INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A legislative study committee failed to forward a recommendation regarding whether Indiana should create a hate crimes law, despite Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb’s support for such a law.
The Journal Gazette reports that the Study Committee on Corrections and Criminal Code heard four hours of testimony Wednesday before approving a final report that said some members support a bias-motivated criminal statute and some don’t.
In July, Holcomb called on lawmakers to pass a hate crimes law during the 2019 legislative session after anti-Semitic graffiti was spray-painted at a suburban Indianapolis synagogue. Indiana is one of only five states without an explicit hate crimes law.
Republican Rep. Tom Washburne says draft legislation wasn’t specifically called for. Washburne says the testimony will help lawmakers when the 2019 session begins.