The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee heard SB 246 on redaction of court records sponsored by Rep. Bascom and Rep. Ireland and authored by Sen. Freeman. The bill requires the names of child victims, child witnesses, and certain other persons to be redacted in criminal cases. To achieve redaction, the bill requires the use of an anonymous designator such as “Child Witness No. 1” when redacting a name and prohibits redaction that uses the person’s initials or that describes the person in terms of a family relationship.
The committee amended the bill by consent to repeal IC 35-33-7-8, which requires redaction of certain information in a probable cause affidavit and replaces the language with the current bill. The amended bill passed 13-0.
Read the bill at: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026/bills/senate/246/