INDIANAPOLIS | A proposal allowing public and private Indiana hospitals to establish their own police departments was approved 84-8 by the House on Thursday, but only after lawmakers made several major changes to the Senate-approved version.
Prompted by state Rep. Linda Lawson, D-Hammond, a former police captain, the House agreed to require hospital police officers to undergo the same police academy training as officers working for municipal police departments, as well as a psychological examination and a national criminal background check.
The Senate proposal required only a basic police training course be completed within one year of employment.
The House also limited the jurisdiction of hospital police to property owned or occupied by a hospital and not on roads adjacent to the hospital.
The Senate must agree to the House changes, or send the measure to a House-Senate conference committee, before Senate Bill 582 can advance to the governor.
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