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2024 Legislative Update

By Amanda Wishin, Research Attorney | Office of Court Services

The following are the top changes of interest for judicial officers. Unless otherwise noted, the effective date for these bills is July 1, 2024.

Local income tax for courtroom costs

(S.E.A. 33, P.L. 101 & H.E.A 1328, P.L. 156)

  • Last year’s creation of the availability of a local income tax (LIT) for judicial county staff expenses was amended to limit the definition of “courtroom costs” to staffing costs only for the court reporter, court bailiff, or court administrator. Effective March 13, 2024.

Miscellaneous civil changes

  • Attorney’s fees (S.E.A. 226, P.L. 226): For a qualified settlement offer, the amount of attorney’s fees that may be incurred by the offeror is increased to $250 per hour with the total amount of attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses maxing out at $5,000.
  • Statute of limitations on actions on deposit accounts (S.E.A. 188, P.L. 77): The statute of limitations is reduced from 6 years to 2 years.
  • Seatbelt use as evidence (H.E.A. 1090, P.L. 49): Evidence of a failure to use a seatbelt can now be admitted for the purposes of mitigation of damages for a plaintiff who is at least 15 years of age or older.
  • Commercial motor vehicle optional equipment evidence (H.E.A. 1162, P.L. 141): Evidence relating to the failure to install or equip optional equipment on a commercial motor vehicle is inadmissible as evidence.
  • Emergency detention (H.E.A. 1216, P.L. 147): Amends the requirements for an application for emergency detention to allow for the physician’s attestation to be based on information provided to a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, or physician assistant.
  • Notice publication (S.E.A. 252, P.L. 122): A newspaper must have been published for 12 consecutive months and have an average paid circulation during the preceding year of at least 500 (that may include the number of website page views reported by a website’s host provider). The new law also removes the exemption for counties with populations exceeding 40,000.
Indiana State House exterior.

Judicial review of agency decisions

(H.E.A. 1003, P.L. 128)

  • The changes to the administrative law procedure applies to proceedings filed after June 30, 2024, or conducted after June 30, 2024, on remand from a court.
  • In a judicial review, the court must order the agency to pay the other party’s reasonable attorney’s fees if the other party prevailed before an administrative law judge, the agency initiated the proceeding for judicial review, and the other party prevailed in the judicial review proceeding.
  • The trial court must decide all questions of law, including any interpretation of a federal or state constitutional provision, state statute, or agency rule, without deference to any previous interpretation made by the state agency.
  • The trial court is not bound by a finding of fact made by the ALJ if the finding of fact is not supported by the record.
  • The state agency is required to transmit the agency record to the court for judicial review.
  • The trial court must grant relief if it determined that the party has been prejudiced by an agency action that is unsupported by a preponderance of the evidence.

Images created by artificial intelligence

  • Civil action for non-consensual pornography (H.E.A. 1047, P.L. 79): Amends the statute defining “intimate images” to include AI-generated images for the purposes of a civil action involving non-consensual pornography.
  • Crime for distributing an intimate image (H.E.A. 1047, P.L. 79): Amends the statute defining “intimate images” to include AI-generated images for the purposes of a criminal action for distributing an intimate image.
  • Elections (H.E.A. 1133, P.L. 81): Defines “fabricated media” for election purposes and requires a disclaimer when election campaign communications use it; a civil action can be brought if the disclaimer is not used.

Miscellaneous criminal changes

  • Pregnant women charged with a drug-related crime (H.E.A. 1418, P.L. 166): A pregnant woman charged with a drug crime may be referred to a forensic diversion program or a drug court at an initial hearing.
  • Damage to a penal facility fire suppression system (S.E.A. 23, P.L. 100): A person who recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally damages a penal facility’s automatic building fire suppression system commits criminal mischief, a Level 6 felony.
  • Drones near correctional facilities (S.E.A. 182, P.L. 22): Trafficking with an inmate includes the use of a drone to deliver contraband, and public safety remote aerial interference includes operation of a drone to intentionally obstruct or interfere with the duties of a correctional officer, including a county jail officer.
  • Election workers (S.E.A. 170, P.L. 110): It is a Level 6 felony to threaten an election worker or to obstruct, interfere with, or injure an election worker.
  • Fraud (H.E.A. 1240, P.L. 148): Fraud is a Level 4 felony if the amount is more than $100,000 or more than $50,000 and the victim is an endangered adult or child.
  • Xylazine (H.E.A. 1203, P.L.58): Makes possession of xylazine a Class A misdemeanor and increases the penalty to a Level 6 felony if the person has a prior xylazine related conviction. It also makes dealing in xylazine a Level 5 felony and increases the penalty to a Level 4 felony if the person has a prior xylazine related conviction.
  • Suspension of vehicle registrations (H.E.A. 1162, P.L. 141): Courts can no longer suspend registrations for crimes involving motor vehicles.

Competency evaluations

(H.E.A. 1238, P.L. 85)

  • A court can dismiss misdemeanors or Level 6 felonies, without prejudice, if the defendant has a certain diagnosis.
  • The Division of Mental Health and Addiction (DMHA) is required to establish a 40-hour training program to certify competency evaluators to assist courts.
  • Certain licensed individuals certified by DMHA—psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, psychiatry or mental health physician’s assistant, or physician specializing in psychiatry or mental health—may examine a defendant and testify as to whether the defendant can understand the criminal proceedings and assist in the preparation of the defendant’s defense.

Public defenders

(S.E.A 179, P.L. 111)

  • The Indiana Public Defender Commission is now named the Indiana Commission on Court Appointed Attorneys.
  • The Commission was authorized to conduct a 12-county pilot program for misdemeanor reimbursement. Counties receiving reimbursement from the public defense fund under this pilot must require a person claiming indigency to submit a uniform form, that will be provided by the Office of Judicial Administration, to assist the court in determining whether the person is indigent. The court shall review or designate a staff member to review the form submitted to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in the form before issuing an indigency determination.
  • If a court finds a person is able to pay part of the cost of representation by counsel, the court must order the person to pay $200 for a felony and $100 for a misdemeanor.
  • The Justice Reinvestment Advisory Council is required to conduct a study on criminal indigency determinations by all Indiana trial courts and submit a report containing recommendations to the legislative council before July 1, 2025. Effective March 13, 2024.

Delinquency

  • Minor with a handgun (H.E.A. 1240, P.L. 148): Unlawful carrying of a handgun by a child is a waivable offense.
  • Truancy (S.E.A. 282, P.L. 125): A school attendance officer has the duty to report to the prosecuting attorney that a child is a habitual truant, and the prosecuting attorney is required to then notify the parents of a child when an affidavit is filed regarding the child’s compulsory attendance violations or if the child is a habitual truant. All school corporations and charter schools are required to establish a truancy prevention policy regarding certain students in kindergarten through grade 6. The policy includes that if the student meets the requirements of a habitual truant, the superintendent or attendance officer is required to report the student to the intake officer of the juvenile court, and the juvenile court may determine whether the student is committing a delinquent act.

Children in Need of Services

  • Ensuring the child’s safety (H.E.A. 1369, P.L. 70): The court shall consider ensuring the child’s safety to be the most important consideration in the determination of a child’s best interests under family and juvenile law. Effective March 11, 2024.
  • Concurrent planning (H.E.A. 1310, P.L. 69): If a child has been removed from the child’s parent for at least 12 of the most recent 22 months at the time of the periodic case review, the child’s permanency plan must include at least one intended permanent or long-term arrangement for care and custody of the child other than reunification of the child with the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian. Concurrent planning must be implemented if the child has been removed from the child’s parent for at least 12 of the most recent 22 months at the time of a permanency hearing. Effective March 11, 2024.
  • Foster parents (H.E.A. 1310, P.L. 69): DCS may not take adverse action against a foster parent’s license or remove a child from the home of a foster parent, relative of the child, or de facto custodian on the basis of their filing a notice with the court that a petition is required to be filed, but has not been filed, to terminate the parent-child relationship with regard to the child. Effective March 11, 2024.
  • Safe baby court (H.E.A. 1101, P.L. 51): Establishes a safe baby court as a type of problem solving court. Provides that a child in need of services is an eligible individual for purposes of a problem solving court program.
  • Reunification plan (S.E.A. 171, P.L. 19): Amends the circumstances under which reasonable efforts to reunify a child with the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian or preserve a child’s family are not required.
  • Rebuttable presumption for child fatality (H.E.A. 1369, P.L. 70): Rebuttable presumption that a child is a child in need of services exists if the State establishes that the child lives in the same household as an adult who was a perpetrator of a child fatality or near fatality that may have been the result of abuse, abandonment, or neglect. Effective March 11, 2024.

Termination of Parental Rights

(H.E.A. 1369, P.L. 70)

  • Additional circumstances warranting TPR: Amends the circumstances under which a court may terminate the parent-child relationship with regard to a child in need of services.
  • Act of rape: The definition for “act of rape” is amended only for the purposes of termination of parent-child relationship of an individual who committed an act of rape, to include child molestation and sexual misconduct with a minor.
  • Child conceived as result of an offense: Adds several offenses that may be alleged in a petition to terminate the parent-child relationship when a child is conceived as a result of the offense, including human and sexual trafficking, rape, child molestation, sexual misconduct with a minor, or an offense committed in another jurisdiction in which the elements are substantially similar to the aforementioned offenses. Effective March 11, 2024.

For summaries of all new relevant laws, see the Legislative Update, legislativeupdate.courts.in.gov. All bills that have been signed into law are available at in.gov/gov/newsroom/2024-bill-watch.