Public safety., the official text

Second Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2026)

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 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

  SENATE ENROLLED ACT No. 160

   AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning criminal law and
procedure.

   Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:

   SECTION 1. IC 35-31.5-2-195.5 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
[EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2026]: Sec. 195.5. "Mask", for purposes of
IC 35-38-1-7.1, means a covering or device worn over the face for
the purpose of concealing or disguising the wearer's identity.

   SECTION 2. IC 35-31.5-2-273.2, AS ADDED BY P.L.13-2013,
SECTION 129, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS
[EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2026]: Sec. 273.2. "Refuse", for purposes of
IC 35-45-3-2 and IC 35-45-3-4, has the meaning set forth in
IC 35-45-3-2(b).

   SECTION 3. IC 35-38-1-7.1, AS AMENDED BY P.L.218-2025,
SECTION 16, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2026]: Sec. 7.1. (a) In determining what sentence to impose
for a crime, the court may consider the following aggravating
circumstances:

      (1) The harm, injury, loss, or damage suffered by the victim of an
      offense was:

         (A) significant; and
         (B) greater than the elements necessary to prove the
         commission of the offense.
      (2) The person has a history of criminal or delinquent behavior.

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      (3) The victim of the offense was less than twelve (12) years of
      age or at least sixty-five (65) years of age at the time the person
      committed the offense.
      (4) The person:

         (A) committed a crime of violence (IC 35-50-1-2); and
         (B) knowingly committed the offense in the presence or within
         hearing of an individual who:

            (i) was less than eighteen (18) years of age at the time the
            person committed the offense; and
            (ii) is not the victim of the offense.
      (5) The person violated a protective order issued against the
      person under IC 34-26-5 (or IC 31-1-11.5, IC 34-26-2, or
      IC 34-4-5.1 before their repeal), a workplace violence restraining
      order issued against the person under IC 34-26-6, or a no contact
      order issued against the person.
      (6) The person has recently violated the conditions of any
      probation, parole, pardon, community corrections placement, or
      pretrial release granted to the person.
      (7) The victim of the offense was:
         (A) a person with a disability (as defined in IC 27-7-6-12), and
         the defendant knew or should have known that the victim was
         a person with a disability; or
         (B) mentally or physically infirm.
      (8) The person was in a position having care, custody, or control
      of the victim of the offense.
      (9) The injury to or death of the victim of the offense was the
      result of shaken baby syndrome (as defined in IC 16-41-40-2) or
      abusive head trauma.
      (10) The person threatened to harm the victim of the offense or a
      witness if the victim or witness told anyone about the offense.
      (11) The person:
         (A) committed trafficking with an inmate under
         IC 35-44.1-3-5; and
         (B) is an employee of the penal facility.
      (12) The person committed the offense with bias due to the
      victim's or the group's real or perceived characteristic, trait, belief,
      practice, association, or other attribute the court chooses to
      consider, including but not limited to an attribute described in
      IC 10-13-3-1.
      (13) The person is or has been an alien (as defined by 8 U.S.C.
      1101(a)) unlawfully present in the United States. A determination
      by the United States Department of Homeland Security that an

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      alien has come to, entered, or remained in the United States in
      violation of law is evidence that the alien is or has been
      unlawfully present in the United States.
      (14) The offense involved dealing in a controlled substance under
      IC 35-48-4 and the person distributed the controlled substance to
      at least three (3) different individuals in a one hundred eighty
      (180) day period.
      (15) The person committed the offense while wearing a mask.
   (b) The court may consider the following factors as mitigating
circumstances or as favoring suspending the sentence and imposing
probation:
      (1) The crime neither caused nor threatened serious harm to
      persons or property, or the person did not contemplate that it
      would do so.
      (2) The crime was the result of circumstances unlikely to recur.
      (3) The victim of the crime induced or facilitated the offense.
      (4) There are substantial grounds tending to excuse or justify the
      crime, though failing to establish a defense.
      (5) The person acted under strong provocation.
      (6) The person has no history of delinquency or criminal activity,
      or the person has led a law-abiding life for a substantial period
      before commission of the crime.
      (7) The person is likely to respond affirmatively to probation or
      short term imprisonment.
      (8) The character and attitudes of the person indicate that the
      person is unlikely to commit another crime.
      (9) The person has made or will make restitution to the victim of
      the crime for the injury, damage, or loss sustained.
      (10) Imprisonment of the person will result in undue hardship to
      the person or the dependents of the person.
      (11) The person was convicted of a crime involving the use of
      force against a person who had repeatedly inflicted physical or
      sexual abuse upon the convicted person and evidence shows that
      the convicted person suffered from the effects of battery as a
      result of the past course of conduct of the individual who is the
      victim of the crime for which the person was convicted.
      (12) The person was convicted of a crime relating to a controlled
      substance and the person's arrest or prosecution was facilitated in
      part because the person:

         (A) requested emergency medical assistance; or
         (B) acted in concert with another person who requested
         emergency medical assistance;

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      for an individual who reasonably appeared to be in need of
      medical assistance due to the use of alcohol or a controlled
      substance.
      (13) The person has posttraumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain
      injury, or a postconcussive brain injury.
      (14) The person is a person described in IC 31-30-1-4(d) who
      committed the offense while the person was a child but is now at
      least twenty-one (21) years of age.
      (15) The offense involved a controlled substance under
      IC 35-48-4 and the person:

         (A) sought treatment:
            (i) in the three hundred sixty-five (365) day period
            preceding the date of the commission of the offense; or
            (ii) on or after the date on which the person committed the
            offense, but before sentencing; and

         (B) successfully completed treatment:
            (i) in the three hundred sixty-five (365) day period
            preceding the date of the commission of the offense; or
            (ii) on or after the date on which the person committed the
            offense, but before sentencing.

   (c) The criteria listed in subsections (a) and (b) do not limit the
matters that the court may consider in determining the sentence.

   (d) A court may impose any sentence that is:
      (1) authorized by statute; and
      (2) permissible under the Constitution of the State of Indiana;

regardless of the presence or absence of aggravating circumstances or
mitigating circumstances.

   (e) If a court suspends a sentence and orders probation for a person
described in subsection (b)(13), the court may require the person to
receive treatment for the person's injuries.

   SECTION 4. IC 35-45-3-4 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY
1, 2026]: Sec. 4. A person who places or leaves refuse on the
property of another person, with the intent to cause:

      (1) the owner or occupant of the property;
      (2) an invitee of the owner or occupant of the property; or
      (3) a family member or person closely associated with a
      person described in subdivision (1) or (2);
to reasonably fear for their physical safety, commits malicious
littering, a Class A misdemeanor.

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President of the Senate

President Pro Tempore

Speaker of the House of Representatives

Governor of the State of Indiana

Date:                             Time:

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