Legislative Update

Department of Correction

Filed Under: Criminal

The Senate Appropriations Committee heard HB 1004 on Department of Correction (DOC) sponsored by Sens. Eric Koch and Aaron Freeman which updates terms and provisions involving direct placement in a community corrections program and gives discretion to a court to commit Level 6 felons to DOC.  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 DOC. Current law provides that, under certain circumstances, a person convicted of a Level 6 felony may not be committed to DOC.
  • establishes certain conditions of parole for a person on lifetime parole and makes the violation of parole conditions/commission of specific other acts by a person on lifetime parole a Level 6 felony with enhancement to a Level 5 felony for a second or subsequent offense (This language was originally in SB 181)
  • clarifies that, for purposes of calculating accrued time and good time credit, a calendar day includes a partial calendar day.

Hon. Les Shively, Chief Judge of the Vanderburgh Superior Courts testified in favor of the bill along with the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association and the Association of Indiana Counties.  Bernice Corley, Executive Director of the Indiana Public Defender Council testified in opposition to the bill along with Indiana Voices/Indiana Cure.  The bill passed 11-0.

Read the bill at http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2022/bills/house/1004