House Bill 1141 on Superior Courts passed. But the procedure seems a bit odd. The House passed a bill, the Senate amended it and passed that bill. The Senate version creates one new superior court in Dearborn County, DeKalb County, Hamilton County, Howard County, and Montgomery County and creates two new superior courts in Hendricks County. Adds an eighth judge to the Monroe circuit court on January 1, 2006 and a ninth judge to the Monroe circuit court on January 1, 2008. Hendricks County is permitted to add a magistrate.
The House dissented from the Senate amendments and threw it into Conference Committee. The Conference Committee report added provisions concerning aggressive driving and criminal recklessness. It also allowed a magistrate in Madison County and Perry County and added a fifth judge to the Vigo County superior court. The Senate passed the conference committee report 48-0 only to have the House change its mind about dissenting from the Senate’s amendments and the House went ahead and passed the bill as it came out of the Senate.
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