The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee heard HB 1004 on the Department of Correction authored by Rep. Frye. This bill:
- Amends and updates certain terms and provisions involving direct placement in a community corrections program.
- Clarifies the definition of “community corrections program”.
- Removes the term “home detention” and replaces the term with “electronic monitoring” as it applies to direct placement in a community corrections program.
- Provides that if a court places a person in a community corrections program, the court may require direct placement supervision for any part of a sentence that must be executed under a suspended sentence.
- Provides that a person placed on a level of supervision as part of a community corrections program receives one day of accrued time for each day the person is in a residential center and work release, electronic monitoring, day treatment, or day reporting supervision, plus any earned good time credit.
- Provides that when a person completes a placement program, the court may place the person on probation.
- Provides that a court may commit a person convicted of a Level 6 felony to the Department of Correction. Current law provides that, under certain circumstances, a person convicted of a Level 6 felony may not be committed to DOC.
The bill was amended by consent to clarify who can be directly committed to community corrections and to clarify the application of accrued time for home detention.
Representatives from Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council, Department of Correction, Indiana Sheriffs’ Association, Indiana Fraternal Order of Police, and Association of Indiana Counties testified in favor of the amended bill. Judge Darrin Dolehanty on behalf of the Indiana Judges Association, Wayne Superior Court #3, and Judge Peter Nugent, Johnson County Superior Court #2, also testified on behalf of the bill. A representative from the Indiana Public Defender Council testified against the amended bill.
The amended bill passed 12-0.
Read the bill at: http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2022/bills/house/1004