06/08/2026
📅 REMINDER: NEW INDIANA LAWS EFFECTIVE JULY 1st
🏛️ CRIMINAL JUSTICE & COURT PROCEDURES
Presence at Sentencing (SEA 9): Defendants are now mandatorily required to be physically present in the courtroom while victims or their families deliver impact statements, unless they pose an active security threat.
Repeat OWI Penalties (HEA 1249): Significantly increases the mandatory minimum jail or community service time for repeat offenders. A second OWI conviction now requires a 10-day minimum confinement (up from 5), and a third requires a 20-day minimum (up from 10).
Boating Under the Influence (HEA 1249): Repeals separate waterboat operating laws and rolls watercraft directly into standard OWI statutes. Operating a boat while intoxicated now carries the exact same weight, penalties, and long-term impact on your standard driver’s license as operating a car.
HTV Status Updates (HEA 1249): Adds operating a motor vehicle with a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance in your blood directly to the Habitual Traffic Violator (HTV) triggers.
Child Witness Protections (HEA 1249): Mandates the automatic redaction of names and identifying data of child victims and child witnesses in public criminal court filings, substituting anonymous labels like “Child Witness No. 1.”
Cold Case DNA Testing (HEA 1248): Allows immediate families of victims in homicides or s*x offenses that have been cold for more than 5 years to access advanced DNA testing through approved non-profit organizations to help fund and restart law enforcement investigations.
Vandalism Reclassification (HEA 1249): Eliminates separate, scattered older statutes for institutional mischief, cemetery mischief, railroad mischief, and critical infrastructure mischief, consolidating them all under a single, streamlined "Criminal Vandalism" charge.
Jury Duty Exemption (SEA 139): Formally establishes a statutory exemption from jury duty service for breastfeeding mothers.
🏢 TAXES, BUSINESS & PUBLIC BENEFITS
Tax Cuts on Wages & Purchases (SEA 243): A major tax relief package taking effect for this tax year. This eliminates state income tax on tips, overtime wages, and the loan interest paid on American-made vehicles.
Public Benefits Eligibility (SEA 1): Tightens verification processes for public assistance programs. The state must now actively verify the immigration status of individuals applying for SNAP and Medicaid to ensure funds only go to legal residents. It also implements a mandatory work requirement for able-bodied, working-age adults on these programs.
Bail Restrictions (SEA 2): Restricts bail eligibility for violent offenses. Offenses other than murder can now be held without bail if the state proves by clear and convincing evidence that the arrestee poses a substantial, direct threat to public safety. (Note: This ties directly into a constitutional amendment question heading to our local ballots this coming November).
Homestead & Farm Food Sales (HEA 1424): Adjusts state health department regulations regarding time and temperature controls for small farm and homestead food vendors, providing a realistic compliance path that doesn't price out local growers.
Foreign V**e Import Ban (SEA 185): Outlaws the sale and wholesale distribution of any electronic ci******es or e-liquid products manufactured in foreign adversarial nations, directly targeting Chinese manufacturers. This is a massive compliance shift that will effectively clear a huge percentage of disposable v**e brands off local store shelves next month.
🚗 UTILITIES & LOCAL REGULATIONS
Summer Disconnection Protection (HEA 1002): Bans investor-owned electric companies from shutting off residential power to customers on any day where the National Weather Service forecasts a heat index of 95 degrees or higher.
Low-Income Utility Programs (HEA 1002): Requires major electric utilities under state jurisdiction to formally roll out and fund dedicated low-income customer financial assistance programs starting July 1st to stabilize monthly bills.
Foster Youth & Foster Parents (SEA 1 & SEA 15): Officially establishes an Indiana "Foster Youth Bill of Rights" and expands the legal standing of foster parents, giving them a formal right to be heard in ongoing court proceedings involving children placed in their care.
Lake & Water Safety (HEA 1062): Establishes strict new zoning rules, operational restrictions, and civil penalties for wakeboarding and wakesurfing on public freshwater and small lakes.
