The House Judiciary Committee heard HB 1344 on funding of prosecuting attorney operations authored by Reps. Steuerwald and Jeter. The bill establishes the public prosecution fund and a prosecuting attorney compensation fee (a court fee) of $40 which will be deposited in the state general fund. The bill provides that a county may be reimbursed for certain prosecutorial expenses from the fund, unless the prosecuting attorney in the county is a noncompliant prosecuting attorney. The bill requires the Indiana prosecuting attorney’s council to set standards for reimbursement. The bill also requires a prosecuting attorney compensation fee to be obtained in the following cases:
- Small Claims Court
- Marion County Township Small Claims Courts
- Civil Cases
- Probate Cases
- Criminal Cases which result in a felony or misdemeanor conviction
- Pre-trial Diversion Cases
- Judgments for violation constituting an infraction
- Judgments for violation of an ordinance of a municipal corporation
The bill carves out an exemption that this section does not apply to a proceeding involving an alleged delinquent child.
The Committee amended the bill by consent to:
- Change the forty-dollar fee to a ten-dollar fee for civil, probate, and small claims cases.
- Remove the reference to “committed an infraction” and replace it with reference to the deferral fee.
- Remove the reference to violated an infraction or ordinance.
- Change the forty-dollar fee to a fifty-dollar fee for a person convicted of an offense, required to pay a pretrial diversion fee, or required to pay a deferral fee.
The Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council testified in support of the bill. The amended bill passed 11-0.
Read the bill at: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026/bills/house/1344