At a prior hearing, the Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee heard HB 1303 on sex crimes and child safety sponsored by Sen. Clark and Sen. Carrasco authored by Rep. McNamara and Rep. Karickhoff. The bill removes provisions concerning possession of child sex abuse material (CSAM) from the statute containing the offense of child exploitation and makes a new section for CSAM offenses. The bill creates a new crime for distribution of CSAM and generally conforms the sentencing enhancements for possession of CSAM, distribution of CSAM, and child exploitation. The bill also specifies that certain restrictions on CSAM in discovery also apply in civil proceedings (under current law, they only apply in criminal proceedings).
The Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council, Indiana State Police, Shelby County Prosecutor, Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault, and a private citizen previously testified in support of the bill. The Indiana Public Defender Council previously testified but remained neutral.
On February 10, 2026, the Committee heard the bill for amend and vote. The Committee amended the bill by consent to require persons who have been designated as a sex offender, sexually violent predator, or substantially equivalent designation from another jurisdiction to register as a sex offender. The Committee also amended the bill by consent to include the term “high risk missing person” in the Amber Alert statute. The amended bill passed 9-0 and was recommitted to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Read the bill at: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026/bills/house/1303