The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee heard HB 1095 authored by Rep. Moed regarding trespassing. The bill provides that a person commits the offense of criminal trespass if: (1) the person, who does not have a contractual interest in the property, knowingly or intentionally enters or refuses to leave the property of another person after having been prohibited from entering or asked to leave the property by a law enforcement officer when the property is designated by a municipality or county enforcement authority to be an unsafe building or premises; or (2) the person knowingly or intentionally enters the property of another person after being denied entry by a court order that has been issued to the person or issued to the general public by conspicuous posting on or around the premises in areas where a person can observe the order when the property has been designated by a municipality or county enforcement authority to be an unsafe building or premises; unless the person has the written permission of the owner, the owner’s agent, an enforcement authority, or a court to come onto the property for purposes of performing maintenance, repair, or demolition.
To address the unconstitutionality of the panhandling statute, the bill was amended by consent to establish a new crime for aggressive harassment, a Class C misdemeanor.
The Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, Indiana Restaurant and Lodging Association, and the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council testified in support of the bill. The Indiana Public Defender Council testified in opposition. The amended bill passed 11-0.
Read the bill at: http://www.iga.in.gov/legislative/2021/bills/house/1095