Citizen Portal
Sign In

Committee adopts substitute to reclassify attempting to elude into felony tiers

Judiciary Committee · January 29, 2026

Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts

Subscribe
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

The Judiciary Committee adopted a substitute to House Bill 37 that raises penalties for attempting to elude a law enforcement officer, making certain offenses felonies with enhanced levels for children in the vehicle and repeat offenders; substitute and the bill received favorable reports.

The Judiciary Committee on Wednesday approved a substitute to House Bill 37 that reclassifies attempting to elude a law‑enforcement officer into felony categories with enhanced penalties in specified circumstances.

Sponsor comments and committee discussion described the substitute as aligning penalties with the "inherent danger" of the act. The substitute would: establish attempting to elude as a class D felony; enhance to class C if a child under 14 is in the vehicle; enhance to class C when the offender is on pretrial release; and include higher felony levels for repeat offenses or for attempts to strike an officer.

A committee member moved to adopt the substitute; the motion was seconded and the committee agreed to give the substitute a favorable report by voice vote. The committee then moved and recorded a favorable report on the bill as substituted.

Sponsor and supporters said the changes are intended to better protect minors and officers while matching penalty levels to the risks involved. No roll‑call vote tally was recorded in the transcript; the record shows adoption by voice vote and the committee's favorable report.

Next steps: The bill, as substituted, will move forward following committee procedures for the chamber.