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Read. Follow. Verify.Indiana establishes public prosecution fund and court fees to reimburse county prosecutorial expenses
Last action · January 22, 2026: Recommitted to Committee on Ways and Means pursuant to House Rule 126.3Sponsors: Gregory Steuerwald and 3 others
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What This Bill Proposed
Indiana House Bill 1344 establishes a new public prosecution fund and institutes prosecuting attorney compensation court fees of $10 for certain court actions and $50 for criminal convictions, pretrial diversions, or deferrals, effective July 1, 2026.
Counties may receive quarterly state reimbursements for deputy prosecuting attorney salaries and fringe benefits, provided the local prosecutor is not classified as noncompliant.
- Indiana prosecuting attorneys are elected officials responsible for representing the state in criminal and juvenile proceedings across each county. context
- County governments in Indiana traditionally bear the primary financial burden of funding local prosecutor office operations and staff salaries. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Counties
County auditors may submit quarterly reimbursement requests for deputy prosecuting attorney salaries and fringe benefits from the public prosecution fund.
Court defendants
Defendants involved in certain court actions, criminal convictions, pretrial diversions, or deferrals must pay new prosecuting attorney compensation fees.
Deputy prosecuting attorneys
Their salaries and fringe benefits are tied to the new county reimbursement framework funded by court fees and state appropriations.
Key Facts
- Establishes the public prosecution fund to provide county reimbursement of compensation paid to deputy prosecuting attorneys and administrative expenses.
- Imposes a prosecuting attorney compensation fee of ten dollars ($10) for certain court actions.
- Imposes a prosecuting attorney compensation fee of fifty dollars ($50) for actions resulting in a criminal conviction, a required pretrial diversion fee, or a required deferral fee.
- Provides that the public prosecution fund shall be administered by the Indiana prosecuting attorneys council.
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- Specifies that money remaining in the public prosecution fund at the end of a state fiscal year does not revert to the state general fund.
- Allows a county auditor to submit quarterly certified requests for reimbursement of deputy prosecuting attorney salaries up to 27.5% of the elected full-time prosecutor's salary, provided the deputy's salary equals at least 55% of the elected prosecutor's salary.
- Limits fringe benefit reimbursement requests to fifteen thousand one hundred forty dollars ($15,140) per qualifying deputy prosecuting attorney.
- Prohibits the state comptroller from issuing reimbursement warrants if the county's prosecuting attorney is determined to be a noncompliant prosecuting attorney.
- Sets the effective date for the provisions as July 1, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What fees are created by House Bill 1344?
Can any county receive reimbursements from the fund?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · passed the House.
Procedural history
6 actions- Jan 22, 2026HouseRecommitted to Committee on Ways and Means pursuant to House Rule 126.3
- Jan 22, 2026HouseFloorCommittee report: amend do pass, adopted
- Jan 12, 2026HouseRepresentatives Zimmerman, Bascom added as coauthors
- Jan 6, 2026HouseIntroducedFirst reading: referred to Committee on Judiciary
- Jan 6, 2026HouseCoauthored by Representative Jeter
- Jan 6, 2026HouseAuthored by Representative Steuerwald
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Creation of Dedicated Prosecution Funding
The legislation establishes a direct mechanism using court user fees to subsidize local county expenses for deputy prosecuting attorneys.
Connected Entities
Sources
iga.in.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy35Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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