The Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee heard HB 1250 on crimes of violence, sponsored by Sen. Koch. The bill adds the following offenses to the statutory definition of "crime of violence": (1) Battery as a Level 2 felony; (2) Battery as a Level 3 felony; (3) Battery as a Level 4 felony; and (4) Battery as a Level 5 felony. The bill also makes conforming amendments. The … [Read more...] about Crimes of violence
Human trafficking
The Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee heard HB 1270 on human trafficking, sponsored by Sen. Head, Sen. Brown, and Sen. Ruckelshaus. The bill changes the human and sexual trafficking statute by: reclassifying the term “human and sexual trafficking” to “human trafficking”, which includes the offenses of labor and sexual trafficking; creating separate offenses for labor a … [Read more...] about Human trafficking
Electronic powers of attorney, trusts, and wills
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard HB 1303 sponsored by Sens. Bray, Lanane and Zakas on electronic powers of attorney, trusts, and wills. The bill: allows the electronic creation and execution of wills, trust instruments, and powers of attorney. It also specifies requirements pertaining to the creation, attestation, and execution of an electronic will; allows video recordings o … [Read more...] about Electronic powers of attorney, trusts, and wills
Bail issues
The Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee heard HB 1328 on bail issues, sponsored by Sen. Young, Sen. Randolph, Sen. Glick, and Sen. Lanane. The bill provides that murder is not bailable if the state proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the proof is evident, or the presumption is strong. The bill was in response to the Indiana Supreme Court’s opinion in Fry v. Sta … [Read more...] about Bail issues
Drug dealing resulting in death
The Senate Appropriations Committee heard HB 1359 sponsored by Sens. Young, Houchin, and Freeman on drug dealing resulting in death. The bill was passed as adopted by the Corrections and Criminal Law Committee and referred to the Appropriations Committee. It stiffens the criminal penalties for the manufacturing or dealing in certain drugs resulting in the death of the user. A … [Read more...] about Drug dealing resulting in death