O'Bannon vetoes anti-crime bill, cites state prison system

INDIANAPOLIS -- Citing cost burdens on Indiana's prison system, Gov. Frank O'Bannon vetoed legislation Thursday that would enhance penalties for some cases of physical abuse toward adults who cannot care for themselves.\nO'Bannon signed a separate bill that would increase penalties for repeat offenses of public indecency, saying it was unlikely to increase the prison population in "any significant way."\nO'Bannon had warned lawmakers that unless they increased funding to expand prison operations, he would consider vetoing any bill that added to the prison population.\nThe state budget bill passed by the General Assembly did not give O'Bannon the $26 million in additional money he says was needed to meet a projected increase in adult male inmates over the next two years. The money would have allowed the state to open and staff 1,576 new beds at two prisons.\nLawmakers also did not approve about $200 million in new money O'Bannon sought for Medicaid, the state and federal health care program for the poor and disabled.\nO'Bannon plans to sign the budget bill despite those and other concerns, in part because it increases funding for schools and contains several economic-development initiatives.\nBut O'Bannon vetoed House Bill 1660, saying it could increase the prison population and cost the state $400,000 more per year.\nAmong other things, the bill would increase penalties for battery on "endangered adults." They are defined as people over age 18 who cannot care for themselves because of mental illness, dementia or other mental or physical conditions and who are threatened by abuse or neglect.\nUnder the bill, the crime would be enhanced from a Class D to Class C felony if it resulted in serious injury, and to a Class B felony if death resulted. Class D felonies carry a maximum prison term of three years, Class C felonies have an eight-year maximum and Class B felonies have a 20-year maximum.\nThe bill also would require Adult Protective Services to investigate any report that a resident of a health care facility was an endangered adult. Current law requires the State Department of Health to refer each such report before an investigation can occur.\nO'Bannon said it was a good idea to eliminate the referral requirement but said the Department of Health already is referring for investigation every report it receives.\nHe also commended lawmakers for passing legislation calling for a comprehensive review of sentencing laws and practices in Indiana.\nBut if the General Assembly chooses to override his veto of the bill regarding endangered adults, it should do so in light of potentially revamped sentencing policies, O'Bannon said.\n"It should also provide the resources necessary to deal with the additional correctional costs generated by the bill," he wrote in his veto message. It only takes a simple majority in both houses to override a governor's veto in Indiana.\nRep. John Day, a Democrat from Indianapolis who sponsored the bill rejected by O'Bannon, said he had not reviewed the full veto message.\nBut, he said, "I think the bill was rather modest, and I think the bill's fiscal impact would be modest."\nHe said a primary focus of the bill was to ensure that reports of physical abuse toward endangered adults were taken as seriously as reports of child abuse.\n"Both are vulnerable populations," he said.