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| Gov. Mike Pence |
This month, hundreds of bills and acts signed into law by Gov. Mike Pence during the 2014 legislative session come into effect.
New laws include stopping police officers from downloading or looking at accused criminals’ cellphones without a search warrant, protecting minors who are reporting a sex crime from alcohol-related offenses and allowing the production of industrial hemp in the state.
Here are some of the laws that came into effect July 1.
SOCIAL HOST LAW
Adults who provide a spot for minors to drink alcohol are now committing a Class B misdemeanor. This includes providing rental properties and arranging the use of a property to allow a minor to drink.
This misdemeanor moves up to Class A if the person has a prior, unrelated conviction and can become a Level 6 felony if consumption, ingestion or use of alcohol causes a serious injury or death.
CELLPHONE PRIVACY
Police are now prohibited from looking at or downloading information from cellphones unless the crime is directly related to cellphones.
The law focuses on laws concerning texting and driving.
Officers are still allowed to access phones if they have a permit or are otherwise authorized by law.
COLLEGE EPINEPHRINE
Colleges and universities are allowed to craft policies for emergency administration of epinephrine.
The drug helps ease the symptoms of people suffering from many allergic reactions.
Schools are now allowed to receive prescriptions for the drug to be kept in case of emergencies.
LIFELINE LAW EXTENDED
The state’s Lifeline Law provides immunity to a minor who has consumed alcohol to report a medical emergency for a friend.
Senate Bill 227 enhances the law, giving immunity to victims of sexual assault and a person who believes they are witnessing a crime.
The change also gives a mitigating circumstance for a person during sentencing if they were arrested in connection to a person using the law.
ALCOHOL AT STATE FAIR
Repealing a provision that prohibited alcoholic beverages at the Indiana State Fair, Hoosiers will now be able to buy a drink at the annual event that starts Aug. 1 in Indianapolis.
CRIMINAL CODE CHANGE
This bill was written to fix conflicts between several bills that concern the treatment of criminals.
First, the bill gives a court the ability to reduce or suspend a criminal’s jail sentence after they have spent a year in jail. The decision would be based on the criminal’s conduct in jail.
Another sweeping change to criminal code changes felonies from defined as “classes” to “levels.”
This breaks the Class A felony into Levels 1 and 2, the Class B felony into Levels 3 and 4, the Class C felony into Level 5 and the Class D felony into Level 6.
Several changes were made to crimes involving dealing cocaine or other narcotic drugs and methamphetamine. The penalties for certain drug offenses are stiffened if committed near a school, park or child under the age of 18.
The sentence for arson with intent to defraud, intellectual property crimes and auto theft was reduced from a Level 5 to Level 6 felony.
Possessing a pornographic image of a person younger than 18 by another person under 18 is lowered to a Class A misdemeanor if the two are in a dating relationship and both parties consent.
A lower offense category was created for someone dealing less than a gram of illegal drugs.
UNDERAGE TANNING
This new law prohibits people younger than 16 from using a tanning bed.
Previously, children under 16 could tan with the permission of a parent or legal guardian.
The bill was created and prepared by the Health Financial Commission, a committee made up of state legislators to assess the health and cost benefits of new legislation.
INDUSTRIAL HEMP
After federal approval, it will be legal to grow hemp for industrial purposes.
A grower will be required to receive a license and will be subject to inspection.
The definition of marijuana was changed to allow for the cultivation of the plant material without growing the buds of the plant, which are still illegal.
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