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SB261 • 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.

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Senator Michael Young
Last action
2026-03-05
Official status
Enrolled Senate Bill (S)
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Changing Laws About Vandalism

This law changes how Indiana deals with vandalism by renaming 'criminal mischief' to 'criminal vandalism' and moving specific types of vandalism into this new category.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the name of 'criminal mischief' to 'criminal vandalism'.
  • Moves rules about damaging institutions, cemeteries, railroads, and critical infrastructure from their own sections to the criminal vandalism section.
  • Keeps the same penalties and defenses for these crimes when they are moved.
  • Moves rules about damaging caves into the new criminal vandalism section.
  • Moves rules about leaving trash in caves to a different law about littering.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who break laws related to vandalism or damage property will be affected by this change.
  • Law enforcement and courts dealing with these crimes will use updated language and statutes.

Terms To Know

criminal mischief
Breaking things or damaging property on purpose, which is now called 'criminal vandalism'.
conforming amendments
Changes made to other laws so they match the new law about criminal vandalism.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The exact penalties and defenses for each type of vandalism are not listed in this summary.
  • It is unclear how many people will be affected by these changes since it depends on future cases involving vandalism.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

SB0261.01.INTR.AMS02

Committee Introduced Senate Bill (S) • Senator Michael Young

Filed

Plain English: The amendment removes a specific part of Indiana's criminal law and procedure.

  • The amendment repeals an existing section of the Indiana Code related to criminal law and procedure.
  • The exact details of what is being repealed are not provided in the amendment text, so it is unclear which specific laws or sections will be removed.
SB0261.01.INTR.AMS01

Committee Introduced Senate Bill (S) • Senator Aaron Freeman

Filed

Plain English: This amendment proposes to change the Indiana Code regarding criminal law and procedure, but does not provide specific details about what changes are being suggested.

  • The exact nature of the proposed changes is unclear from the provided text.
  • The official amendment text does not specify any concrete changes or updates to the Indiana Code concerning criminal law and procedure.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-05 Senate

    Signed by the Governor

  2. 2026-03-05 Senate

    Public Law 132

  3. 2026-02-27 Senate

    Signed by the President Pro Tempore

  4. 2026-02-27 House

    Signed by the Speaker

  5. 2026-02-27 Senate

    Signed by the President of the Senate

  6. 2026-02-25 House

    Returned to the Senate without amendments

  7. 2026-02-24 House

    Third reading: passed; Roll Call 352: yeas 97, nays 0

  8. 2026-02-23 House

    Second reading: ordered engrossed

  9. 2026-02-18 House

    Committee report: do pass, adopted

  10. 2026-02-02 House

    First reading: referred to Committee on Courts and Criminal Code

  11. 2026-01-29 Senate

    Referred to the House

  12. 2026-01-28 Senate

    Third reading: passed; Roll Call 126: yeas 47, nays 1

  13. 2026-01-28 Senate

    House sponsor: Representative Bascom

  14. 2026-01-28 Senate

    House sponsor: Representative Ireland

  15. 2026-01-28 Senate

    Representative Ireland removed as sponsor

  16. 2026-01-28 Senate

    Cosponsor: Representative Ireland

  17. 2026-01-28 Senate

    Senator Baldwin added as third author

  18. 2026-01-28 Senate

    Senator Pol added as coauthor

  19. 2026-01-26 Senate

    Second reading: ordered engrossed

  20. 2026-01-26 Senate

    Senator Freeman added as second author

  21. 2026-01-22 Senate

    Committee report: amend do pass, adopted

  22. 2026-01-08 Senate

    Authored by Senator Young M

  23. 2026-01-08 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.
Criminal vandalism.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning criminal law and procedure.

Criminal vandalism.

Renames the crime of "criminal mischief" to "criminal vandalism". Repeals: (1) institutional criminal mischief; (2) cemetery mischief; (3) railroad mischief; and (4) critical infrastructure facility mischief; places them in the "criminal vandalism" statute, and preserves the original penalties and defenses. Repeals and places provisions involving damage to a cave in the criminal vandalism statute. Repeals and places provisions involving depositing refuse in a cave in the littering statute. Makes conforming amendments.