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Committee approves bill giving local courts more control over transfers of certain registered offenders
Summary
House Bill 1687 would require sending and receiving supervising courts to enter written orders with findings before certain registered sex offenders transfer into a new county; the committee approved the amended bill unanimously.
House Bill 1687 would change how certain registrants—described in testimony as transient registered sex offenders—are transferred between supervising courts and would impose job‑related restrictions for registrants who have more than incidental contact with unaccompanied minors. The bill requires sending and receiving supervising courts to issue written transfer orders that include specified findings; an amendment adopted by the committee incorporated those written‑findings requirements and was accepted by the bill sponsor.
Representative Smoltz, the sponsor, said the bill “puts control in the hands of a local unit to help control the migration of [registered offenders] into their community” and would require courts to consider family ties, verified non‑communal housing and the capacity of probation offices before permitting a transfer. Smoltz said the language about “family” was copied from interstate‑compact definitions to address cross‑state transfers.
Jessica Kern, president and founder of Raindrops Rising Foundation and a survivor who testified that she was trafficked for 14 years in Indiana, supported the bill and offered national FBI statistics on perpetrator recidivism to argue for stronger local controls. Public defender Joel Weneke thanked the sponsor for accepting an amendment. Michael Harris, speaking in opposition, warned the bill could further limit registrants’ access to housing and employment and argued that some community recovery programs—identified in testimony as Inspiration Ministries—are well‑supported recovery programs that should not be stigmatized.
The committee accepted an amendment by Senator Pohl that requires written orders and findings, and Representative Smoltz concurred. The amended bill passed the committee 9–0. Committee discussion included concerns about balancing community protection with registrants’ ability to find housing and jobs and inquiries about whether courts and probation departments had capacity to monitor additional transfers.
