SB284 limits the power of civilian boards created by counties, cities, or townships to oversee law-enforcement agencies. It would prevent such boards from exercising binding authority over police departments or requiring departments to adopt particular policies or take disciplinary actions.
The Indiana State House of Representatives passed SB284 on February 24, 2026 by a vote of 70 to 25. We have assigned pluses to the ayes because unelected "civilian boards" are used by radical anti-police activists who seek to redefine public safety in America by exerting control over state and local law enforcement. First advocated by the Communist Party USA in the 1930s, and then more recently following the death of George Floyd in 2020, "civilian review boards" unduly restrict police from enforcing criminal laws. They do so by acting as prosecutor, judge, and jury in cases of alleged police corruption or brutality. Yet, Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution guarantees to "every State"-and by devolvement, its political subdivisions-"a Republican Form of Government," which implies government limited to the "rule of law," with a separation of powers among representative officials, who alone exercise civil authority of, by, and for the people. The policymaking process, including oversight, belongs to the constitutionally authorized legislative bodies of government.
