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HB1363 • 2026
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning public safety.
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning public safety.
Crime
Passed Legislature
This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.
- Sponsor
- Representative Steve Bartels
- Last action
- 2026-01-22
- Official status
- House Bill (H)
- Effective date
- Not listed
Plain English Breakdown
The bill summary does not provide specific details on the new emergency communication systems or their funding.
Indiana Public Safety Act
This bill amends Indiana's laws concerning public safety, including updates to jail copayments, correctional officer benefits, sex offender registration requirements, and the creation of a new department for emergency communications.
What This Bill Does
- Changes how jails can charge people money for services they receive while in jail. Now, the maximum amount someone has to pay is $30 instead of $15.
- Adds correctional professionals to the list of public safety officers who are eligible for death benefits if they die on duty.
- Updates rules about sex offenders and violent offenders so that their registration periods match the longest period required by any state or jurisdiction where they have lived.
- Creates a new department called the Indiana Department of Emergency Communications, which will handle emergency communication systems.
Who It Names or Affects
- People in jail or those who work at jails.
- Sex offenders and violent offenders.
- Public safety officers like correctional professionals.
Terms To Know
- copayment
- A small amount of money that someone has to pay for a service they receive, usually in addition to what insurance or the government pays.
- public safety officer
- Someone who works to keep people safe and secure, like police officers or firefighters.
Limits and Unknowns
- The bill does not specify how much money will be used for new emergency communication systems.
- It is unclear when the changes in this bill will take effect since there is no official effective date provided.
Amendments
These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.
Plain English: This amendment proposes changes to Indiana's public safety laws, but the specific details of these changes are not provided in the given text.
- The exact nature and content of the proposed changes to public safety laws are not specified in this amendment.
- The official amendment text does not provide enough information to describe the concrete changes it would make.
Plain English: The amendment proposes changes to the Indiana Code regarding the designation of sex offenders and sex or violent offenders.
- Adds new criteria for designating individuals as sex or violent offenders under certain circumstances.
- The exact details of the new criteria are not specified in the provided amendment text, making it unclear what specific changes will be made to current laws.
Plain English: This amendment changes the Indiana Code to add new rules for the Department of Emergency Communications.
- Adds a new section to the Indiana Code that requires the Department of Emergency Communications to develop and maintain an emergency communication system.
- The official text does not provide details on how the system will be developed or maintained, nor what specific requirements it must meet.
- It is unclear if there are any budgetary implications for this new requirement.
Bill History
-
2026-01-22
House
Committee report: amend do pass, adopted
-
2026-01-22
House
Recommitted to Committee on Ways and Means pursuant to House Rule 126.3
-
2026-01-08
House
Authored by Representative Bartels
-
2026-01-08
House
First reading: referred to Committee on Veterans Affairs and Public Safety
Official Summary Text
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning public safety.
Various public safety matters.
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning public safety.
Various public safety matters.
Provides that the law enforcement training board (board) shall select an executive director to serve at the pleasure of the board. Provides that a person confined to a county jail may be required to make a copayment in an amount of not more than $30 (current law is $15). Provides that a person confined to a county jail is not required to make a certain copayment if, among other things, the person does not have funds in the person's commissary account or trust account within 180 days after the service is provided (current law is 60 days). Provides that a correctional professional is considered a public safety officer for purposes of determining eligibility for line of duty death benefits. (Current law provides that a correctional officer is considered a public safety officer for determining eligibility for line of duty death benefits.) Provides a process for certain sex and sex or violent offenders to submit certain information to the department of correction (department) regarding sex offender status in other states or jurisdictions. Provides that a person who is a: (1) sex offender; or (2) sex or violent offender; shall register for the period required by another jurisdiction or the period in Indiana, whichever is longer. Repeals the integrated public safety commission. Establishes the Indiana department of emergency communications. Changes the name of the "integrated public safety communications fund" to the "emergency communications fund". Provides that if: (1) the department releases a child who is a ward of the department; and (2) the child is less than 18 years of age; the department's wardship of the child ends. Provides that if a child who is a ward of the department is released and no parent or guardian allows the child to live with them, the department must immediately notify a certain court that the child needs to be a ward of the department of child services. Provides that the department is not required to send certain notices sent by offenders within the jurisdiction of the department by registered or certified mail. Makes it a Class B misdemeanor for a person to knowingly or intentionally possess an imitation firearm: (1) in or on school property; or (2) on a school bus. Provides that the department of emergency communications shall issue a request for proposals (RFP) for the purchase, or before issuing a change order, of any communications systems and equipment by the department that may be made available to public safety agencies. Provides that the communications equipment must be compatible with existing communications equipment used by public safety agencies. Provides that proposals shall be evaluated and awarded on a competitive basis using a scoring rubric established by the department. Makes conforming changes.