Short Summaries of 2006 Legislation
NEW LEGISLATION (2006) - Unless otherwise indicated, all new legislation is effective July 1, 2006.
P.L. 3-2006 makes disorderly conduct, IC 35-45-1-3, a Class D felony if it (1) is committed within 500 feet of the location where a funeral, burial, memorial service, funeral procession, or viewing is taking place, and (2) adversely affects the event. It also makes intimidation, IC 35-45-2-1, a Class D felony if the person to whom the threat is communicated is an employee of a court, a probation department, or a community corrections program. The changes to these statutes are now in effect.
P.L. 143-2006 amended IC 35-44-3-3 to impose a mandatory minimum sentence for resisting law enforcement in certain instances. This mandatory minimum is either 30 days, 180 days, or one year and cannot be suspended.
P.L. 26-2006 expands the definition of “family housing complex” for controlled substance offenses to include a hotel or motel, an apartment complex, or a building that contains subsidized housing. It also amended neglect of a dependent, IC 35-46-1-4, to make the offense a Class C felony if it is committed in a location where a person is violating IC 35-48-4-1 or is the result of a violation of IC 35-48-4-1.
P.L. 129-2006 makes domestic battery, IC 35-42-2-1.3, a Class D felony if the person committing it (1) has a prior unrelated conviction for a substantially similar crime in any other jurisdiction (including a military court), or (2) knowingly committed it in the presence of a child less than 16 years of age. It also created the offense of strangulation, IC 35-42-2-9, a Class D felony.
P.L. 70-2006 makes criminal confinement, IC 35-42-3-3, a Class D felony if it is committed by using a vehicle or results in bodily injury to a person other than the confining or removing person.
P.L. 75-2006 amended IC 35-42-2-2 to make criminal recklessness a Class D felony if the person committed aggressive driving that results in serious bodily injury to another person and a Class C felony if the aggressive driving results in the death of another person. “Aggressive driving” is defined in IC 9-21-8-55 as doing or committing at least three of the following in one episode of continuous driving: following a vehicle too closely, unsafe operation of a vehicle, overtaking another vehicle on the right by driving off the roadway, unsafe stopping or slowing a vehicle, unnecessary sounding of the horn, failure to yield, failure to obey a traffic control device, driving at an unsafe speed, repeatedly flashing of headlights. The amendment also makes criminal recklessness a Class C felony if it is committed by shooting a firearm into an inhabited dwelling or other building or place where people are likely to gather. Prior to this amendment, the shooting had to be done from a vehicle.
P.L. 72-2006 enacted IC 35-47-5-2.5 making, with some exceptions, possession of a knife on school property, on a school bus, or on a special purpose bus a Class B misdemeanor. It is a Class A misdemeanor if the person has a previous unrelated conviction and a Class D felony if the offense results in bodily injury or serious bodily injury to another person.
P.L. 106-2006 amended IC 35-43-5-2 to create the crime of application fraud where a person knowingly or intentionally (1) uses false information or otherwise commits fraud in an application for an identification card, or (2) uses a false name or address or otherwise commits fraud in an application for a driver’s license or permit. The offense is a Class D felony.
P.L. 109-2006 adds IC 35-43-5-2.5 which provides that a person who knowingly or intentionally possesses, produces, or distributes a document not issued by a government entity that purports to be a government issued identification commits a Class A misdemeanor.
P.L. 189-2006 amended the self-defense statute, IC 35-41-3-2, to make clear that a person has no duty to retreat before using force or deadly force. Also, it extends self-defense to prevent or terminate an unlawful entry of a person’s occupied motor vehicle.
This is a publication of the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney, covering
various topics of interest to law enforcement officers. It is directed
solely toward issues of evidence, criminal law and procedure. Please
consult your city, town, or county attorney for legal advice relating to
civil liability. Please direct any suggestions you may have for future
issues to Steve Stewart at 285-6264.
