The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Indiana requires all counties to establish a wandering-prevention program for cognitive disorders by 2027
Last action · January 5, 2026: First reading: referred to Committee on Local GovernmentSponsors: Tonya Pfaff and 1 other
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What This Bill Proposed
Indiana counties must establish and maintain a program by January 1, 2027, to protect and locate individuals prone to wandering due to cognitive disorders. The state is tasked with ensuring compliance and reporting to the general assembly by March 1, 2027.
County fiscal bodies must appropriate and approve local funds to implement the tracking and protection service, while law enforcement and fire agencies gain access to the locational equipment and network.
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
Counties must establish and maintain a Project Lifesaver program and appropriate local funds to support it.
Law enforcement and fire agencies
Agencies receive access to tracking programs designed to protect and locate individuals with cognitive disorders.
Division of disability and rehabilitative services
The division must oversee county compliance, report to the general assembly, and is authorized to adopt administrative rules.
Key Facts
- Each county in Indiana must establish and maintain its own Project Lifesaver program by January 1, 2027.
- County fiscal bodies are required to appropriate and approve the necessary money for compliance.
- The division of disability and rehabilitative services must ensure county compliance with the program mandate.
- The division must report county compliance to the general assembly in an electronic format no later than March 1, 2027.
Show all 6 facts
- Project Lifesaver is defined as a community-based, public safety, nonprofit organization providing tracking and protection tools for individuals with cognitive disorders prone to wandering.
- The division of disability and rehabilitative services is granted authority to adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to carry out the chapter.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do Indiana counties need to have the Project Lifesaver program running?
Who is responsible for paying for the county program?
Which state agency oversees county compliance?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
3 actions- Jan 5, 2026HouseIntroducedFirst reading: referred to Committee on Local Government
- Jan 5, 2026HouseCoauthored by Representative Andrade
- Jan 5, 2026HouseAuthored by Representative Pfaff
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.
Mandatory Expansion of Public Safety Tracking
Shifts Project Lifesaver from an optional or localized program into a mandatory county-level requirement across Indiana.
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
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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