The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee heard SB 343 on various criminal law matters sponsored by Rep. Torr. The author, Sen. Freeman, introduced the bill which:
- Establishes organized retail theft, a Level 6 felony, for a person who exercises unauthorized control over the property of a retail merchant with the intent to directly or indirectly distribute the property for resale and increases the penalty to a Level 5 felony if certain circumstances exist.
- Permits a person to petition for expungement of an arrest if no charges have been filed within one year of the arrest. (Under current law, the arrest is expunged without a petition after 180 days.)
- Allows disclosure of expunged records to a school in connection with the employment of a person likely to have contact with a student.
- Repeals the requirement that certain acts taken by a prosecuting attorney are invalid without a seal.
- Revises, for purposes of an enhancement and certain criminal offenses, a definition of “machine gun” to include a particular part or combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a weapon that fires automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.
The bill was amended by consent to:
- Remove provisions relating to machine guns.
- Make the provision concerning the expungement of arrest records effective upon passage.
- Specify that the enhancement for battery committed on a public safety official does not apply if the person who commits the offense is detained or committed under IC 12-26 (mental health detention and commitment).
- Require a court, in granting a petition for expungement, to include in the order statutory language specifying that the person’s civil rights are restored.
- Add “fondling” to the crime of sexual misconduct with a service provider. Amends the definition of “emergency medical services provider” for the offense of battery to include a staff member in the emergency department of a hospital.
- Specify that an expunged record may not be destroyed or deleted.
- Provide that the employee of a court or law enforcement agency who warns a person of the existence of a warrant with the intent to interfere with the execution of the warrant commits obstruction of justice.
The Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council, Indiana Hospital Association Council on Quality and Patient Safety, and the Indiana Retail Council testified in support of the bill. The Indiana Public Defender Council testified in opposition. The amended bill passed 10-3.
Read the bill at: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2023/bills/senate/343