The Senate Committee on Corrections and Criminal Law heard SB 261 on criminal vandalism authored by Sen. Young. The bill consolidates multiple statutes, renaming and replacing the crime of “criminal mischief” to “criminal vandalism,” but preserves the original penalties and defenses. These crimes include institutional criminal mischief, cemetery mischief, railroad mischief, and critical infrastructure facility mischief. Additionally, the bill repeals and replaces provisions involving damage to a cave in the criminal vandalism statute and language involving depositing refuse in a cave in the littering statute.
The Committee amended the bill by consent to remove the definition of foreclosure mischief and replaced the definition into the crime itself, keep littering in a cave as a Class C misdemeanor, and repeal the definition of real property in foreclosure.
There was no testimony heard. The amended bill passed 7-1.
Read the bill at: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026/bills/senate/261/