HB 1249 Indiana House · 2026 Regular Session

Various criminal law matters.

HB 1249 changes juvenile court jurisdiction by adding "unlawful carrying of a handgun charged as a felony" to the list of offenses where juvenile courts cannot handle cases. This means juveniles facing felony handgun charges would be processed in adult court instead of juvenile court. The bill directly affects young people under 18 charged with this specific weapon-related offense. It modifies existing law by expanding the category of serious crimes excluded from juvenile court jurisdiction, requiring such cases to move to adult criminal court proceedings. The bill passed the House unanimously (74-18) and is now before the Senate Committee on Corrections and Criminal Law.

Issues: ✗ Criminal Justice

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Jan 5, 2026 Signed Mar 12, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

House Bill (S) → House Bill (H) · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to clarify that juvenile courts retain jurisdiction over children charged with dangerous possession of a firearm under specific conditions, rather than automatically losing jurisdiction. The version also adds new felony penalties for children who possess firearms on school property or near schools, and updates the effective date to July 1, 2026.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include IC 35-47 (firearms) alongside IC 31-30 (juvenile courts), and the applicability of juvenile jurisdiction was refined to depend on the child's prior criminal record and the specific location of the offense.

ELIGIBILITY

Juvenile court jurisdiction is no longer automatically lost for all firearm offenses; it now depends on whether the child has prior convictions and the number of pending felony charges.

REQUIREMENT

Dangerous possession of a firearm is now a Level 5 felony if the child has a prior handgun conviction or possesses the firearm on school property or within 500 feet of a school.

TIMELINE

The bill's effective date was changed from January 14, 2026, to July 1, 2026.

TECHNICAL

The bill title was updated from 'HB' to 'EH' to reflect Senate approval and engrossment.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 19, 2026 · House Jan 28, 2026

How they voted

45–0

Passed · 4 other

Total votes 49

Feb 19, 2026

D Democratic9

8 Yea 1

88% Yea

R Republican40

37 Yea 3

92% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 12, 2026

Signed into law

Signed by the Governor

executive

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by the President Pro Tempore

upper

Mar 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by the Speaker

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by the President of the Senate

upper

Feb 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Rules Suspended. Conference Committee Report 1: adopted by the Senate; Roll Call 327: yeas 43, nays 4

upper

Feb 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Rules Suspended. Conference Committee Report 1: adopted by the House; Roll Call 424: yeas 96, nays 0

lower

Feb 23, 2026

Introduced

House dissented from Senate amendments

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

Third reading: passed; Roll Call 207: yeas 46, nays 0

upper

Feb 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee report: amend do pass, adopted

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Third reading: passed; Roll Call 135: yeas 74, nays 18

lower

Jan 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee report: do pass, adopted

lower

2 primary · 1 co-sponsor