Rokita selects new lead attorney for major state litigation
attorney General Todd Rokita has selected an attorney with a decade of legal experience to serve as the primary representative for the state of Indiana in major cases heard by top courts at the federal and state level.
James Barta was named Indiana’s solicitor general Monday after spending the past year working under former Solicitor General Thomas Fisher, Indiana’s only solicitor general before Barta and a Jasper County native, who left the attorney general’s office in August after 18 years to work on legal matters for an Indianapolis school choice organization.
Rokita, a Republican, described Barta as a “constitutional stalwart” and “dedicated defender of liberty,” who he selected from “a national pool of top-notch attorneys” to represent the state’s interests in high-profile criminal and civil litigation.
“I know James Barta is the right choice for Indiana,” Rokita said. “James is not only brilliant, he is tenacious and excited to represent Hoosiers in this new role before the highest courts of the land.”
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Barta is a graduate of Patrick Henry College, a tiny Christian conservative school in Virginia, and earned his law degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
His career highlights prior to coming to Indiana include clerking for a federal judge in Michigan and a Michigan-based federal appellate judge, followed by work in intellectual property and energy law as an associate, and briefly as a partner, at MoloLamken LLP, a boutique law firm based in Washington, D.C.
The new solicitor general said following his appointment that he is “incredibly grateful and humbled by this opportunity to serve my state and my fellow Hoosiers.”
“Ever since first studying our nation’s history and ideals, I have desired to advance the rule of law, preserve our system of government and defend Americans’ liberties. It is a privilege to serve those causes in this new role,” Barta said.
Gallery: Get to know these new Indiana laws that took effect July 1
AirTags
The unlawful use of a remote tracking device, such as an Apple AirTag, is in most cases a felony, punishable by up to 2½ years behind bars for a repeat offense or if the person being tracked has a protective order against the tracker, or 6 years in prison if the equipment is used for stalking. Prosecutors may also seek a penalty enhancement of up to 6 additional years in prison if the person employing a remote tracking device commits another felony causing serious bodily injury while using the equipment. (Senate Enrolled Act 161)
Alcohol permits
The city of Valparaiso is awarded five extra alcohol-sales permits for downtown restaurants. The new permits may be deployed at properties up to 1,500 feet outside the historic district centered on the Porter County Courthouse, instead of the former 700-foot maximum distance. (House Enrolled Act 1200)
Animal facilities
All newly constructed or remodeled facilities for dogs and cats, including animal shelters, veterinary offices, pet shops and boarding centers, must have an operating fire alarm system that automatically contacts the local fire or police department, or staff present in the building any time a dog or cat is on site. The mandate follows a 2021 inferno at an Indianapolis pet shop that killed more than 100 animals. (Senate Enrolled Act 277)
Army veteran in Aberdeen repeatedly victimized by teens, calling him a ‘terrorist’
Mohamad Darwish, 42, lives in the upscale subdivision of Aberdeen, just southwest of Valparaiso. Other homeowners there have also been victimized by likely this same group of juveniles since this summer.
Book bans
Every public school board and charter school governing body is required to establish a procedure for the parent of any student, or any person residing in the school district, to request the removal of library materials deemed “obscene” or “harmful to minors.” School districts must also post a list of the complete holdings of its school libraries on each school’s website and provide a printed copy of the library catalogue to any individual upon request. (House Enrolled Act 1447)
Bullying
All Indiana school corporations must update their discipline rules to include provisions prioritizing the safety of bullying victims, as well as to ensure bullying incidents are reported to the parents of the victim and the alleged perpetrator no more than five business days following the incident. School corporations may also set guidelines for determining whether a bullying incident warrants the forced transfer of the victim or the alleged perpetrator to a different school in the district. (House Enrolled Act 1483)
Charter schools
The proceeds of each new voter-approved school funding referendum in Lake County must be shared with local charter schools in proportion to the number of children living in the school district who attend charter schools. Beginning July 1, 2024, all incremental property tax revenue growth at Lake County school districts must be shared on a proportional basis with local charter schools. (Senate Enrolled Act 391, House Enrolled Act 1001)
Child molesting
A person over age 21 who has sex with a child less than 14 years old may be sentenced to a maximum term of 50 years in prison, instead of 40. Athletic coaches and workplace supervisors in Indiana no longer are permitted to engage in sexual conduct with certain individuals between ages 16 and 18, similar to other adults in a position of authority over children. (Senate Enrolled Act 301, House Enrolled Act 1228)
Children’s hospitals
Northwest Indiana families covered by Medicaid will continue to have access to children’s hospitals in neighboring states after Hoosier lawmakers agreed to maintain Indiana’s increased payment rates for services at out-of-state children’s hospitals first authorized in 2021. (House Enrolled Act 1313)
Domestic violence
Individuals arrested for any of 13 domestic violence-related offenses must be jailed without bail for at least 24 hours after arrest — triple the state’s former eight-hour cooling-off period. The crime of invasion of privacy also is a Level 6 felony, instead of a Class A misdemeanor, if the person has a prior, unrelated conviction for stalking. (Senate Enrolled Act 158)
Drinking water
Every child care center, child care home and preschool in Indiana is obligated to test its drinking water for lead at least once before Jan. 1, 2026. If the test shows a lead level higher 15 parts per billion, the person responsible for the facility or preschool must either entirely eliminate the lead in the drinking water or install a state-approved lead filtering system. (House Enrolled Act 1138)
Electric/hybrid vehicles
The state’s special annual fee imposed on owners of electric and hybrid vehicles to make up for their reduced fuel-tax payments increases approximately 44% on Jan. 1, 2024, to account for inflation since the fees first were enacted in 2017. The new rates are $214 for electric vehicles and $72 for hybrid vehicles. (House Enrolled Act 1050)
Encroachment
Twenty-five feet is set as the minimum bystander distance if a police officer orders a person to stop approaching when the officer is lawfully engaged in the execution of his or her official duties. Police and firefighters may clear an area 25 feet away from any emergency incident, such as a car crash or fire, or a greater distance if the area is marked using flags, barricades or emergency tape. (House Enrolled Act 1186)
FAFSA
Every high school senior attending an Indiana public, charter or voucher-accepting private school is required to fill out and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) before April 15 to determine their eligibility for grants and loans for postsecondary education. There are no penalties for students or families who fail to fulfill the FAFSA mandate. (Senate Enrolled Act 167)
Financial literacy
Successful completion of a one-semester financial literacy class is a new graduation requirement at every public, charter and private high school in Indiana, beginning with the class of 2028. The course must cover basic money management principles, debt management, retirement and investment accounts, taxes, loan applications, interest rate computation, credit scores, personal insurance policies and simple contracts, among other topics. (Senate Enrolled Act 35)
Firefighting equipment
All firefighting gear purchased in Indiana beginning July 1, 2024, must include a permanently affixed label indicating whether it contains PFAS, potentially cancer-causing substances, also known as “forever chemicals,” used in firefighting equipment because they’re heat- and moisture-resistant. The Indiana Department of Homeland Security is directed to establish a biomonitoring pilot program to sample the blood of up to 1,000 current and retired firefighters for PFAS. (House Enrolled Act 1341, 1219)
Food and beverage tax
The Merrillville Town Council may impose a food and beverage tax of up to 1% on all dine-in and take-home food and drinks sold at Merrillville eateries, bars and similar outlets. If adopted, the town plans to use the money to construct an 18,000-square foot expansion of the indoor recreational amenities at the Dean and Barbara White Community Center to attract more sports tournaments and out-of-town visitors to Merrillville. (House Enrolled Act 1454)
Gender-affirming care
Indiana hospitals and medical providers cannot administer any treatment, including hormone therapy, puberty-blocking drugs or surgeries, intended to transition the gender of a person under age 18, even if the child has their parent’s consent and financial support. Hoosier children currently receiving gender transition hormone therapy must end their treatment by Dec. 31 and de-transition. A federal judge concluded June 16 that most of this law likely is unconstitutional and temporarily halted its enforcement. (Senate Enrolled Act 480)
Gary schools
A five-member, appointed school board is reestablished for the Gary Community School Corp. to eventually replace the Indiana Distressed Unit Appeals Board as the governing body for the formerly cash-strapped school district. Gary’s mayor and the Gary Common Council appoint one member each, and the three others are chosen by the Indiana secretary of education, including at least one Gary resident, one resident of Gary or Lake County, and a final member from anywhere. (Senate Enrolled Act 327)
Gasoline tax
Indiana’s gasoline tax increases by one penny to 34 cents per gallon, and by an additional penny each July 1 through 2027 to account for inflation. The rate was just 18 cents per gallon as recently as June 30, 2017, prior to enactment of the Republican road funding plan. (House Enrolled Act 1001)
Human trafficking
First-time applicants for a commercial driver’s license must watch an instructional video on how to recognize, prevent and report human trafficking as a condition of receiving a CDL. (House Enrolled Act 1196)
Illiana Expressway
All references in state law to the never-constructed Illiana Expressway, a public-private toll road that would have connected Interstate 65 in south Lake County to Interstate 55 near Joliet, Illinois, in an effort to relieve through-truck congestion on the Borman Expressway, are deleted in the hope of ending Illiana uncertainty that has depressed property values and slowed development in south Lake County. (Senate Enrolled Act 44)
Inmate gender
The Indiana Department of Correction cannot use any state or federal dollars to provide “sexual reassignment surgery” to state prison inmates, even if the surgery is deemed medically necessary. (House Enrolled Act 1569)
Insurance fund
The state insurance commissioner may begin the process of permanently closing the funds operated by the largely inactive Indiana Political Subdivision Risk Management Commission and returning the $5 million remaining in the commission’s accounts to entities including the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District and the city of Portage. (Senate Enrolled Act 353)
Juror pay
The pay for prospective jurors is doubled to $30 a day while seated jurors must be paid $80 a day for the first five days of a trial, and $90 for each trial day thereafter. Prospective and seated jurors also continue to be entitled to a daily mileage reimbursement for travel to and from the court. It’s Indiana’s first juror pay increase in a quarter-century. (House Enrolled Act 1466)
Juveniles
Law enforcement officers no longer can intentionally lie to children under age 18 during an interrogation in an effort to secure a confession or for any other purpose. In addition, a police officer who takes a child into custody at a school, or during a school-sponsored event, must attempt to immediately notify the student’s parent, guardian or emergency contact. (Senate Enrolled Act 415)
Lake County convention center
The Lake County Board of Commissioners must begin soliciting proposals to construct and operate a convention center and adjacent hotel. The Lake County Council may increase the innkeepers’ tax rate on hotel stays up to 10% from 5% to partially fund the convention center. The city of Gary can obtain up to $3 million a year for blighted building demolition from the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority, so long as the city puts up a matching amount. (Senate Enrolled Act 434)
Lake County recorder
The Lake County Council is authorized to make a one-time transfer from the county’s overstuffed elected officials training fund to the recorder’s records perpetuation fund to help complete projects underway for the past two years aimed at improving accuracy in the county’s record-keeping systems. (Senate Enrolled Act 65)
Landlords
Utility companies may ask a judge to appoint a receiver when a multifamily residential property owner with more than four units hasn’t paid a utility bill for the property for an extended period of time. If appointed, the receiver would have broad powers to operate the rental property in place of the landlord, including the authority to collect rents, pay debts and even sell the property. (Senate Enrolled Act 114)
Little Calumet River
The Little Calumet River Basin Development Commission is subject only to directives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers when engaged in the removal of sediment and flood-causing debris, or when making improvements to the riverbank. It’s not obligated to follow Indiana Department of Environmental Management mandates that go above and beyond federal requirements. (Senate Enrolled Act 412)
Lost farmland
The Indiana Department of Agriculture is directed to conduct an inventory of all farmland lost in the state between 2010 and 2022, and to identify the primary cause of the farmland reduction. The agency must submit a report to the General Assembly by July 1, 2024, detailing its findings and any recommendations, including potential legislation. (House Enrolled Act 1557)
Machine guns
The definition of machine gun is revised to include a firearm with an attached “switch,” or any similar device, that enables fully automatic shooting with a single pull of the trigger. A person with a switch attached to their gun is subject to a variety of state penalty enhancements for the possession or use of a machine gun. (House Enrolled Act 1365)
Mail-in ballots
To receive an absentee ballot, Indiana citizens age 18 and up submitting a paper application for a mail-in ballot must now provide their driver’s license number, state identification card number, or voter identification number, along with the last four digits of their Social Security number, or a photocopy of the voter’s driver’s license or state ID card. (House Enrolled Act 1334)
Mental health
An additional $50 million is provided to expand community mental health services across the state, a toll-free help line to provide confidential emotional support and referrals is created, Indiana is authorized to participate in the national 9-8-8 suicide and crisis lifeline, and the Indiana Behavioral Health Commission is reestablished. (Senate Enrolled Act 1)
Military bases
Citizens of China, Iran, North Korea and Russia, and companies based in or controlled by individuals from those counties, are prohibited from leasing, purchasing or otherwise acquiring real property located adjacent to any military installation in Indiana. (Senate Enrolled Act 477)
Military pay
Military wages earned by a member of an active or reserve component of the United States armed forces or National Guard are 100% exempt from Indiana income tax. The tax exemption is expected to reduce state and local income tax receipts by $30 million to $50 million a year. (House Enrolled Act 1034)
Pension investments
The $45 billion Indiana Public Retirement System is prohibited from contracting with investment managers who consider environmental, social or governance (ESG) factors — such as reducing air pollution or ensuring diverse corporate board membership — when making investment decisions, unless the INPRS board determines ESG investments are in the financial best interest of its members. INPRS also is required to divest all of its holdings that are closely associated with the People’s Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party. (House Enrolled Act 1008, Senate Enrolled Act 268)
Public health
More state resources are available to local public health departments to prioritize preventative health care and enact other organizational and mission-driven reforms following the COVID-19 pandemic. Altogether, $225 million is appropriated over two years to begin the work. (Senate Enrolled Act 4)
School board elections
The start of the 30-day school board filing period is shifted in 2024 to mid-May from late-July to give Hoosier voters more time to learn about the nonpartisan candidates running for local school boards and what they stand for. (Senate Enrolled Act 177)
Service animals
Only a dog or miniature horse qualifies as a service animal for individuals with disabilities in Indiana. Facilities open to the public must take reasonable steps to accommodate a disabled Hoosier assisted by a dog or miniature horse. (House Enrolled Act 1354)
Sex education
Teachers and other school personnel are explicitly prohibited from providing instruction on “human sexuality” to students in prekindergarten through third grade. Indiana schools typically don’t provide any kind of sex education until at least fifth grade, except for state-mandated programs focused on preventing child abuse and child sexual abuse, which must continue under the law. (House Enrolled Act 1608)
SNAP assistance
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration is directed to simplify the process for senior citizens and disabled Hoosiers to apply for federal food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP. Qualified applicants automatically remain eligible for SNAP benefits for up to three years, so long as they annually certify their income remains at or below the level required to receive SNAP assistance. (Senate Enrolled Act 334)
Speed cameras
The Indiana Department of Transportation is authorized to use camera enforcement to ticket motorists exceeding the speed limit by at least 11 mph in highway work zones. Speeding motorists would get off with a warning for a first violation, a $75 fine for the second and a $150 fine for each subsequent violation. (House Enrolled Act 1015)
State comptroller
The office of auditor of state is redesignated as the “state comptroller” for all public and legal purposes to better reflect its duties overseeing state accounting tasks and financial reporting, and to try to eliminate the mistaken belief that it audits the books of local governments or the tax returns of individual Hoosiers. (House Enrolled Act 1001)
Storage units
Storage companies are authorized to seize the storage unit of a delinquent renter just five days after a missed payment, instead of 30 days. An auction of the stored contents may be held if the rent remains unpaid after 60 days, instead of 90. (House Enrolled Act 1621)
Tax sales
Individuals barred from bidding on tax sale properties, due to unpaid property taxes of their own or for any other reason, are prohibited from being assigned a tax sale certificate by another successful bidder. Lake County also may begin using other means to dispose of land parcels with unpaid property taxes that otherwise continually churn through tax sales. (Senate Enrolled Acts 156 and 157)
Taxpayer receipt
The Indiana Department of Revenue must make available to each Hoosier who paid income taxes in the prior year a detailed receipt showing how the money paid by the taxpayer is being spent by the state. The receipt must be provided in an electronic format on a state website. (House Enrolled Act 1499)
Teachers unions
School superintendents no longer have a statutory obligation to regularly meet with the union representative of school employees, outside of collective bargaining periods, to discuss various issues relating to school operations, such as curriculum, teaching materials, hiring and retention, performance evaluations, student discipline, class size, school safety and working hours. (Senate Enrolled Act 486)
Throwing stars
The easily concealable, star-shaped, knife-like weapons with blades set at different angles are treated the same as other types of knives recognized by Indiana — ending a nearly four-decade state throwing star ban. Throwing stars still cannot be brought to a school, on a school bus or another student transport vehicle. (Senate Enrolled Act 77)
Transit Development District
The Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA) is authorized to establish a Transit Development District (TDD) centered on Valparaiso’s bus station at 260 Brown St., and to sell bonds to speed construction of nearby transit-oriented residential and retail development, subject to local planning and zoning ordinances. The borrowed funds will be paid back using the captured growth of state income and local property tax revenues in the TDD. (House Enrolled Act 1046)
21st Century Scholars
Eligible students automatically are enrolled in the state’s 21st Century Scholars program that guarantees a low- or no-cost college education to individuals who comply with program guidelines. The Indiana Commission for Higher Education must inform eligible students and their families of their enrollment in the program, along with the academic requirements the student must meet to obtain and maintain a college tuition scholarship. (House Enrolled Act 1449)
Valparaiso lawsuit
Valparaiso’s legal efforts to require video streaming services pay a franchise fee of 5% of local gross revenue for using equipment located in the public right-of-way to transmit programming, similar to cable television companies, are squelched by a retroactive law specifically exempting streaming services from the fee. (House Enrolled Act 1454)
Xylazine
Coroners in all 92 Indiana counties must test apparent opioid overdose victims for xylazine. Also known as “Tranq,” xylazine is a sedative and pain reliever primarily used in veterinary medicine that’s increasingly being cut into supplies of fentanyl, cocaine and heroin, putting users of those substances at higher risk of suffering fatal drug poisoning. (House Enrolled Act 1286)
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