MERRILLVILLE | Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller thinks recently passed legislation protecting identity theft victims and regulating dog breeding operations lost attention after state lawmakers failed to pass a new state budget.

He and state Rep. Linda Lawson, D-Hammond, discussed the importance of the two bills Wednesday at the Lake County Public Library's central branch, 1919 W. 81st Ave.

Zoeller said identity theft is the top growing crime in the U.S.

The attorney general's office received more than 500 identity theft complaints last year, he said.

House Bill 1121 establishes the Identity Theft Unit in the attorney general's office, which will take identity theft complaints from Hoosiers and help them recover their identities.

Zoeller said the bill also makes synthetic identity deception a crime. He said synthetic identity deception occurs when portions of multiple identities are stolen from people to create a new identity.

The crime is considered a Class D felony, and violators could be punished up to three years in prison.

The new legislation also strengthens penalties for parents who steal their children's identities. Violators of that crime can face two to eight years in prison.

The legislation to regulate large-scale dog breeding operations toughens animal abuse laws and requires commercial dog breeders to register with the state. House Bill 1468 requires dog breeders to offer dogs daily exercise and sets other minimum standards of care.

Lawson, who authored the two bills, was happy to see the dog breeding legislation passed because the laws weren't strong enough, she said.

The legislation also gives law enforcement officers the ability to arrest violators based on observation, Lawson said.

After an arrest is made, the dogs would be removed from the facility and put into animal shelters, she said.