INDIANAPOLIS — A bill that would strengthen rules for Indiana's reserve police officers is closer to becoming law.
Lawmakers on the House Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee heard details on the proposal Monday morning.
The bill's author, Sen. Jack Sandlin, R-District 36, said it's about greater accountability.
There are about 2,500 reserve police officers working at departments across Indiana. Right now, someone working as a full-time police officer has their employment history and any disciplinary record checked before they can get hired by a department. That's not the case with reserve officers. This bill would change that.
"An officer may have an issue with a city or town where they've done something that would be outside of the rules and regulations and instead of getting terminated, they simply resign and then they go to another agency with their certificate to show they're eligible to be a reserve," Sandlin said.
The bill would also require cities to pass an ordinance that sets a number of reserve officers that can be on a department.
Senate Bill 187 passed out of committee by a unanimous vote. It now heads to the House floor, where other representatives can offer changes.