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Committee advances bill to update Indiana code from ‘auditor’ to ‘comptroller’ ahead of 2026 ballot
Summary
The House committee voted to pass Senate Bill 221 to finish statutory name changes from auditor to comptroller so the office will be listed as comptroller on the 2026 ballot; witnesses said the change avoids voter confusion and the bill accompanies a Senate joint resolution to complete the transition.
Senate Bill 221, which revises remaining statutory references from “auditor” to “comptroller,” was given a favorable recommendation by the House Committee on Government and Regulatory Reform after brief testimony and a roll-call vote.
Supporters told the committee the change is necessary to ensure the office now known and used as comptroller appears that way on the 2026 ballot. Jennifer Thuma, general counsel for the Indiana Comptroller, said the bill “finishes out the changes in the Indiana code from auditor to comptroller that began with the budget bill in 2023 and that the technical correction bill sought to finish out last session.”
Thuma said some Indiana Code provisions were not fixed in last session’s technical corrections and still read “auditor,” including references in the election code and the ballot title that would show up in 2026 unless corrected. Brad King, Republican co‑director of the Indiana Election Division, told the committee the bill is intended to prevent “frivolous or mischievous challenge[s] or lawsuit[s]” by making clear that auditor of state and state comptroller are the same office for ballot purposes.
Committee members asked no substantive questions during testimony. The committee took the measure up for a voice/roll-call vote. The clerk called roll; the transcript records the bill “passes 10.” Named votes recorded in the transcript included Bartlett (yes), Harris (aye), Campbell (aye), Miller (yes), O’Brien (aye), Engleman (yes), Schonkweiler (yes), Jordan (yes), Green (yes), Abbott (yes). Representative King was recorded as excused; Representatives Hatcher and Karakoff indicated “pass for now.”
The sponsors and staff said the statutory change paired with Senate Joint Resolution 17, which will be taken up in the other chamber, should complete the transition of the office title. Jennifer Thuma said Comptroller Lisa Neshala sent regrets and expressed appreciation to the bill’s author and cosponsors.
No legal challenges or litigation are pending in the transcript; committee members directed the clerk to record the favorable recommendation and move the bill to the next stage.
The committee did not identify funding implications for the change of office title. The changes are technical and intended to align statutory language, ballot language and current office usage before the 2026 election.
