HB 1040 Indiana House · 2026 Regular Session

Battery against school and healthcare employees.

Summary
Increases the penalty for battery on certain health care employees and school employees. Specifies that the enhancement for battery committed against a department of child services (DCS) employee applies only to those DCS employees whose responsibilities include personally supervising a child or parent, personally providing services to a child or parent, or personally interviewing a child or parent as part of an investigation. Requires the employer of a health care or school employee who is the victim of battery to make a semiannual report to the department of labor concerning workplace batteries.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House Passage
Jan 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Dec 2, 2025 Last action Feb 19, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Engrossed House Bill (S) House Bill (S) · 4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was renumbered from Engrossed House Bill 1040 to House Bill 1040, reflecting a change in its legislative status from a finalized version to an earlier draft. The effective date was moved from July 1, 2026, to January 8, 2026, and the report requirement for employers was simplified from a semiannual report to a single incident report. Additionally, the list of affected statutes was updated to include a new citation (IC 22-8), indicating a shift in the specific legal sections impacted by the bill.
Scope change
The bill's scope regarding the reporting requirement for workplace battery incidents was broadened by removing the 'semiannual' frequency constraint, requiring employers to report incidents immediately or as they occur.
TIMELINE

The effective date for the legislation was changed to January 8, 2026, from the previously listed July 1, 2026.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement for employers to report battery incidents against healthcare or school employees was changed from a semiannual report to a report of the incident itself.

TECHNICAL

The bill number was updated from 'Engrossed House Bill 1040' to 'House Bill 1040', indicating a revision in its legislative stage.

ENFORCEMENT

The list of affected statutes was updated to include IC 22-8, expanding the legal citations impacted by the bill.

Floor votes · House Jan 13, 2026

How they voted

911
Passed · 7 other
Total votes 99
Jan 13, 2026
D Democratic29
24 Yea 1 Nay 4
82% Yea
I Independent1
1 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican69
66 Yea 3
95% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
13
Key actions
4
Committee
2
Amendments
1
Feb 19, 2026
Upper · Passed
Amendment #2 (Freeman) prevailed; voice vote
upper
Feb 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
Committee report: amend do pass, adopted
upper
Jan 13, 2026
Lower · Passed
Third reading: passed; Roll Call 44: yeas 92, nays 1
lower
Jan 8, 2026
Lower · Passed
Committee report: amend do pass, adopted
lower
4 primary · 3 co-sponsors

Sponsors