STATEHOUSE – The General Assembly is considering a bill that would double jury duty pay for Hoosiers.
The Indiana House of Representatives unanimously passed House Bill 1466 on Tuesday. The bill had earlier passed unanimously in committee.
The measure would double jury-duty pay from $40 per day to $80 per day for the first five days of a trial. Starting with the sixth day of a trial, the amount would increase to $90 per day.
State Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland, authored the bill, which now heads to the Senate for consideration. The state hasn’t increased jury-duty pay for more than two decades.
“Our current compensation is far below the current $7.25 minimum wage, which is not sustainable for most Hoosiers,” Davis said in a statement. “This is an important step toward ensuring jurors are better compensated and boost citizen participation.”
The measure would increase the jury appearance fee from $15 to $30 for each day a potential juror is in attendance until it the jury is selected. Davis said courts around the state have struggled to find people to serve on juries, jeopardizing cases and resulting in mistrials.
