Indiana lawmakers pass legislation restricting bail organizations, targeting crime in Indy

Lawrence Andrea
Indianapolis Star

Indiana lawmakers late Tuesday night sent Gov. Eric Holcomb legislation that opponents say would severely limit the ability of charitable bail organizations to help poor Hoosiers.

The measure, House Bill 1300, would prevent those organizations from bailing out anyone charged with a violent crime in Indiana, as well as anyone with a past conviction for a violent crime who is charged with any new felony.

Nonprofits who bail out more than three people in a 180 day period would have to pay a $300 certification fee every two years under the legislation, and groups that receive grant funding from the state and local governments would be prohibited from bailing indigent people out of jail. 

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The proposal passed the House and Senate out of conference committee and went to Holcomb in the final hours of Indiana's 2022 legislative session. Its measures had been the topic of, at times, heated debate during the past months, drawing criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike

Holcomb has not indicated whether he would support the effort.

Much of the legislation, which underwent changes during the committee review process, was proposed in response to increasing violent crime in the Indianapolis area. Specifically, it took aim at recent instances in which people out on bail were later accused of committing violent acts.

April Angermeier, right, gets ready to take a photo of Kathleen Merchant, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019.  Angermeier is with The Bail Project.  The national nonprofit is now in Indianapolis.  It pays the bail for low-level offenders who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford bail and would have to await trial in jail.  Merchant was one of the people helped by The Bail Project.  They paid her $500 bail to get her released in June, 2019.  Her case has since been dismissed.

David Gaspar, the national director of operations for The Bail Project, has called the efforts a "direct attack" on his organization's work in Indianapolis and an "attack on those who are impoverished" in Marion County.

On Wednesday, he issued a statement saying the legislation will result in "more poor people sitting in jail at taxpayer expense without having been convicted of anything and not getting the services they need."

"Let's be honest about what happened here: a group of lawmakers exploited the public's legitimate concerns about public safety to target a charity and protect the interests of the bail bond industry," Gaspar said. "This legislation neither solves any meaningful problems nor does it make Indianapolis any safer. It is hypocritical, ineffective, doesn’t embrace real bail reform, but represents only surface-level politics and personal political ambition.”

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A number of failed measures from a Republican package of crime bills were tied into HB 1300 in recent weeks, including a proposal for a pilot program only in Marion County that would, among other things, set a minimum cash bond for people accused of violent crimes and double that bond amount for those with previous convictions for violent crimes.

The pilot program language was removed in conference committee Tuesday. Sen. Michael Young, R-Indianapolis, who originally proposed the pilot language in now-dead Senate Bill 6, declined an IndyStar request to comment.

Debate on the measures

The bill's author, Rep. Peggy Mayfield, R-Martinsville, pitched the legislation as bringing fairness to the bail system, arguing in the February committee hearing that charitable bail organizations "are not regulated in any way."

Gaspar, The Bail Project's director, however, noted the organizations are regulated like any other non-profit and are required to pass external accounting audits every year.

Others emphasized bail bond companies are able to bail out people accused of violent crimes — something this legislation would prevent charitable organizations from doing. Bail bond companies have countered that idea, claiming charitable organizations have no way to compel a defendant to go to court. Bail bond companies who post bail for a defendant can seek out compensation from a client who fails to appear. 

No matter who posts bond, a warrant can still be issued for someone who fails to appear in court.

Rep. Peggy Mayfield, right, listens as the Indiana House meets, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, in its temporary chamber at the Government Center South in Indianapolis.

Data from The Bail Project provided to Marion County Superior Court and obtained by IndyStar earlier this year indicate the project has posted bail for 980 Hoosiers since 2018. Of those, 94.7% of people appeared for their court dates, and 84% served no additional jail time. One in five people supported by The Bail Fund had their cases dismissed or were found not guilty at trial. 

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Nearly 70% of The Bail Projects clients were accused of misdemeanors and low-level felonies, the data show. The group only intervenes, Gaspar previously said, once they have assessed a person's needs "and determined we can meet them," providing court reminders and, sometimes, transportation.

“This is nothing more than hurting poor people,” Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, said in opposition to the legislation last month. “You’re not helping the community. If you want to help the community, how about you agree to do wraparound service like the charitable bail organization does?”

Still, supporters of the legislation cite safety concerns and recent instances of violence by people out on bond as reasons the tightened restrictions are needed, including the case of a man accused of shooting a Lyft driver in August of last year while out on bond for armed robbery and auto theft charges.

Other crime bills heading to Holcomb

A number of measures from the original package of bills targeting Marion County crime also have made their way to Holcomb's desk.

Earlier this month, the Senate approved House amendments to a bill that would establish new electronic monitoring standards for people on pretrial release or probation.

Led by Sen. Kyle Walker, R-Lawrence, Senate Bill 9 would require a supervising agency to notify a victim of someone out on electronic monitoring within 15 minutes of someone’s monitor going offline. It also includes language that allows for a backup verification method of a tracked person’s compliance with standards to account for accidental interference with the electronic monitors. 

And Senate Bill 7, which aims to create a formal partnership between law enforcement agencies in downtown Indianapolis, went to the governor this week out of conference committee. 

The conference committee added language to the bill from the dead Senate Bill 10, which would create a pilot grant program for law enforcement agencies to target certain high-crime areas in Marion County. The bill would allocate up to $500,000 in General Assembly appropriations and donations per fiscal year to the fund, to be administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

While some Senators took issue with SB 7 due to its lack of civilian representation on the downtown law enforcement coalition, those concerns were largely alleviated by a conference committee amendment that establishes a membership position for a resident of the downtown district.

And while HB 1300 is now in the hands of the governor, opponents of the legislation say they will continue to counter the measure. 

Hoosier Action, a grassroots advocacy organization, told IndyStar on Wednesday they have a petition circulating to encourage Holcomb not to sign the measure.

"We're very committed to continue working with members of the legislature over the spring and summer to try to get the bill, basically, undone next year," said Tracey Hutchings-Goetz, the organization's spokesperson.

"It's profoundly disappointing."

Contact Lawrence Andrea at 317-775-4313 or landrea@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @lawrencegandrea.