Committee clears bill removing test strips from paraphernalia statute; ACLU urges passage

The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee voted to pass House Bill 1167, a measure that removes drug test strips from the state’s paraphernalia classification, clearing the bill as amended.

Representative Jennifer Meltzer, sponsor of HB1167, told the committee the amendment narrows the original language but retains the bill’s core purpose: making clear that test strips used to detect fentanyl, xylazine and other contaminants are not paraphernalia under the criminal code. “The amendment gets to the same underlying goal of the original bill of allowing test strips to no longer be considered paraphernalia under the criminal code,” Meltzer said.

Samantha Bresnahan, senior policy specialist at the ACLU of Indiana, testified in support and urged a yes vote. “Test strips are a proven harm reduction tool and this legislation gives Indiana the opportunity to join the 45 other states that have legalized and benefited from their effectiveness,” Bresnahan said.

Meltzer described the strips as a way for individuals using drugs to check substances for fentanyl or xylazine and make safer choices; she said prosecutors rarely charge people in Indiana for possession of strips but the bill would protect health departments, nonprofits and local governments that distribute them. The committee did not receive opposing testimony.

Following brief committee discussion, a motion to pass the bill as amended was made and seconded. The committee completed a roll-call vote recorded in the transcript as 130 yes; no no-votes or abstentions were announced.

HB1167, as amended, narrows the statutory language in section 45 to exclude test strips from paraphernalia definitions; sponsors said the change is intended to allow harm-reduction distribution by government and nonprofit actors without fear of paraphernalia charges. The bill will advance per regular legislative procedure.