---
type: "Bill"
title: "A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning pensions."
description: "A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning pensions."
jurisdiction: "us/states/in"
legislature: "Indiana General Assembly"
session: "2018"
identifier: "SB 281"
citation: "Indiana SB 281 (2018)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["LAW ENFORCEMENT", "County Sheriffs and Sheriffs' Departments", "LAW ENFORCEMENT", "Police Pensions and Benefits", "INDIANA PUBLIC RETIREMENT SYSTEM (formerly PERF)"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["James Buck", "Philip Boots", "Steve Bartels"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 21
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2018-01-04"
last_action: "2018-03-15"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/d54b4a78-182f-49ad-99a0-d21de28f75d2"
source_url: "http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2018/bills/senate/281"
source_hash: "b00cf01836846b9176443f7eecf6ac279d797c23959c5933c2c3e0e300159f3c"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-in"]
---

# Indiana SB 281 (2018) — A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning pensions.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Enrolled Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2018/bills/sb0281/versions/sb0281.04.enrh)
2. **Introduced Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2018/bills/sb0281/versions/sb0281.01.intr)
3. **Senate Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2018/bills/sb0281/versions/sb0281.02.coms)
4. **Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2018/bills/sb0281/versions/sb0281.03.comh)

## Votes

- SB 281 - Boots - 3rd Reading — **49–0** (pass) · legislature
- SB 281 - Bartels - 3rd Reading — **95–0** (pass) · legislature

## Sponsors

- James Buck — primary (person)
- Philip Boots — primary (person)
- Steve Bartels — primary (person)
- David Niezgodski — coauthor (person)
- Joe Taylor — cosponsor (person)
- Lonnie Randolph — coauthor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2018-01-04** Authored by Senator Boots
- **2018-01-04** First reading: referred to Committee on Pensions and Labor `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2018-01-11** Committee report: do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2018-01-16** Second reading: ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2018-01-18** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 29: yeas 49, nays 0 `reading-3, passage`
- **2018-01-18** House sponsor: Representative Bartels
- **2018-01-18** Senator Buck added as second author
- **2018-01-18** Senator Randolph added as coauthor
- **2018-01-18** Senator Niezgodski added as coauthor
- **2018-01-19** Referred to the House
- **2018-02-06** First reading: referred to Committee on Employment, Labor and Pensions `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2018-02-27** Committee report: do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2018-02-27** Representative Taylor J added as cosponsor
- **2018-03-01** Second reading: ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2018-03-05** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 310: yeas 95, nays 0 `reading-3, passage`
- **2018-03-06** Returned to the Senate without amendments
- **2018-03-12** Signed by the President Pro Tempore
- **2018-03-13** Signed by the Speaker
- **2018-03-14** Signed by the President of the Senate
- **2018-03-15** Public Law 98
- **2018-03-15** Signed by the Governor `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/d54b4a78-182f-49ad-99a0-d21de28f75d2`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Indiana legislature records).