adult court, and provides that the juvenile court has jurisdiction over an adult child offender if the offense could not have been waived. Specifies that an adult child offender may be required to register as a sex offender in the same manner as a delinquent child, and permits a court to remove the obligation for an adult child offender and a delinquent child to register after the completion of sex offender treatment. Specifies when a child commits a delinquent act. Allows a court, in sentencing an adult child offender, to consider as a mitigating factor that the person was a child at the time the person committed the offense. Provides an additional opportunity for an adult child offender to obtain sentence modification. Permits a court to suspend a sentence imposed on an adult child offender, except for murder.
- Passed the Senate 31-13 on Tuesday, February 21st.
- Passed the House 86-11 on Tuesday, April 4th.
- Signed by the Governor on Monday, May 1st.
House
HB 1001 – State budget. Click on the link for the digest of the bill.
- Passed the House 66-29 on Thursday, February 23rd.
- Passed the Senate 40-10 on Tuesday, April 18th.
- Signed by the Governor on Thursday, May 4th.
- Items to note in comparison to HEA 1001 of 2021. It is important to note that some of these requests have been funded through other means and they are now being requested as a separate line item in the state budget.
- No change in the amount of funding for probation officer training at $750,000
- Overall request for $6M for Collaborative Justice to fund veterans courts and other problem solving courts, including family recovery courts and commercial courts
- Request of $4M for pretrial programs
- No change in DOC funding for county jail misdemeanant housing at $4,152,639.
- Increase of $175,923 (0.24%) in community corrections funding for a total of $72,625,165
- Increase of $34,951 (1.16%) in JDAI funding for a total of $3,052,398
- $5M for juvenile diversion grants
- $5M for juvenile community alternatives programs
- $20M for juvenile behavioral health competitive pilot program
- $100,000 for juvenile recidivism reduction pilot project
- No change in Recovery Works funding at $25M
- $50M for community mental health to establish community behavioral health clinics and provide crisis response services including mobile crisis teams and crisis receiving and stabilization services
- POPAI worked with IACCAC to get language inserted into the bill that prohibits the transfer of community corrections funding into other DOC budgets and this language ensure funding does not revert back to the general fund, but is available for appropriation and allocation in subsequent budget years. We were successful in getting this into the House Engrossed Bill, however it the non-reverting language was removed in the version passed out of Senate Appropriations. We are happy to report that we were successful in getting the non-reverting language back into the bill!
HB 1006 – Mental health programs. Specifies the circumstances under which a person may be involuntarily committed to a facility for mental health services and specifies that these services are medically necessary when provided in accordance with generally accepted clinical care guidelines. Establishes a local mental health referral program to provide mental health treatment for certain persons who have been arrested. Repeals obsolete provisions and makes technical corrections.
- Passed the House 99-0 on Tuesday, January 31st.
- Passed the Senate 48-0 on Tuesday, April 11th.
- Signed by the Governor on Thursday, May 4th.
HB 1087 – Transportation for a released offender. Provides that the department of correction may not provide transportation to, or procure transportation or public transportation to, a county other than the released offender’s county of residence at the time of conviction unless certain circumstances apply.
- Passed the House 95-1 on Tuesday, February 14th.
- Passed the Senate 47-0 on Thursday, March 30th.
- Signed by the Governor on Thursday, May 4th.
HB 1172 – Paternity actions. Allows a child, by the child’s next friend, to commence a child custody proceeding under certain circumstances. Defines “next friend.” Provides that a court having jurisdiction over a child who is the subject of a child in need of services proceeding or juvenile delinquency proceeding has concurrent jurisdiction with a court having jurisdiction over a paternity proceeding for the purpose of establishing or modifying paternity, custody, parenting time, or child support of the child.
- Passed the House 95-0 on Monday, February 27th.
- Passed the Senate 41-2 on Tuesday, March 21st.
- Signed by the Governor on Thursday, April 20th.
HB 1252 – Immunity for escort of a banned person. Specifies that under the tort claims act, a governmental entity or employee acting within the scope of employment is not liable for loss resulting from injury to a person or property of a person who is: (1) under supervision of a governmental entity; and (2) subject to a court order requiring the person to be escorted by a county police officer while the person is on or in a government building owned by a county building authority. Provides exceptions to this immunity.
- Passed House 96-1 on Tuesday, January 31st.
- Passed the Senate 48-0 on Tuesday, April 11th.
- Signed by the Governor on Monday, May 1st.
HB 1287 – Home detention. Allows a court to place a person convicted of certain crimes directly in a community corrections program. Provides that a violation of certain terms of a community corrections program placement constitutes escape. Repeals the offense of unauthorized absence from home detention, a Class A misdemeanor. Repeals a provision that requires the court to suspend a period of an individual’s sentence if placed in a community corrections program. Provides that if a person on home detention knowingly and intentionally: (1) leaves the person’s home; (2) remains outside of the person’s home; or (3) travels to an unauthorized location; in violation of the home detention order and without written permission commits escape, a Level 6 felony. Provides that the court may not suspend the minimum sentence for a Level 3 felony if the person has a juvenile adjudication for certain offenses committed within three years of the commission of the Level 3 felony. Specifies that a person sentenced to work release in a community corrections program receives one day of accrued time for each day the person is confined on work release. (Current law only specifies that a person on home detention earns accrued time.) Makes conforming changes.
- Passed the House 93-0 on Tuesday, February 7th.
- Passed the Senate 43-0 on Tuesday, March 21st.
- Signed by the Governor on Thursday, April 20th.
HB 1317 – Expiration of interstate compacts and committees. Provides that a committee, board, commission, or task force (committee) created by the general assembly after June 30, 2023, expires if the committee does not meet within two years after the effective date of the statute creating the committee. Provides that the statutes creating the following compacts expire July 1, 2025: (1) The Interstate Jobs Protection Compact. (2) The Interstate High Speed Intercity Rail Passenger Network Compact. (3) The Interstate Compact on Community Corrections Transfers. Requires the governor to give notice to each state, if any, that is a party to each compact that the state of Indiana is withdrawing from the compact. Requires the governor to certify before January 1, 2024, with respect to each compact, that notice either: (1) has been given regarding Indiana’s withdrawal from the compact; or (2) was not required to be given because there are no other party states to which to give notice.
- Passed the House 97-1 on Monday, February 13th.
- Passed the Senate 48-1 on Monday, March 27th.
- Signed by the Governor on Monday, May 1st.
HB 1493 – Elimination of costs and fees in juvenile court. Provides that a parent is presumed indigent for purposes of parental payment or reimbursement for services provided by the department of child services to a child adjudicated delinquent or a child in need of services. Further provides that, when the department of correction is awarded wardship of a child, the juvenile court may not order a parent to pay or reimburse the department unless the juvenile court makes a specific finding that the parent is able to pay. Removes fees and costs associated with a child alleged to be a delinquent child from the supplemental public defender services fund and the public defense administration fee. Allows the alternative dispute resolution fund (fund) to be used for guardian ad litem services. Requires the court to determine whether, when a party is charged or convicted with a crime against the person, participation in services provided by the fund poses an unreasonable risk of harm. Makes conforming changes.
- Passed the House 94-0 on Tuesday, February 14th.
- Passed the Senate 32-18 on Tuesday, April 18th.
- Signed by the Governor on Monday, May 1st.
Resolutions
SJR 1 – Provides that an offense other than murder or treason is not bailable if: (1) the proof is evident or the presumption strong; and (2) the state proves by clear and convincing evidence that no release conditions will reasonably protect the safety of any other person or the community.
- Passed the Senate 34-15 on Thursday, January 26th.
- Passed the House 70-19 on Thursday, April 6th.
- Senate concurred with House amendments 38-9 on Thursday, April 13th.
- Became Public Law 255 on Wednesday, April 26th.
- Must pass the legislature in 2025 or 2026 before it can be placed on the general election ballot in 2026 for a public vote whether to add the language to the Indiana Constitution. The earliest this could be part of the Constitution is November 3, 2026.
Bill and Resolutions that did not pass by deadlines.
SB 34 – Expungement of addiction related convictions.
SB 89 – Sentencing for rape conviction.
SB 179 – Home detention.
SB 205 – Task force for the reduction of violent crime.
SB 215 – Construction of judicial building.
SB 360 – Firearms matters.
SB 365 – Credit time for pretrial home detention.
SB 410 – Juvenile law matters.
SB 420 – Delinquent acts.
SB 429 – Various firearms matters.
SB 441 – Visitation of juveniles in detention facilities.
SB 442 – Public information regarding delinquent acts.
SB 444 – Judicial transparency.
SB 459 – Bail.
SB 470 – Basis for escape.
HB 1032 – Credit time assignments.
HB 1098 – Elimination of credit time.
HB 1144 – State employment of probation officers. Provides that a probation officer is a state employee whose salary is: (1) fixed by the appointing court in accordance with minimum compensation requirements adopted by the judicial conference of Indiana; and (2) paid from the state general fund. Allows a county, city, or town to pay a probation officer a salary supplement in the unit’s salary ordinance.
- Assigned to the House Committee on Courts and Criminal Code
- POPAI contacted Representative Prescott on this bill and provided information to consider.
- POPAI has indications the topic may be requested for a summer study committee.
HB 1191 – Parental notice of juvenile arrest at school.
HB 1240 – Registration of recovery residences.
HB 1269 – Interim studies of the criminal justice system.
HB 1361 – Funding of juvenile justice oversight.
HB 1440 – Involuntary commitment for addiction treatment.
HB 1481 – Juvenile delinquency.
HB 1564 – Family dependency drug courts.
SJR 9 – Right to bail.