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 6752 NOTE PREPARED: Dec 28, 2021
BILL NUMBER: SB 279 BILL AMENDED:
SUBJECT: Election of School Board Members.
FIRST AUTHOR: Sen. Walker G BILL STATUS: As Introduced
FIRST SPONSOR:
FUNDS AFFECTED: GENERAL IMPACT: Local
DEDICATED
FEDERAL
Summary of Legislation: The bill provides that the governing body of a school corporation may change the
school corporation's organizational plan to provide that candidates for election to the governing body are
elected in a nonpartisan election or as all other elected offices are elected. It amends current statutes relating
to nomination of candidates for school board offices to reflect this option. It repeals other superseded
statutes. It makes conforming changes. It changes population parameters to reflect the population count
determined under the 2020 decennial census.
Effective Date: January 1, 2023.
Explanation of State Expenditures: The provisions of the bill would likely require the Election Division
to update some manuals and forms which should be able to be changed as a matter of routine business.
Explanation of State Revenues:
Explanation of Local Expenditures: For school corporations that change their organizational plan to
provide that candidates for election to the governing body are elected as all other elected offices are elected,
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 school board candidates on
primary ballots and change the order of candidates on general election ballots. However, these ballot changes
SB 279 1 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, for school corporations who change their
organizational plan to provide that school board candidates are elected as all other elected offices are elected,
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: 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.
Fiscal Analyst: Heather Puletz, 317-234-9484; Chris Baker, 317-232-9851.
SB 279 2