Introduced Version
HOUSE BILL No. 1290
_____
DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
Citations Affected: IC 3-9-4-4.
Synopsis: Election division software updates. Requires the election
division to gather information necessary to consider the purchase of an
upgraded campaign finance computer system.
Effective: July 1, 2025.
Hamilton, Dant Chesser
January 13, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on Elections and
Apportionment.
2025 IN 1290—LS 7105/DI 149 Introduced
First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)
PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
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between statutes enacted by the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
HOUSE BILL No. 1290
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
elections.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
1 SECTION 1. IC 3-9-4-4, AS AMENDED BY P.L.91-2019,
2 SECTION 1, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
3 JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 4. (a) The election division shall develop a filing
4 and coding system consistent with the purposes of this article. The
5 election division and each county election board shall use the filing and
6 coding system. The coding system must provide:
7 (1) not more than ten (10) codes to account for various campaign
8 expenditure items; and
9 (2) a clear explanation of the kinds of expenditure items that must
10 be accounted for under each code.
11 (b) The election division shall develop and use a computer system
12 to store campaign finance reports required to be filed under IC 3-9-5-6,
13 IC 3-9-5-10, and IC 3-9-5-20.1. The computer system must enable the
14 election division to do the following:
15 (1) Identify all candidates or committees that received
16 contributions from a contributor over the past three (3) years.
17 (2) Identify all contributors to a candidate or committee over the
2025 IN 1290—LS 7105/DI 149 2
1 past three (3) years.
2 (3) Provide for electronic submission, retrieval, storage, and
3 disclosure of campaign finance reports of candidates for the
4 following:
5 (A) Legislative office.
6 (B) State office.
7 The election division shall provide training at no cost to
8 candidates to enable candidates described in this subdivision to
9 file campaign finance reports electronically.
10 (c) The election division shall notify each candidate's committee
11 that the election division will provide at the committee's request at no
12 cost a standardized software program to permit the committee to install
13 the software on a computer and generate an electronic version of the
14 reports and statements required to be filed with the election division
15 under this article. However, the election division is not required to
16 provide or alter the software program to make the program compatible
17 for installation or operation on a specific computer.
18 (d) This subsection applies to the following committees:
19 (1) A committee for a candidate seeking election to a state office.
20 (2) A committee for a candidate seeking election to a legislative
21 office.
22 (3) A political action committee that has received more than fifty
23 thousand dollars ($50,000) in contributions since the close of the
24 previous reporting period.
25 The committee must file electronically the report or statement required
26 under this article with the election division using a standardized
27 software program supplied to the committee without charge under
28 subsection (c) or another format approved by the election division. An
29 electronic filing approved by the election division under this subsection
30 may not require manual reentry into a computer system of the data
31 contained in the report or statement in order to make the data available
32 to the general public under subsection (g).
33 (e) This subsection applies to an electronic submission under
34 subsection (b)(3). An electronic submission must be in a format
35 previously approved by the election division that permits the election
36 division to print out a hard copy of the report after the receipt of the
37 electronic submission from the candidate. Filing of a report occurs
38 under IC 3-5-2-24.5 on the date and at the time electronically recorded
39 by the election division's computer system. If a discrepancy exists
40 between the text of the electronic submission and the printed report, the
41 text of the printed report prevails until an amendment is filed under this
42 article to correct the discrepancy.
2025 IN 1290—LS 7105/DI 149 3
1 (f) The election division is not required to accept an electronic
2 submission unless the submission complies with subsection (b)(3).
3 Upon receiving approval from the commission, the election division
4 may accept an electronic submission from candidates, committees, or
5 persons described in subsection (b)(3).
6 (g) The election division shall make campaign finance reports stored
7 on the computer system under subsection (b) available to the general
8 public through an on-line service.
9 (h) The election division shall gather information necessary to
10 consider the purchase of an upgraded campaign finance computer
11 system, for acquisition after June 30, 2027, to do the following:
12 (1) Comply with the requirements of this section.
13 (2) Allow for the electronic filing of reports required to be
14 filed by a candidate or committee with a county election
15 board or a board of elections and registration under section
16 4.5 of this chapter.
17 This subsection expires January 1, 2027.
2025 IN 1290—LS 7105/DI 149