Some locally elected officials in Indiana now have to file annual campaign finance reports following a new state law.
Previously, such officials may have opened their accounts on a four-year cycle timed with their campaigns, meaning they only filed reports once every four years. Now, any elected official making at least $5,000 annually, which includes county council members and many township trustees, will be subject to the new requirements.
Many of these local offices might be reckoning with such annual reporting requirements for the first time, said David Bottorff, the executive director of the Association of Indiana Counties. Prior to the law, such officials may have only dealt with such reports during a campaign year.
“(As a candidate,) I may or may not accept contributions from outside (entities) or seek contributions. For some of the county offices, especially county assessor or treasurer … they may be self-funded,” he said.
Because of that, Bottorff said, a newly elected official may then close their campaign account while in office, opting to open a new account if they run for reelection.
“Going forward, you’ll just have to report that,” he said. “If you’re not doing anything, they would just report zeros.”
However, Bottorff said there might be a gray area for an incumbent politician going to a political party dinner or buying tickets for a local fish fry with their own money.
“Some people might think, ‘Well, that’s not campaigning,’ but, if you’re there as an elected official, arguably, you’re there as a candidate as well,” Bottorff said.
The change stems from a definition shift under House Enrolled Act 1679, a wide-ranging elections omnibus bill. Over hours of committee testimony, neither the bill authors nor its supporters speculated about the impact on local offices, saying only that the word “candidate” was used in different ways throughout Indiana code. Having one definition would simplify election and campaign finance law throughout Indiana statute.
Candidates for local offices file their campaign finance statements and reports to the appropriate county offices, potentially adding to the work of those elected officials. A local elected official will also need to keep their campaign account open if they make more than $500 in contributions or expenditures, regardless of whether they earn less than $5,000 or not.
