The House Committee on Courts and Criminal Code heard HB 1025 by Rep. Zimmerman on residency of prosecutors and public defenders. The bill provides that a public defender and an employee of a public defender agency may not be subject to a county residency requirement, unless the residency requirement includes all counties contiguous to the county in which the individual serves.
The bill was amended by consent to remove prosecutors from the bill and specifies that the residency restriction does not apply to employees of a public defender office or agency.
The Marion County Public Defender Agency and the Indiana Commission on Court Appointed Attorneys testified in support of the bill. The amended bill passed 12-0.
Read the bill at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026/bills/house/1025/