The Senate Judiciary Committee heard HB 1033 on various judicial matters sponsored by Sen. Carrasco and authored by Rep. Lopez and Rep. Jeter. The bill provides a correction and addition to persons that sit on a community corrections advisory board and the local Justice Reinvestment and Advisory Council (JRAC) for a county with a consolidated city. A majority of the bill is dedicated to specific matters regarding the administrative business of how the Marion County Executive Committee is elected and provisions regarding how it operates. The bill also changes a requirement that the Marion County judicial selection committee will determine if a judge is suitable to retain judicial office before a judge’s request for retention may be placed on the ballot. The bill further provides that a judge may not appear on the ballot for retention if the committee has determined that the judge is not suitable to retain office and provides that State JRAC members can only vote when attending a meeting in person.
The Committee amended the bill by a vote of 7-4 in relevant part to:
- Remove from the Marion County judicial selection committee the positions appointed by the Indianapolis Bar Association, Marion County Bar Association, Indiana Trial Lawyers Association, and Defense Trial Lawyers Association.
- Add that the Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court and Governor shall each appoint two attorneys to the Marion County judicial selection committee.
- Provide that starting January 1, 2027, the candidates for the Marion County Executive Committee shall be selected by two-thirds of the Marion County judges and four candidates will be submitted to the chair of the Marion County judicial selection committee. The chair of the Marion County judicial selection committee shall select one of the four executive committee members to be the chief judge.
- Provide that a judge is not eligible for retention if the judge does not appear before the committee.
- Specifies that an action taken by the executive committee may only be overruled by a vote of 85% of the the full sitting court.
- Provide that the allocation of appointments of commissioners or magistrates is determined by agreement between the executive committee and the judge of the circuit court.
There was no testimony provided. The amended bill passed 7-4.
Read the bill at: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026/bills/house/1033