The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee heard SB 291 on court security sponsored by Rep. Steuerwald and Rep. Jeter and authored by Sen. Baldwin. The bill:
- Establishes a procedure to prevent certain personal information of a protected judicial individual from being publicly available by a public agency.
- Creates a civil cause of action against a public agency that fails to remove certain personal information of a protected individual.
- Makes it a Class A misdemeanor for unlawfully publishing certain personal information.
- Repeals current code concerning the supreme court sheriff.
- Allows the supreme court and the court of appeals to each appoint a court marshal and allows each appointed court marshal to hire deputy court marshals.
- Requires a court marshal to ensure the safety and security of the court.
- Requires a supreme court marshal and a court of appeals court marshal to carry out certain responsibilities.
- Provides that a court marshal is entitled to qualified immunity for acts performed in the course of official duties.
- Specifies that a court marshal has limited police powers and is required to notify the local law enforcement agency as soon as practicable when a security threat is detected.
- Allows the marshal appointed by the court of appeals to provide for the safety and security of the tax court.
The committee amended the bill by consent to remove the criminal penalty portion and to declare the bill an emergency.
The Indiana State Bar Association, Justice Goff (Indiana Supreme Court), and Judge Bradford (Indiana Court of Appeals) testified in support of the bill. The amended bill passed 13-0.
Read the bill at: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026/bills/senate/291/