The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee heard HB 1304 on various criminal law issues authored by Reps. McMillin and Steuerwald. Rep. McMillin introduced an amendment incorporating a number of changes to the original legislation. The bill with amendments reads as follows:
- includes the amendment adopted last week permitting the use of Vivitrol for substance abuse, alcohol or opioid abuse treatment;
- includes the amendment adopted last week broadening the definition of runaway to include leaving a specific location designated by a parent, guardian or custodian in addition to leaving home without consent;
- requires the Criminal Justice Institute to collect and analyze data concerning permissive and presumptive juvenile waivers from juvenile courts, in addition to direct file cases;
- amends the forensic diversion program to permit participation by adults with an “autism spectrum disorder” and/or “intellectual disability” both pre and post conviction;
- allows diversion and deferral fees to be used to fund mental health treatment in a prosecutorial diversion program. Permits a prosecutor to require an individual to receive mental health treatment services for any criminal offense (previously limited to felonies);
- permits a court to advise an individual convicted of a criminal offense that the individual may be placed on probation if the individual requests and is accepted for drug or alcohol abuse treatment by DMHA, subject to any mandatory minimum sentence imposed on the individual;
- authorizes individuals to seek voluntary treatment from DMHA for drug abuse and authorizes the involuntary commitment to DMHA of individuals who are alcoholics, incapacitated by alcohol or drug abusers;
- increases the minimum age a child can be charged with murder if committed by an adult and be waived from 10 to 12 years of age;
- increases the minimum age a child shall be waived from 16 to 17 years of age under Ind. Code § 31-30-3-5;
- requires law enforcement agencies to record custodial interrogations of juveniles, except in schools if it would impair the administration of school functions, and prohibits the shackling of juveniles in court unless the court has determined the juvenile is dangerous or potentially dangerous;
- permits a county auditor to seek reimbursement for the expenses of juvenile defense counsel from the Public Defender Commission for 100% of the county’s expenditures;
- repeals a court’s authority to place a repeat runaway or truant in secure detention and removes the authority to hold a runaway 24 hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and non-judicial days) before and after a detention hearing;
- permits a problem-solving court to require an individual to receive addiction counseling, inpatient detoxification and medication assisted treatment including Vivitrol as a condition of problem solving court participation;
- authorizes a court to appoint a special advocate to assist persons with intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder who has been charged with a criminal offense;
- permits a person to receive, as a condition of probation or parole, to receive addiction counseling, inpatient detoxification and medication assisted treatment including Vivitrol; and,
- permits a court to suspend a nonsuspendible sentence of a habitual offender during the time the offender is participating in a court approved substance abuse treatment program, and allows the time spent in the program to be deducted from the offender’s additional fixed term of imprisonment if the program is successfully completed.
The amended bill passed 12-0.
Read the bill at http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2015/bills/house/1304.