The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee heard SB 324 on criminal penalties sponsored by Rep. Jeter and Rep. Andrade. Author Sen. Freeman introduced the bill, which does the following:
- Increases the penalty levels of crimes related to fentanyl and methamphetamine.
- Increases the penalty levels of battery against a public safety official, battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, battery resulting in serious bodily injury, battery against a public safety official that results in bodily injury, battery against an endangered adult resulting in serious bodily injury, battery against a child that results in serious bodily injury, battery that results in death, and aggravated battery.
- Requires that a bail hearing for a violent arrestee be held in open court, within 48 hours, and sets minimum bail requirements for the release of a repeat violent arrestee.
The bill was amended to do the following:
- Permit virtual bail hearings.
- Make it a sentencing aggravator that the person is or has been an alien unlawfully present in the United States.
- Remove enhanced penalties for all crimes other than fentanyl.
- Make dealing less than three grams of fentanyl a Level 4 felony, and increase the penalty based on the amount of fentanyl and the circumstances of the crime. (Under current law, dealing less than one gram of fentanyl is a Level 5 felony.)
- Make it an aggravating circumstance for purposes of sentencing that a person distributed a controlled substance to at least three different individuals in a 180 day period and make it a mitigating circumstance for purposes of sentencing that the person: (1) has been diagnosed with a substance use disorder; and (2) has sought treatment for the disorder.
- Remove all provisions dealing with bail except for the requirement that a person convicted of certain offenses be required to wear a monitoring device as a condition of bail.
- Add the House version of HB 1188 to the bill, which increases certain penalties for resisting law enforcement.
- Correct the conflict in the Code regarding the time in which a person arrested for a crime of domestic violence must be held and sets it at a minimum of 48 hours.
- Mandate that a court may not release a person arrested for a crime of domestic violence unless the court has conducted a bail hearing in open court.
- Make possession of an imitation firearm on school property a Class B misdemeanor.
The Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council, Indiana School Resource Officers’ Association, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Indiana Fraternal Order of Police, Indiana State Police, Indiana Sheriffs’ Association, and the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police, and the family of a murder victim testified in support of the bill. The Indiana Public Defender Counsil testified in opposition. The amended bill passed 12-1
Read the bill at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2025/bills/senate/324