A bill headed to the governor would have dissolved a court in Owen County, but local efforts helped save it. Monroe County wasn’t as fortunate.
HEA 1144 adds additional courts in some counties and takes away from others. It will also allow a handful of courts to hire more magistrates.
Owen County was one of the counties listed to lose a court. The county only has two courts. Losing one would slow cases down tremendously, Owen County Councilmember Anton Neff said.
“We would have taken … a step and a half backwards if the court was eliminated,” he said.
Local officials, as well as community members, jumped into action calling their representatives to get that language removed.
“And I'd like to think that that collective effort led to the change, certainly doesn't hurt,” Neff said. “We're just very glad that it didn't go through as originally thought so.”
One of the counties that will lose a court is Monroe County. The county has one unified court with nine divisions. This bill would cut one of the divisions and lose a judge Jan. 1, 2027.
Monroe County’s Court Administrator and Deputy Court Administrator were not available for comment.
Once the governor receives the bill, he will have seven days to sign or veto it.
