The Committee on Corrections & Criminal Law heard SB 174 authored by Sen. R. Michael Young on controlled substances and public servant impersonation. The bill (1) establishes a Class A misdemeanor for impersonating a public servant with intent to defraud or induce compliance with instructions, orders, or requests; (2) creates the crime of dealing in a controlled substance by a health care provider; and permits sentence enhancements for dealing in Schedule I, II, or III controlled substances and dealing a controlled substance by a health care provider if the offense proximately caused another person’s death; and (3) precludes certain defenses. The Attorney General’s legislative director and director of the Medicaid fraud unit, as well as an Indianapolis Metro Police Department Sergeant testified in favor of the bill. Representatives from the Indiana State Nurses Association and Indiana State Medical Association testified in opposition to the bill as written, while supporting the goal of prescribing responsibly and curbing abuse. The bill was held for amendments.
Read the bill at http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2016/bills/senate/174