Introduced Version
HOUSE BILL No. 1338
_____
DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
Citations Affected: IC 5-14-1.7; IC 35-43-2-2.
Synopsis: Security of public property and meeting decorum.
Establishes criteria for meeting decorum of certain local units of
government. Requires the specified units of government to adopt
reasonable rules or policies governing conduct within a meeting.
Provides that a person who knowingly or intentionally enters or refuses
to leave certain restricted areas of a government building commits the
offense of criminal trespass.
Effective: July 1, 2024.
Prescott
January 10, 2024, read first time and referred to Committee on Government and Regulatory
Reform.
2024 IN 1338—LS 7057/DI 149 Introduced
Second Regular Session of the 123rd General Assembly (2024)
PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
Constitution) is being amended, the text of the existing provision will appear in this style type,
additions will appear in this style type, and deletions will appear in this style type.
Additions: Whenever a new statutory provision is being enacted (or a new constitutional
provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
word NEW will appear in that style type in the introductory clause of each SECTION that adds
a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts
between statutes enacted by the 2023 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
HOUSE BILL No. 1338
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning state
and local administration.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
1 SECTION 1. IC 5-14-1.7 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
2 AS A NEW CHAPTER TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
3 JULY 1, 2024]:
4 Chapter 1.7. Meeting Decorum
5 Sec. 1. This chapter applies only to a meeting (as defined in
6 IC 5-14-1.5-2(c)) of the governing body of an entity described in
7 IC 5-14-1.5-2(a)(2) or IC 5-14-1.5-2(a)(3).
8 Sec. 2. This chapter does not apply to the following:
9 (1) A quasi-judicial proceeding or a meeting held in executive
10 session.
11 (2) An official act that must be taken in response to an
12 emergency situation affecting the public health, welfare, or
13 safety, if compliance with this chapter would cause an
14 unreasonable delay in the ability of the governing body to act.
15 (3) Official acts that are ministerial, including approval of
16 minutes and ceremonial proclamations.
17 (4) Any other meeting that is not subject to IC 5-14-1.5 (open
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1 door law).
2 Sec. 3. As used in this chapter, "attendee" means a member of
3 the public who is physically present at a meeting of a governing
4 body.
5 Sec. 4. A governing body to which this chapter applies shall
6 prepare and post a meeting agenda in accordance with
7 IC 5-14-1.5-4 at least forty-eight (48) hours (excluding Saturdays,
8 Sundays, and legal holidays) before the meeting. The agenda must
9 include a description of each item to be considered by the
10 governing body at the meeting.
11 Sec. 5. The governing body:
12 (1) may provide all attendees with an opportunity to speak to
13 the governing body regarding an agenda item before or
14 during the governing body's discussion or consideration of the
15 agenda item; and
16 (2) shall determine how much time each attendee will have to
17 speak on each agenda item at a meeting.
18 Sec. 6. (a) The governing body shall adopt rules or policies,
19 consistent with section 5 of this chapter, governing the following:
20 (1) Reasonable restrictions on the length of time that an
21 attendee may speak on an agenda item.
22 (2) Reasonable steps to maintain order during a meeting with
23 respect to attendees and the elected officials of the governing
24 body.
25 (3) A procedure for the governing body to issue a warning to
26 an attendee if the attendee has disrupted a meeting.
27 (4) A requirement that law enforcement shall remove an
28 attendee from the meeting if the attendee receives three (3)
29 warnings under subdivision (3).
30 (b) The rules or policies adopted under this section must be
31 posted in a visible area at the entrance to each meeting.
32 Sec. 7. (a) Nothing in this chapter may be construed to prohibit
33 a law enforcement officer from immediately removing an attendee
34 from a meeting if:
35 (1) removal of the attendee is necessary to maintain order or
36 ensure the safety of another person;
37 (2) the attendee is particularly disruptive; or
38 (3) the attendee commits a criminal offense.
39 (b) A law enforcement officer is entitled to immunity under
40 IC 34-13-3-3 for an action taken under this section.
41 SECTION 2. IC 35-43-2-2, AS AMENDED BY P.L.79-2023,
42 SECTION 3, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
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1 JULY 1, 2024]: Sec. 2. (a) As used in this section, "authorized person"
2 means a person authorized by an agricultural operation or a scientific
3 research facility to act on behalf of the agricultural operation or the
4 scientific research facility.
5 (b) A person who:
6 (1) not having a contractual interest in the property, knowingly or
7 intentionally enters the real property of another person after
8 having been denied entry by the other person or that person's
9 agent;
10 (2) not having a contractual interest in the property, knowingly or
11 intentionally refuses to leave the real property of another person
12 after having been asked to leave by the other person or that
13 person's agent;
14 (3) accompanies another person in a vehicle, with knowledge that
15 the other person knowingly or intentionally is exerting
16 unauthorized control over the vehicle;
17 (4) knowingly or intentionally interferes with the possession or
18 use of the property of another person without the person's consent;
19 (5) not having a contractual interest in the property, knowingly or
20 intentionally enters the:
21 (A) property of an agricultural operation that is used for the
22 production, processing, propagation, packaging, cultivation,
23 harvesting, care, management, or storage of an animal, plant,
24 or other agricultural product, including any pasturage or land
25 used for timber management, without the consent of the owner
26 of the agricultural operation or an authorized person; or
27 (B) dwelling of another person without the person's consent;
28 (6) knowingly or intentionally:
29 (A) travels by train without lawful authority or the railroad
30 carrier's consent; and
31 (B) rides on the outside of a train or inside a passenger car,
32 locomotive, or freight car, including a boxcar, flatbed, or
33 container without lawful authority or the railroad carrier's
34 consent;
35 (7) not having a contractual interest in the property, knowingly or
36 intentionally enters or refuses to leave the property of another
37 person after having been prohibited from entering or asked to
38 leave the property by a law enforcement officer when the property
39 is:
40 (A) vacant real property (as defined in IC 36-7-36-5) or a
41 vacant structure (as defined in IC 36-7-36-6); or
42 (B) designated by a municipality or county enforcement
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1 authority to be:
2 (i) abandoned property or an abandoned structure (as
3 defined in IC 36-7-36-1); or
4 (ii) an unsafe building or an unsafe premises (as described
5 in IC 36-7-9);
6 (8) not having a contractual interest in the property, knowingly or
7 intentionally enters the real property of an agricultural operation
8 (as defined in IC 32-30-6-1) without the permission of the owner
9 of the agricultural operation or an authorized person, and
10 knowingly or intentionally engages in conduct that causes
11 property damage to:
12 (A) the owner of or a person having a contractual interest in
13 the agricultural operation;
14 (B) the operator of the agricultural operation; or
15 (C) a person having personal property located on the property
16 of the agricultural operation;
17 (9) not having a contractual interest in the property, knowingly or
18 intentionally enters the real property of a scientific research
19 facility (as defined in IC 35-31.5-2-287) without the permission
20 of, or with permission which was fraudulently obtained from, the
21 owner of the scientific research facility or an authorized person,
22 and knowingly or intentionally engages in conduct that causes
23 property damage to:
24 (A) the owner of or a person having a contractual interest in
25 the scientific research facility;
26 (B) the operator of the scientific research facility; or
27 (C) a person having personal property located on the property
28 of the scientific research facility;
29 (10) knowingly or intentionally enters the property of another
30 person after being denied entry by a court order that has been
31 issued to the person or issued to the general public by
32 conspicuous posting on or around the premises in areas where a
33 person can observe the order when the property has been
34 designated by a municipality or county enforcement authority to
35 be:
36 (A) a vacant property;
37 (B) an abandoned property;
38 (C) an abandoned structure (as defined in IC 36-7-36-1); or
39 (D) an unsafe building or an unsafe premises (as described in
40 IC 36-7-9); or
41 (11) knowingly or intentionally enters or refuses to leave the polls
42 (as defined in IC 3-5-2-39) or chute (as defined in IC 3-5-2-10)
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1 after having been prohibited from entering or asked to leave the
2 polls or chute by a precinct election officer (as defined in
3 IC 3-5-2-40.1) or a law enforcement officer acting on behalf of a
4 precinct election officer; or
5 (12) knowingly or intentionally enters or refuses to leave an
6 area of a government building that is:
7 (A) marked as restricted;
8 (B) designated as employee or authorized personnel only;
9 or
10 (C) locked or otherwise not accessible to the public;
11 without permission or prior authorization or after being
12 asked to leave the area of a government building by a law
13 enforcement officer or an employee or agent of the
14 government agency;
15 commits criminal trespass, a Class A misdemeanor. However, the
16 offense is a Level 6 felony if it is committed on a scientific research
17 facility, on a facility belonging to a public utility (as defined in
18 IC 32-24-1-5.9(a)), on school property, or on a school bus or the person
19 has a prior unrelated conviction for an offense under this section
20 concerning the same property. The offense is a Level 6 felony, for
21 purposes of subdivision (8), if the property damage is more than seven
22 hundred fifty dollars ($750) and less than fifty thousand dollars
23 ($50,000). The offense is a Level 5 felony, for purposes of subdivisions
24 (8) and (9), if the property damage is at least fifty thousand dollars
25 ($50,000).
26 (c) A person has been denied entry under subsection (b)(1) when the
27 person has been denied entry by means of:
28 (1) personal communication, oral or written;
29 (2) posting or exhibiting a notice at the main entrance in a manner
30 that is either prescribed by law or likely to come to the attention
31 of the public;
32 (3) a hearing authority or court order under IC 32-30-6,
33 IC 32-30-7, IC 32-30-8, IC 36-7-9, or IC 36-7-36; or
34 (4) posting the property by placing identifying purple marks on
35 trees or posts around the area where entry is denied.
36 (d) For the purposes of subsection (c)(4):
37 (1) each purple mark must be readily visible to any person
38 approaching the property and must be placed:
39 (A) on a tree:
40 (i) as a vertical line of at least eight (8) inches in length and
41 with the bottom of the mark at least three (3) feet and not
42 more than five (5) feet from the ground; and
2024 IN 1338—LS 7057/DI 149 6
1 (ii) not more than one hundred (100) feet from the nearest
2 other marked tree; or
3 (B) on a post:
4 (i) with the mark covering at least the top two (2) inches of
5 the post, and with the bottom of the mark at least three (3)
6 feet and not more than five (5) feet six (6) inches from the
7 ground; and
8 (ii) not more than thirty-six (36) feet from the nearest other
9 marked post; and
10 (2) before a purple mark that would be visible from both sides of
11 a fence shared by different property owners or lessees may be
12 applied, all of the owners or lessees of the properties must agree
13 to post the properties with purple marks under subsection (c)(4).
14 (e) A law enforcement officer may not deny entry to property or ask
15 a person to leave a property under subsection (b)(7) unless there is
16 reasonable suspicion that criminal activity has occurred or is occurring.
17 (f) A person described in subsection (b)(7) or (b)(10) violates
18 subsection (b)(7) or (b)(10), as applicable, unless the person has the
19 written permission of the owner, the owner's agent, an enforcement
20 authority, or a court to come onto the property for purposes of
21 performing maintenance, repair, or demolition.
22 (g) A person described in subsection (b)(10) violates subsection
23 (b)(10) unless the court that issued the order denying the person entry
24 grants permission for the person to come onto the property.
25 (h) Subsections (b), (c), and (g) do not apply to the following:
26 (1) A passenger on a train.
27 (2) An employee of a railroad carrier while engaged in the
28 performance of official duties.
29 (3) A law enforcement officer, firefighter, or emergency response
30 personnel while engaged in the performance of official duties.
31 (4) A person going on railroad property in an emergency to rescue
32 a person or animal from harm's way or to remove an object that
33 the person reasonably believes poses an imminent threat to life or
34 limb.
35 (5) A person on the station grounds or in the depot of a railroad
36 carrier:
37 (A) as a passenger; or
38 (B) for the purpose of transacting lawful business.
39 (6) A:
40 (A) person; or
41 (B) person's:
42 (i) family member;
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1 (ii) invitee;
2 (iii) employee;
3 (iv) agent; or
4 (v) independent contractor;
5 going on a railroad's right-of-way for the purpose of crossing at a
6 private crossing site approved by the railroad carrier to obtain
7 access to land that the person owns, leases, or operates.
8 (7) A person having written permission from the railroad carrier
9 to go on specified railroad property.
10 (8) A representative of the Indiana department of transportation
11 while engaged in the performance of official duties.
12 (9) A representative of the federal Railroad Administration while
13 engaged in the performance of official duties.
14 (10) A representative of the National Transportation Safety Board
15 while engaged in the performance of official duties.
2024 IN 1338—LS 7057/DI 149