Legislature
Ruckelshaus Kautzman Blackwell Bemis Duncan & Merchant, LLP March 18, 2022 Hello Friends: Dear Friends: The Indiana General Assembly has recessed the 2022 session! The FOP had a great year. We were able to accomplish many of our goals and defeat many bills that would have negatively impacted the Indiana Law Enforcement community. Below I have highlighted and summarized many of the bills that passed with our support. Please find the 2022 Final Legislative Report attached. I have also provided a brief summary of the Permitless Handgun Carry legislation that ultimately passed. Bail Changes In the final hours of the 2022 legislative session, lawmakers approved a bill that would prevent charitable bail organizations from bailing out people accused of violent crime in Indiana. House Bill 1300 would also bar the bail organizations from posting bond for anyone facing a felony charge who has previously been convicted of a violent crime. Nonprofits who bail out more than three people in a 180 day period would have to pay a $300 certification fee every two years under the legislation, and groups that receive grant funding from the state and local governments would be prohibited from bailing indigent people out of jail. House Bill 1300 was signed by the Governor. Jail Crowding House Bill 1004 is a bill designed to ease overcrowding inside Indiana’s county jails. The new law will allow judges to resume sentencing people convicted of low-level felonies into state prisons. The bill gained bipartisan approval in both chambers and counted supporters among county officials and law enforcement. Backers from both parties have pitched the bill as a way to ease jail overcrowding, which is a rampant problem in Indiana. They also say the bill would provide some people with greater access to drug and mental health treatment inside state prisons because many rural county jails lack those services. The bill is widely supported by county officials and law enforcement. House Bill 1004 was signed by the Governor. 1977 Fund Senate Bill 78 provides that if the board of trustees of the Indiana public retirement system (system board) determines that a new police officer or firefighter in the public employees’ retirement fund (PERF) should be a member of the 1977 fund, the system board shall require the employer to transfer the member into the 1977 fund and contribute the amount that the system board determines is necessary to fund fully the member’s service credit in the 1977 fund for all service earned as a police officer or firefighter in PERF. Provides that a police officer or firefighter who is an active member of the 1977 fund with an employer that participates in the 1977 fund, separates from that employer, and more than 180 days after the date of the separation becomes employed as a full-time police officer or firefighter with the same or a second employer that participates in the 1977 fund, is a member of the 1977 fund without meeting the age limitations under certain circumstances. Senate Bill 78 was signed by the Governor. Meet and Confer for Public Safety Employees Senate Bill 76 Allows an employer or an exclusive recognized representative of full-time employees of a police or fire department (exclusive representative) to request, in specified circumstances, an advisory opinion from the commissioner of labor (commissioner). Specifies a process by which an employer or exclusive representative may appeal in certain instances to the commissioner to request mediation and conciliation. Senate Bill 76 was signed by the Governor. Permitless Handgun Carry Lawmakers approved a bill on March 8th that would eliminate the license requirement to carry a handgun. The language was originally in a different bill that was killed in the Indiana Senate earlier in session, after the Senate Judiciary committee voted to gut the bill. Lawmakers then inserted the original bill into House Bill 1296. House Bill 1296 was approved by the House by a 69-30 vote, and the Senate by a 30-20 vote. Some Republicans joined with Democrats to vote against the measure. Governor Holcomb has not said whether he will sign the measure. As always, please feel free to contact President Owensby, Leo Blackwell, or myself for additional information. Stay safe, Ed Edward J. Merchant
Page Last Updated: Jan 08, 2021 (12:28:00)
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