LEGISLATIVE SERVICES AGENCY
OFFICE OF FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS
200 W. Washington St., Suite 301
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 233-0696
iga.in.gov
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
LS 6999 NOTE PREPARED: Jan 4, 2022
BILL NUMBER: HB 1240 BILL AMENDED:
SUBJECT: School Board Elections.
FIRST AUTHOR: Rep. Goodrich BILL STATUS: As Introduced
FIRST SPONSOR:
FUNDS AFFECTED:XGENERAL IMPACT: State & Local
DEDICATED
FEDERAL
Summary of Legislation: The bill requires candidates for school board offices to be nominated in the same
manner as candidates for all other elected offices are nominated, beginning after 2022. It provides that for
school board offices elected in 2022, the political affiliation of each candidate, or the candidate's statement
that the candidate is an independent candidate, must be stated on the ballot. It provides that the current statute
relating to nomination of candidates for school board offices expires on January 1, 2023. It repeals other
superseded statutes. It makes conforming changes.
Effective Date: Upon passage; January 1, 2023.
Explanation of State Expenditures: The provisions of the bill would likely require the Election Division
to update some manuals and forms for the 2024 school board elections which should be able to be changed
as a matter of routine business. However, the petitions of nomination (and its instructions) for school board
candidates for the 2022 election would need to be updated prior to candidates receiving signatures. Petitions
for school board candidates may be filed from July 27, 2022, to August 26, 2022.
Explanation of State Revenues:
Explanation of Local Expenditures: Starting after 2022, circuit court clerks may see a reduction in
workload as they would no longer certify petitions of nomination for major-party school board candidates.
However, clerks would likely be verifying more signatures for minor-party and independent candidates. (See
Additional Information for more details.)
In addition, county election officials would need to change ballots to include party affiliation for school
board candidates for the 2022 election. After 2022, ballots would need to be changed to include school board
HB 1240 1 candidates on primary ballots and change the order of candidates on general election ballots. However, these
ballot changes would likely be accommodated as part of routine election ballot preparation and programming
prior to elections.
Additional Information– School board candidates currently file petitions of nomination, containing 10
signatures, except in a few certain school districts. Under the bill, circuit court clerks would need to verify
additional signatures, equal to 2% of the number of voters that voted in the latest Secretary of State election
for that election district, for independent school board candidates and most minor-party candidates (not
Libertarian). There were about 1,200 candidates on the ballot for school board during the 2020 general
election.
Explanation of Local Revenues:
State Agencies Affected: Indiana Election Division.
Local Agencies Affected: Circuit court clerks.
Information Sources: 2020 General Election Candidate List, Indiana Election Division;
2020 Indiana Candidate Guide, Indiana Election Division;
https://www.in.gov/sos/elections/voter-information/files/2022-Calendar-Brochure.FINAL-7-21.pdf.
Fiscal Analyst: Heather Puletz, 317-234-9484; Chris Baker, 317-232-9851.
HB 1240 2