STATEHOUSE – The Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee heard HB 1115 sponsored by Senator Linda Rogers regarding interfering with public safety.
The bill provides that a person who enters a marked-off area after having been denied entry by a firefighter commits interfering with public safety, a class B misdemeanor.
The bill was amended by consent to modify the obstruction of vehicle traffic statute, IC 35-44.1-2-13. The amendment creates a Level 5 felony for a person who blocks an authorized emergency vehicle which results in catastrophic injury or death.
The Indiana Fire Chiefs Association, Indiana Volunteer Firefighters Association, and Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council testified in support of the bill.
The Indiana Public Defender Council testified in opposition.
The amended bill passed 7-1.
Read the bill at:Â http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2021/bills/house/1115.
