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SB160 • 2026
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning criminal law and procedure.
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning criminal law and procedure.
Children
Crime
Enacted
This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.
- Sponsor
- Senator Spencer Deery
- Last action
- 2026-03-05
- Official status
- Enrolled Senate Bill (S)
- Effective date
- Not listed
Plain English Breakdown
The official source does not provide details about the extent of harsher punishment for wearing masks during crimes or specific types of refuse considered under malicious littering.
Indiana Law Changes for Criminal Offenses
This law makes wearing a mask during criminal offenses an aggravating factor and creates malicious littering as a Class A misdemeanor.
What This Bill Does
- Makes wearing a mask while committing a criminal offense an aggravator, leading to harsher punishment.
- Classifies placing refuse on another person's property with the intent to cause fear for their physical safety as malicious littering, which is a Class A misdemeanor.
Who It Names or Affects
- People who commit crimes while wearing masks
- People who place refuse on other people’s property with the intent to scare them
Terms To Know
- aggravator
- Something that makes a crime worse and leads to harsher punishment.
- malicious littering
- Placing refuse on someone else's property with the intent to cause fear for their physical safety.
Limits and Unknowns
- The law does not specify how much harsher the punishment will be for wearing a mask during crimes.
- It is unclear what specific types of refuse are considered malicious littering.
Amendments
These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.
Plain English: This amendment adds a new section to Indiana's criminal law that deals with the consequences for certain crimes.
- Adds a new section to the Indiana Code under IC 35-42-4-6, which is about criminal confinement and false imprisonment.
- The official text does not provide details on what specific changes or additions are being made to the law.
Plain English: The amendment adds a new section to the Indiana Code that makes it illegal for someone to wear a mask or disguise while committing certain crimes.
- Adds a new section to the criminal code that prohibits wearing masks or disguises during specific criminal activities.
- The amendment does not specify which particular criminal activities are covered by this prohibition, so it's unclear exactly what offenses would be affected.
- It is not clear how this law will be enforced or what the penalties for violating it might be.
Plain English: The amendment proposes to add a new section to the Indiana Code related to criminal law and procedure, specifically concerning disguise.
- Adds a new section to the Indiana Code regarding criminal penalties for using disguise during certain crimes.
- The official text does not provide specific details about what constitutes 'disguise' or the exact nature of the criminal penalties.
Plain English: This amendment changes the Indiana Code to add a new section about criminal law and procedure, but the specific details of what this new section will include are not provided in the given text.
- Adds a new section to the Indiana Code concerning criminal law and procedure.
- The exact content and specifics of the new section added to the Indiana Code are not detailed in the amendment text.
Plain English: This amendment changes how Indiana handles certain criminal cases involving minors.
- Adds new rules for handling criminal cases where the defendant is a minor.
- The official text does not provide specific details about what these new rules are, making it hard to explain exactly how they will change current practices.
Bill History
-
2026-03-05
Senate
Signed by the Governor
-
2026-03-05
Senate
Public Law 112
-
2026-02-27
Senate
Signed by the President Pro Tempore
-
2026-02-27
House
Signed by the Speaker
-
2026-02-27
Senate
Signed by the President of the Senate
-
2026-02-25
Senate
Senate concurred with House amendments; Roll Call 276: yeas 46, nays 0
-
2026-02-20
Senate
Motion to concur filed
-
2026-02-18
House
Returned to the Senate with amendments
-
2026-02-17
House
Third reading: passed; Roll Call 265: yeas 88, nays 2
-
2026-02-17
House
Representative Yocum added as cosponsor
-
2026-02-16
House
Second reading: ordered engrossed
-
2026-02-16
House
Amendment #1 (Pierce M) failed; Roll Call 242: yeas 33, nays 59
-
2026-02-12
House
Committee report: amend do pass, adopted
-
2026-01-28
House
First reading: referred to Committee on Courts and Criminal Code
-
2026-01-23
Senate
Referred to the House
-
2026-01-22
Senate
Third reading: passed; Roll Call 51: yeas 45, nays 0
-
2026-01-22
Senate
House sponsor: Representative Lopez
-
2026-01-22
Senate
Senator Baldwin added as third author
-
2026-01-20
Senate
Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed
-
2026-01-20
Senate
Amendment #1 (Freeman) prevailed; voice vote
-
2026-01-14
Senate
Senator Clark added as second author
-
2026-01-13
Senate
Committee report: amend do pass, adopted
-
2026-01-05
Senate
Authored by Senator Deery
-
2026-01-05
Senate
First reading: referred to Committee on Corrections and Criminal Law
Official Summary Text
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning criminal law and procedure.
Public safety.
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning criminal law and procedure.
Public safety.
Makes wearing a mask during the commission of a criminal offense a sentencing aggravator. Makes it malicious littering, a Class A misdemeanor, for a person to place refuse on the property of another person with the intent to cause the owner or occupant of the property to reasonably fear for their physical safety.