2023 Legislative Update

H.E.A. 1335, P.L. 141

Abolishing

Amends the process for abolishing city/town courts.

H.E.A. 1336, P.L. 227

Statement of economic interest

Judges of city and town courts must file a statement of economic interest before filing a candidacy document.

S.E.A. 417, P.L. 193

Court staff expenses

A county may impose a local income tax (LIT) rate for judicial county staff expenses, but the expenses paid from the LIT revenue may not comprise more than 50% of the county’s total budgeted operational judicial staffing expenses.

H.E.A. 1336, P.L. 227

Magistrate oath of office

Magistrates must deposit a copy of the magistrate’s oath in the office of the circuit court clerk of the county in which the magistrate resides or serves.

H.E.A. 1466, P.L. 237

Juror compensation

The jury fee collected from a defendant who has committed a crime or committed certain violations is increased from $2 to $6. A party filing a civil tort or plenary action must pay a jury fee of $75. The jury appearance fee is increased to $30 per day for each day a juror is in attendance until the jury is impaneled, juror payment rate is to $80 per day for the first five days of trial and to $90 per day starting on the sixth day of trial until the jury is discharged.

H.E.A. 1493, P.L. 219

ADR fund for GAL fees

Allows the alternative dispute resolution fund to be used for guardian ad litem services, but 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. 

See article, “Changes to the ADR Fund Plan” for more information about this update

S.E.A. 7, P.L. 165

Physician noncompete agreements

A primary care physician (meaning a physician that practices family medicine, general pediatric medicine, or internal medicine) and an employer may not enter into a noncompete agreement. A physician noncompete agreement is not enforceable if the employer terminates the physician’s employment without cause, the physician terminates the physician’s employment for cause, or the physician’s employment contract has expired, and the physician and employer have fulfilled the obligations of the contract.

S.E.A. 157, P.L. 27

Parcels offered at successive tax sales

The court shall hold a hearing on the petition for issuance of a tax deed and if the property is deemed a public hazard, the court order must include specific provisions.

S.E.A. 166, P.L. 99

Adverse possession statute of limitations

The statute of limitations for actions for the recovery of the possession of real estate is amended to provide that such an action that: (1) involves a line located and established by a professional surveyor; and (2) accrues before the lines are located and established by the surveyor; must be commenced before the expiration of the appeal period set forth in the statute governing county surveyors.

H.E.A. 1252, P.L. 135

Immunity for escort of a banned person

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 under supervision of a governmental entity and 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.

S.E.A. 480, P.L. 10

Gender transition procedures for minors

A physician cannot knowingly provide gender transition procedures for an individual who is less than 18 years of age. A civil enforcement action is created and if the prevailing party establishes a violation, they are entitled to recover reasonable attorney fees.

H.E.A. 1569, P.L. 90

Department of Correction

The Department of Correction may not authorize the payment of any money, the use of any state resources, or the payment of any federal money administered by the state to provide or facilitate the provision of sexual reassignment surgery to an offender patient.

S.E.A. 48, P.L. 3

Child sex offense statute of limitations

A criminal prosecution of a sex offense committed against a child may occur within five years from the date on which: (1) the state discovers DNA evidence; (2) the state learns of a recording that provides evidence sufficient to charge the offender; or (3) a person confesses to the offense.

S.E.A. 331, P.L. 42

Child victim depositions

“Deposition” or “depose”, for purposes of a criminal case with a child victim, means a deposition pursuant to Trial Rule 30 or 31, or any other formal or informal statement or interview. Adds certain additional healthcare professionals to the list of healthcare professionals who may assist a court in determining whether a protected person can reasonably communicate in the physical presence of a defendant. Effective: April 20, 2023

S.E.A. 158, P.L. 28

Domestic violence

A person arrested for certain crimes committed against a family or household member may not be released on bail for 24 hours.

S.E.A. 158, P.L. 28

Invasion of privacy

A charge of invasion of privacy is elevated to a Level 6 felony if the person has a prior unrelated criminal stalking conviction.

H.E.A. 1142, P.L. 64

Law enforcement recordings

If a court issues an order for disclosure of a law enforcement recording, any copy of the recording must be made by the public agency.

S.E.A. 343, P.L. 185

Organized retail theft

Organized retail theft, a Level 6 felony, is when a person exercises 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 under some circumstances.

H.E.A. 1228, P.L.133

Child seduction

The coach of a youth sports organization or a workplace supervisor commits child seduction if the person engages in sexual activity with a child less than 18 years of age. The age difference is reduced from five years to four years for child seduction committed by a law enforcement officer. 

H.E.A. 1186, P.L. 67

Encroachment on an investigation

A person who knowingly or intentionally approaches within 25 feet of a law enforcement officer after the law enforcement officer has ordered the person to stop commits a Class C misdemeanor.

H.E.A. 1021, P.L. 209

Obstruction of justice

An employee of a court or law enforcement agency who warns the subject of a warrant of the existence of the warrant with the intent to interfere with the execution of the warrant commits obstruction of justice.

H.E.A. 1365, P.L. 80

Machine guns

Revises, for purposes of an enhancement and certain criminal offenses, a definition of “machine gun”. Effective April 20, 2023

H.E.A. 1568, P.L.154

Prescription for hormonal contraceptives

It is a Level 5 felony for a pharmacist to prescribe a hormonal contraceptive that is intended to cause an abortion.

S.E.A. 161, P.L. 172

Tracking devices

A court may impose a prohibition against using a tracking device to the list of conditions when issuing a protection order. The penalty for stalking is increased to a Level 5 felony if the offense is committed by means of a tracking device. A person who knowingly or intentionally places a tracking device on an individual or the individual’s property without the individual’s knowledge or consent commits unlawful surveillance, a Class A misdemeanor, and increases the penalty to a Level 6 felony if the person is the subject of a protective order or has certain prior convictions. It is a sentence enhancement if a person uses a tracking device to commit or facilitate the commission of a crime.

S.E.A. 77, P.L. 22

Throwing stars

Throwing stars are legal in Indiana except for on school property.

S.E.A. 286, P.L.37

Credit time

A person placed on pretrial home detention may earn accrued time and good time credit in the same manner as other persons on home detention, but misconduct will result in the deprivation of all credit time earned on pretrial home detention.

S.E.A. 71, P.L. 20

Parole

A person placed on parole following a term of imprisonment that includes a sentence for a crime of violence may be released on parole for not more than 24 months, and time served while confined to a prison or jail does not count toward time served on parole.

S.E.A. 301, P.L. 109

Child molesting

The maximum penalty for child molesting increased from 40 to 50 years.

S.E.A. 286, P.L.37

Habitual offender

The sentencing guidelines for habitual offenders are increased.

S.E.A. 445, P.L. 9

Electronic monitoring standards

The Justice Reinvestment Advisory Council may develop electronic monitoring standards. 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, and the notification must 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. The supervising agency must notify a vulnerable victim and request law enforcement to perform a welfare check.

H.E.A. 1287, P.L. 72

Work release

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.

H.E.A. 1287, P.L. 72

Home detention

• A court may place a person convicted of certain crimes directly in a community corrections program. Effective April 20, 2023
• A violation of certain terms of a community corrections program placement constitutes escape, and repeals the offense of unauthorized absence from home detention, a Class A misdemeanor. Effective April 20, 2023
• The court is not required to suspend a period of an individual’s sentence if placed in a community corrections program. Effective April 20, 2023
• A person on home detention who 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.
• A 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.

S.E.A. 343, P.L. 185

• A person may petition for expungement of an arrest if no charges have been filed within one year of the arrest, except a waiver order. This is a change from an auto expungement after 180 days. Records expunged or sealed under this section must be removed or sealed, but not deleted or destroyed. The expunged records remain available to the court and criminal justice agencies for their official duties. Effective May 4, 2023
• A court, in granting a petition for expungement, must include in the order statutory language specifying that the person’s civil rights are restored.
• Expunged records may be disclosed to a school in connection with the employment of a person likely to have contact with a student.

H.E.A. 1359-2022, P.L. 101

Risk assessment

Juvenile court must use a risk assessment tool that will be created for that task.

H.E.A. 1050, P.L. 211

Juvenile failure to appear/answer traffic summons

A minor who fails to appear or answer a traffic summons may have their driving privileges suspended.

H.E.A. 1493, P.L. 219

Juvenile delinquency cost and fees

A parent is presumed indigent for purposes of parental payment or reimbursement for services provided by the DCS to a child adjudicated delinquent or a CHINS. When the Department of Correction is awarded wardship of a child, the juvenile court may not order a parent to pay or reimburse DOC unless the juvenile court makes a specific finding that the parent is able to pay.

S.E.A. 415, P.L. 112

Admissibility of statement by juvenile in custody

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.

H.E.A. 1172, P.L. 66

• A child, by the child’s next friend, may commence a child custody proceeding under certain circumstances.
• 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.

H.E.A. 1009, P.L. 119

Court ordered childbirth expenses

A court can order a father to pay for pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum expenses. Effective January 1, 2024

S.E.A. 345, P.L. 45

Termination of parental rights for safe haven infants.

An emergency medical services provider is now able to notify either DCS or a licensed child placing agency to take custody of a safe haven infant. A procedure is also established for termination of parent-child relationship for a safe haven infant.

H.E.A. 1570, P.L. 244

TPR hearing deadline

If a hearing regarding a petition to terminate the parent-child relationship is not held before the statutorily required deadline, the court shall dismiss the petition without prejudice upon filing of a motion with the court by a party to the proceeding and absent good cause shown for the failure to hold the hearing before the statutorily required deadline.

H.E.A. 1169, P.L. 65

Separation of siblings in child placement

If a child is placed under a dispositional decree in an out-of-home placement in a location in which a sibling of the child resides, a court shall, in considering a motion requesting a change in the child’s placement, consider whether separating the child from the child’s sibling is in the child’s best interest. A court must also, in determining whether reunification of a child with a parent, guardian, or custodian from whom the child has been removed is in the child’s best interest, consider whether reunifying the child with the parent, guardian, or custodian will result in separation of the child from a sibling of the child, and if so, whether separating the child from the child’s sibling is in the child’s best interest.

H.E.A. 1570, P.L. 244

Parent convicted of offenses against child

If a child is the subject of a petition alleging that the child is a CHINS and a parent of the child has been convicted of committing one or more specified offenses against the child, there is a rebuttable presumption that it is in the child’s best interest to prohibit the parent from having in-person contact with the child until a dispositional decree is entered or the petition is dismissed.

H.E.A. 1570, P.L. 244

Contests

Makes changes in various adoption law provisions to provide 15 days (rather than 30 days) to contest certain adoptions.

H.E.A. 1570, P.L. 244

Sibling visitation

A child’s adoptive parent can request that DCS allow the child to have visitation with the child’s sibling.