The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee heard SB 179 concerning commission on court appointed attorneys sponsored by Rep. McNamara. The author, Sen. Koch, explained that the bill: The bill was amended by consent to add Crawford and Perry Counties to the pilot program and to make technical corrections. The Indiana Public Defender Commission testified in support of … [Read more...] about Commission on court appointed attorneys
Regulation of drones near correctional facilities
The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee heard SB 182 concerning regulation of drones near correctional facilities sponsored by Rep. Steuerwald. The author, Sen. Koch, explained the bill provides that the crime of trafficking with an inmate includes the use of an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) to deliver contraband, and the crime of public safety remote aerial … [Read more...] about Regulation of drones near correctional facilities
Attorney’s fees
The House Judiciary Committee heard SB 226 concerning attorney fees authored by Sen. Gaskill and sponsored by Rep. Torr. Rep. Torr explained the bill would increase the amount of attorney's fees that may be incurred by an offeror to $250 per hour; and the total amount of attorney's fees, costs, and expenses that may be awarded to not more than $5,000; with respect to a … [Read more...] about Attorney’s fees
DCS technical changes and adoption subsidies
The Senate Family and Children Services Committee heard HB 1064 authored by Rep. DeVon and sponsored by Sen. Donato and Sen. Walker on DCS technical changes and adoption subsidies. The bill removes language regarding medical passports and relocates the definition of “foster youth” and defines “licensed kinship caregiver”. The bill requires if a child in foster care … [Read more...] about DCS technical changes and adoption subsidies
Courts for children three years of age and younger in need of services
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard HB 1101 concerning courts for children three years of age and younger in need of services sponsored by Sen. Koch, Sen. Brown, and Sen. Donato. Author, Rep. Lauer, introduced the bill as a new problem-solving court model to achieve permanency faster. It was reported that there are hundreds of these courts nationwide showing faster time to … [Read more...] about Courts for children three years of age and younger in need of services