The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee heard SB 559, sponsored by Rep. Frizzell, on crimes of violence. This bill adds unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon to the definition of “crimes of violence”. It also establishes new caps for consecutive sentences that result from a single episode of criminal conduct. This legislation defines “emergency medical services provider”. It also establishes a 20 year sentencing enhancement for a person who points or discharges a firearm at an individual whom the person knows or reasonably should have known was a police officer. A representative from the Public Defenders Council testified against the bill because of the mandatory criminal sentence for the police officer enhancment. The bill was amended to change the police officer enhancement to “may” instead of “shal” for 5 to 20 years. The bill was also amended to provide that a person is a habitual offender if the state proves the person has been convicted of three prior unrelated felonies of any level. A police officer and a prosecutor from Dearborn County, spoke in favor of the police officer enhancement. The amended bill passed 9-0.
Read the bill at http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2015/bills/senate/559.