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Panel backs measure to require seven‑day notice to local law enforcement when serious violent offenders are released
Summary
House Bill 12-50 would require the Department of Correction to provide at least seven days' electronic notice to local sheriffs, prosecutors and chiefs of police before the release of a serious violent felon; the committee adopted multiple consent amendments to expand victim notification rights and address juvenile adjudications and then held the bill open with an apparent unanimous tally.
Representative Tim O’Brien described House Bill 12-50 as a victim‑centered bill to strengthen public safety by requiring the Department of Correction to provide at least seven days’ advance electronic notice to receiving local law enforcement and prosecutors when a serious violent offender will be released. “This advanced notice will allow law enforcement to coordinate, prepare, and take appropriate steps to protect the public,” O’Brien said.
Committee members offered and the committee adopted three consent amendments: one that explicitly gives victims the right to be informed about the progress of their criminal case; a second to ensure that hiring law enforcement agencies receive complete and unredacted discipline documents when vetting applicants (language to address nonresponsive agencies); and a third to require notification in some juvenile adjudication circumstances when the juvenile was sentenced for a serious violent felony.
Diana Merced, Vanderburgh County prosecutor, and other prosecutors told the committee the bill is a practical fix to existing notification gaps; Merced said some releases previously occurred without local agencies knowing the person was coming back into the community. Victim advocates from Raindrops Rising and other groups urged passage, citing cases where families were not alerted and safety concerns followed. Committee members moved the bill and recorded a favorable tally; the bill was held open as members completed other committee business.
