LEGISLATIVE SERVICES AGENCY
OFFICE OF FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS
200 W. Washington St., Suite 301
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 233-0696
iga.in.gov
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
LS 6485 NOTE PREPARED: Apr 26, 2021
BILL NUMBER: HB 1115 BILL AMENDED: Apr 22, 2021
SUBJECT: Public Safety.
FIRST AUTHOR: Rep. Miller D BILL STATUS: Enrolled
FIRST SPONSOR: Sen. Rogers
FUNDS AFFECTED: X GENERAL IMPACT: State & Local
X DEDICATED
FEDERAL
Summary of Legislation: This bill has the following provisions:
A. Marked off Area – It provides that a person who enters a marked off area after having been denied
entry by a firefighter commits interfering with public safety. (Under current law, the offense is
committed only if the person is denied entry by an emergency medical services provider or a law
enforcement officer.)
B. Obstruction of Traffic – It increases the penalty for obstruction of traffic under certain
circumstances.
C. Teaching License – It specifies that a conviction for certain sex offenses requires mandatory
revocation of a teaching license.
D. Bail Provisions – It provides that bail provisions that apply to persons on probation and parole also
apply to persons on community supervision.
E. "Official Investigations" – It removes and replaces certain references to "official investigations",
"official proceedings", and methods of reporting.
F. Firearm Sentence Enhancement – It makes attempted murder a predicate offense for the use of a
firearm sentence enhancement.
G. Fraud and Deception Offenses – It repeals and consolidates various fraud and deception offenses.
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 It repeals synthetic identity deception and consolidates it with identity deception. It defines
"financial institution" for purposes of crimes involving financial institutions. It repeals or
decriminalizes certain infrequently charged misdemeanors.
H. Blood Sample – It provides a procedure for a law enforcement officer to request a blood sample if
the law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that a person has committed the offense
of operating a vehicle or motorboat while intoxicated causing: (1) serious bodily injury; or (2) death
or catastrophic injury.
I. Standards – It provides that the law enforcement training board may establish certain standards for
training programs.
J. It makes technical corrections, resolves technical conflicts, and makes conforming amendments.
Effective Date: July 1, 2021.
Explanation of State Expenditures: Marked off Area – Firefighters are already included in the definition
of an emergency medical services provider. (IC 35-31.5-2-115.5 specifies that “emergency medical services
providers” are defined under IC 16-41-10-1.)
IC 16-41-10-1 defines an emergency medical services provider as:
1. a firefighter,
2. a law enforcement officer,
3. a paramedic,
4. an emergency medical technician,
5. a physician licensed under IC 25-22.5,
6. a nurse licensed under IC 25-23,
7. or other person who provides emergency medical services in the course of the person's employment.
Obstruction of Traffic – The current penalty for obstruction of traffic can be either a Class B misdemeanor,
a Class A misdemeanor or a Level 6 felony if the offense results in serious bodily injury. This bill enhances
obstruction of traffic from a Class A misdemeanor to a Level 6 felony if the person blocks certain emergency
vehicles who are performing certain official duties. It also enhances obstruction of traffic to a Level 5 felony
if obstruction of traffic results in either catastrophic bodily injury or death.
State expenditures could increase if an offender is incarcerated in a state prison rather than in a local jail. A
Level 6 felony is punishable by a prison term ranging between 6 to 30 months, with an advisory sentence of
1 year, and a Level 5 felony is punishable by a prison term between one and six years.
The period of incarceration will depend upon mitigating and aggravating circumstances. The average
expenditure to house an adult offender was $21,551, or $59 daily, in FY 2020. (This does not include the cost
of new construction.) If offenders can be housed in existing facilities with no additional staff, the incremental
cost per offender for medical care, food, and clothing is approximately $3,524 annually, or $9.66 daily.
Firearm Sentence Enhancement – This provision should cause a minor increase in DOC’s felony population
because this enhancement appears to be infrequently included in a sentence. A predicate offense is a crime
that is part of a larger crime. If a person is convicted of attempting to murder another person with a firearm,
a court could sentence the convicted person to an additional prison sentence of between 5 to 20 years under
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certain circumstances. An average 20 persons are convicted and sentenced for attempted murder each year.
OFMA found 45 cases of firearm enhancement for persons who were committed to DOC between CY 2013
and CY 2019 for eligible offenses under current law.
Fraud and Deception Offenses – OFMA estimates that this bill could result in a minimal increase in DOC’s
offender population. This bill would repeal 28 offenses that can be currently punished as infractions,
misdemeanors, and felonies and consolidates them under fraud (IC 35-43-5-4) statutes. The sentencing range
would be between a Class A misdemeanor and a Level 5 felony. [A summary is included in a series of tables
at the end of this fiscal note.]
There is one Class B infraction and one Class B misdemeanor that would both be enhanced to a minimum
Class A misdemeanor. Enhancing both of these offenses to a minimum Class A misdemeanor should have
a minor effect on state and local government.
A customer of a cable TV service currently commits a Class B infraction when utilizing any device
or scheme to avoid being assessed for the full amount of services. This would be a Class A
misdemeanor. OFMA found two instances of this offense between CY 2013 and CY 2020.
A person could be charged with home improvement fraud as a Class B misdemeanor under certain
circumstances. OFMA found five cases of home improvement fraud as a Class B misdemeanor in
2016.
[OFMA found no cases of conviction and sentencing for worker’s compensation fraud, stolen valor, or
possessing a fraudulent sales document manufacturing device.]
Explanation of State Revenues: Obstruction of Traffic – More revenue to the Common School Fund could
be collected if a larger criminal fine is assessed by the sentencing court. The maximum fine for a Level A
misdemeanor is $5,000, while the maximum fine for any felony is $10,000. Court fees for both misdemeanors
and felonies are $120.
Explanation of Local Expenditures: Obstruction of Traffic – If an offender is sentenced to state prison
rather than to a county jail, the costs to the county may be reduced. The maximum term of imprisonment for
a Class A misdemeanor is up to one year. The average cost per day to incarcerate a prisoner is $54 based on
the per diem payments reported by U.S. Marshals to house federal prisoners in 16 county jails across Indiana
during federal FY 2017.
Teaching License – Prosecuting attorneys would be required to notify both the state superintendent of public
instruction and the school superintendent when a licensed employee of a public or nonpublic school has been
convicted of either crime of child exploitation. The prosecuting attorney should be able to implement this
requirement with existing resources.
Bail Provisions – The bill adds “other community supervision” which includes community corrections to the
bail determination statute. Under current law, there is no specified amount of time that persons in this
situation would be confined in a county jail prior to bail determination. No information exists about the
length of jail confinement for persons who are on community corrections and are arrested for an offense.
Persons assigned to a community corrections program who are arrested and charged with any offense could
be confined in a county jail for not more than 15 days prior to bail determination, the same as persons on
probation or parole who are charged with a new offense.
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Explanation of Local Revenues: Obstruction of Traffic – Court fees for both misdemeanors and felonies
are $120.
State Agencies Affected: Department of Correction.
Local Agencies Affected: Trial courts; local law enforcement agencies.
Information Sources: Indiana Code.
Fiscal Analyst: Mark Goodpaster, 317-232-9852.
Repeal and Consolidation of Various Fraud and Deception Offenses
Infraction Misdemeanor Felony
Code Cite Description Class Class Class Class Level Level Level
B A B A 6 5 4
These New Sections Would be Added
35-43-5-4 Fraud ! ! !
35-43-5-4.7 Insurance Fraud (New Section) !
The Current Penalty Ranges Will Be the Same as the Proposed Penalty Ranges
Infraction Misdemeanor Felony
Class Class Class Class Level Level Level
Code Cite Description B A B A 6 5 4
35-43-5-4.5 Insurance Fraud / Insurance Application ! ! !
Fraud
35-43-5-5 Check Deception ! ! !
35-43-5-7 Welfare Fraud ! ! !
35-43-5-7.1 Medicaid Fraud ! ! !
35-43-5-7.2 Insurance Fraud ! ! !
35-43-5-12 Check Fraud ! ! !
35-43-5-20 Inmate Fraud ! !
35-43-6.5-1 Altering ID of Vehicle, Vehicle Part or ! ! !
Watercraft
35-43-6.5-1 False ID Number on Vehicle ! ! !
35-43-6.5-1 Counterfeit Vehicle Title ! ! !
The Current Penalty Ranges of these Offenses Are Not the Same as the Proposed Penalty Ranges; Which
Will Be Either a Class A Misdemeanor, a Level 6 Felony or a Level 5 Felony
Infraction Misdemeanor Felony
Class Class Class Class Level Level Level
Code Cite Description B A B A 6 5 4
35-43-5-2(c) Possession of a Fraudulent Sales ! !
Document
35-43-5-3 Deception ! !
35-43-5-3.8 Synthetic Identifying Information ! !
35-43-5-4.3 Possession of a card skimming device ! !
35-43-5-6 Avoid being assessed for Cable TV !
service
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The Current Penalty Ranges of these Offenses Are Not the Same as the Proposed Penalty Ranges; Which
Will Be Either a Class A Misdemeanor, a Level 6 Felony or a Level 5 Felony
35-43-5-15 Possessing a Fraudulent Sales Document !
Manufacturing Device
35-43-5-21 Worker's Compensation Fraud !
35-43-5-22 Stolen Valor !
35-43-6-12, 13 Home Improvement Fraud ! ! ! !
35-43-9-7 Title Insurance Agent ! ! !
Infrequently Charged Misdemeanors
These offenses would be reduced to infractions
Misdemeanor
Class Class Class
Code Cite Description C B A
6-2.5-9-7 No Retail Transactions !
20-27-7-19 School Bus Inspection and Registration !
35-45-21-2 Home Diagnostic Equipment for HIV !
Detection
35-47-7-1 Report of Certain Injuries to Law !
Enforcement Agencies
These offenses would be removed from statute
Misdemeanor
Class Class Class
Code Cite Description C B A
16-20-1-25 False Information to a Heath Officer !
24-5-14.5-11 Automatic Dialing Machines ! !
35-45-14-2 Unlawful Solicitation !
HB 1115 5


Statutes affected:
1. Introduced House Bill (H): 35-31.5-2-135, 35-44.1-3-1
2. House Bill (H): 35-31.5-2-135, 35-44.1-3-1
3. House Bill (S): 35-31.5-2-135, 35-44.1-2-13, 35-44.1-3-1
4. Enrolled House Bill (H): 9-30-6-6, 11-8-5-2, 11-11-2-1, 11-11-2-6, 12-14-1-1, 12-14-2-21, 12-20-6-6.5, 13-25-2-10, 16-20-1-25, 20-27-7-19, 20-28-5-8, 20-33-2-44, 24-5-26-1, 24-5-26-2, 27-2-16-3, 32-37-1-1, 33-23-8-4, 34-24-1-1, 35-31.5-2-135, 35-31.5-2-344, 35-31.5-2-356, 35-43-5-1, 35-37-4-6, 35-40-14-1, 35-41-1-1, 35-43-5-2, 35-43-5-3.5, 35-43-5-4, 35-44.1-2-2, 35-44.1-2-3, 35-44.1-2-13, 35-45-21-2, 35-50-2-11, 6-2.5-9-7