LEGISLATIVE SERVICES AGENCY
OFFICE OF FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
LS 7560 NOTE PREPARED: Jan 10, 2025
BILL NUMBER: HB 1429 BILL AMENDED:
SUBJECT: Ethics Training for Local Officials.
FIRST AUTHOR: Rep. Dant Chesser BILL STATUS: As Introduced
FIRST SPONSOR:
FUNDS AFFECTED:XGENERAL IMPACT: State & Local
DEDICATED
FEDERAL
Summary of Legislation: Required Ethics Training– The bill requires an elected county, city, town, or
township officer (officer) to complete a two hour ethics training course (training course) every two years.
The bill specifies training course requirements.
Development of Online Training– The bill requires the Office of the Attorney General (AG), in coordination
with the State Board of Accounts (SBOA) and the Public Access Counselor, to develop an online training
course not later than February 1, 2026. The bill requires the training course to be made available for viewing
on the SBOA website.
Third-Party Training Course– The bill allows a third party to provide a training course, if the course is
approved by the AG’s office.
Confirmation of Training– The bill requires an officer to certify to the SBOA that the officer has completed
a training course. The bill requires the SBOA to publish on its website: (1) a list of all officers who have
submitted a training certification; and (2) lists of all training certifications submitted for previous years.
Effective Date: July 1, 2025.
Explanation of State Expenditures: Development of Online Training– Development of a new government
ethics course could require expenditures ranging from minimal (if an existing third-party course is adopted)
to $400,000 to develop a new course in FY 2026. The cost would include likely salary and benefits for an
ethics course design team of 1 to 2 additional staff (if the AG, SBOA, or Public Access Counselor needed
the additional staff to complete the development) plus SBOA website upgrades to provide the course online.
Third-Party Training Course– The AG would likely be able to approve third-party training courses within
their existing staff and resource levels.
Confirmation of Training– The SBOA would likely be able to negotiate for the required changes to their
website to accommodate the course materials and the list of those that have completed training with their
HB 1429 1 current website vendor. Depending on the structure of the course, it is likely any increase in expenditures
to place these items on their website would be minimal.
Additional Information– The Association of Indiana Counties reports they currently offer local county
officials an ethics class as part of their Institute of Excellence program. However, the ethics class is not
required to be taken by these elected officials.
Information regarding existing ethics courses in government, particularly local government, is limited. One
source for the California ethics training is priced at $75 for a two-hour taped session. (California adopted
AB 1234 in 2005 to require ethics training for elected officials within their state.) Cost information on the
development of the California training course is also scant. Therefore, the estimate provided in this fiscal
note to develop a training course was based on using the $75 fee as a proxy of the development cost per
office holder required to take the course. There are roughly 10,500 to 11,000 total county, city, town, and
township elected officials that would have to take the training every two years.
The estimated cost to develop a course was based on multiplying the total number of about 10,800 positions
by $75. Next, based on the anticipated time period of two years to complete training from the effective date
of the bill, the product of the multipliers was then multiplied by one-half to reach the estimate for the
development cost. (10,800 * $75 * 1/2) = $406,000 in the first year.
Explanation of State Revenues:
Explanation of Local Expenditures: Required Ethics Training– Approximately 10,800 officials would have
to complete the proposed ethics training every two years. Presumably, the course would be offered for free
to the elected officials at the SBOA’s website.
Explanation of Local Revenues:
State Agencies Affected: AG, SBOA, PAC.
Local Agencies Affected: County, city, town, and township elected officials.
Information Sources: Dave Bottorff, Executive Director, Indiana Association of Counties; IAC County Fact
Book; various township and town websites; https://bbklaw.com/ethics-training-for-public-agencies;
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=200520060AB1234.
Fiscal Analyst: Chris Baker, 317-232-9851.
HB 1429 2