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SB291 • 2026

A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning courts and court officers.

A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning courts and court officers.

Children Crime
Enacted

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

Sponsor
Senator Scott Baldwin
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.

Indiana Court Security Act

This act changes Indiana's laws about courts and court officers, focusing on protecting judges' personal information and creating new positions for court marshals.

What This Bill Does

  • It stops public agencies from sharing certain private details of judges and other important court officials.
  • If a public agency does not remove the private information as required, it can be sued in court.
  • The act removes old rules about a special sheriff for the supreme court.
  • It lets the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals each choose someone called a 'court marshal' to help with security.
  • Court marshals are allowed to hire people to work under them to keep courts safe.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Judges and other important court officials whose personal information is protected.
  • Public agencies that must remove private details of judges from public view.
  • The Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, and their appointed marshals.

Terms To Know

court marshal
A person chosen by the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals to help keep courts safe.
qualified immunity
Protection for court marshals from being sued when they do their job correctly.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how the personal information should be removed or what happens if a public agency refuses to comply.
  • It is unclear exactly which responsibilities are assigned to each type of court marshal beyond ensuring safety and security.

Amendments

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

SB0291.03.ENGS.AMH02

Committee Engrossed Senate Bill (H) • Representative Garrett Bascom

Filed

Plain English: The amendment adds new criminal penalties for certain actions related to court proceedings.

  • Adds a new section to the Indiana Code that makes it a crime to tamper with or interfere with evidence in a court case.
  • The exact details of what constitutes 'tampering' and 'interfering with evidence' are not specified, which may leave some uncertainty about how this new law would be applied.
SB0291.04.COMH.AMH001

Filed Senate Bill (H) • Representative Mitch Gore

Passed

Plain English: This amendment does not provide specific changes to the bill and is marked as passed without detailed information.

  • The official text of the amendment does not specify any concrete changes or details, making it impossible to explain its effects.
SB0291.04.COMH.AMH002

Filed Senate Bill (H) • Representative Andrew Ireland

Passed

Plain English: This amendment changes the Indiana Code to allow for certain court officers to be appointed by a different process.

  • Allows for specific court officers to be appointed through a new method not previously outlined in the Indiana Code.
  • The official text does not specify which court officers or what the new appointment process would entail, making it hard to provide more details.
  • Without additional context from the full bill and related documents, the exact impact of this amendment cannot be fully explained.
SB0291.02.COMS.AMS001

Filed Senate Bill (S) • Senator Scott Baldwin

Failed

Plain English: This amendment aims to modify the Indiana Code regarding courts and court officers, but does not provide specific details on what changes it intends to make.

  • The exact nature of the change is unclear from the provided text.
  • The official amendment text does not specify any concrete changes or updates to the Indiana Code.
  • Further information would be needed to understand the intended modifications.
SB0291.02.COMS.AMS002

Filed Senate Bill (S) • Senator Scott Baldwin

Failed

Plain English: This amendment would add new rules about how courts handle certain types of cases involving children.

  • Adds a new section to the Indiana Code that outlines procedures for handling cases related to child welfare and custody.
  • The exact details of the new procedures are not provided in the amendment text, making it hard to explain specific changes.
  • It is unclear which specific parts of the existing law this amendment would modify or replace.
SB0291.02.COMS.AMS003

Filed Senate Bill (S) • Senator Cyndi Carrasco

Failed

Plain English: This amendment proposes to add new language to the Indiana Code regarding courts and court officers, but does not provide specific details about what changes it would make.

  • The amendment aims to modify the Indiana Code concerning courts and court officers, but the exact nature of these modifications is unclear from the provided text.
  • The official amendment text does not specify the particular sections or content that will be changed in the Indiana Code.
  • Without more detailed information, it's impossible to describe the concrete changes this amendment would make.
SB0291.02.COMS.AMS004

Filed Senate Bill (S) • Senator Scott Baldwin

Passed

Plain English: This amendment changes how certain court cases are handled in Indiana.

  • The amendment modifies the way specific types of court cases are managed under Indiana law.
  • The official text does not provide enough details to explain exactly which court cases or procedures will be changed.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-05 Senate

    Signed by the Governor

  2. 2026-03-05 Senate

    Public Law 139

  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 Senate

    Senate concurred with House amendments; Roll Call 288: yeas 47, nays 0

  7. 2026-02-17 Senate

    Motion to concur filed

  8. 2026-02-11 House

    Returned to the Senate with amendments

  9. 2026-02-10 House

    Third reading: passed; Roll Call 230: yeas 95, nays 0

  10. 2026-02-09 House

    Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed

  11. 2026-02-09 House

    Amendment #1 (Gore) prevailed; voice vote

  12. 2026-02-09 House

    Amendment #2 (Ireland) prevailed; voice vote

  13. 2026-02-05 House

    Committee report: amend do pass, adopted

  14. 2026-01-29 House

    Representative Haggard added as cosponsor

  15. 2026-01-28 House

    First reading: referred to Committee on Courts and Criminal Code

  16. 2026-01-27 Senate

    Referred to the House

  17. 2026-01-26 Senate

    Third reading: passed; Roll Call 86: yeas 44, nays 0

  18. 2026-01-26 Senate

    House sponsor: Representative Steuerwald

  19. 2026-01-26 Senate

    Cosponsor: Representative Jeter

  20. 2026-01-26 Senate

    Senator Alexander added as coauthor

  21. 2026-01-26 Senate

    Senator Deery added as coauthor

  22. 2026-01-26 Senate

    Senator Schmitt added as coauthor

  23. 2026-01-22 Senate

    Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed

  24. 2026-01-22 Senate

    Amendment #4 (Baldwin) prevailed; voice vote

  25. 2026-01-22 Senate

    Senator Pol added as coauthor

  26. 2026-01-22 Senate

    Senators Brown L, Freeman, Taylor G, Randolph added as coauthors

  27. 2026-01-22 Senate

    Senators Glick, Clark added as coauthors

  28. 2026-01-20 Senate

    Senator Young M added as coauthor

  29. 2026-01-15 Senate

    Committee report: do pass, adopted

  30. 2026-01-15 Senate

    Senator Koch added as third author

  31. 2026-01-12 Senate

    Authored by Senator Baldwin

  32. 2026-01-12 Senate

    First reading: referred to Committee on Judiciary

  33. 2026-01-12 Senate

    Senator Carrasco added as second author

Official Summary Text

A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning courts and court officers.
Court security.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning courts and court officers.

Court security.

Establishes a procedure to prevent certain personal information of a protected judicial individual from being publically available by a public agency. Creates a civil cause of action against a public agency that fails to remove certain personal information of a protected individual. Repeals current code concerning the supreme court sheriff. Allows the supreme court and the court of appeals to each appoint a court marshal and allows each appointed court marshal to hire deputy court marshals. Requires a court marshal to ensure the safety and security of the court. Requires a supreme court marshal and a court of appeals court marshal to carry out certain responsibilities. Provides that a court marshal is entitled to qualified immunity for acts performed in the course of official duties. Specifies that a court marshal has limited police powers and is required to notify the local law enforcement agency as soon as practicable when a security threat is detected. Allows the marshal appointed by the court of appeals to provide for the safety and security of the tax court.