Senate elections panel advances multipart campaign finance bill, strips advisory-opinion authority

House Bill 16-43, a multipart campaign finance bill, moved forward in the Senate Elections Committee on March 17, 2025, after testimony and questions about advisory opinions, administrative capacity and local impacts. The committee approved the bill and will recommit it to the appropriations committee; the committee vote was 6-2.

The bill, introduced to the committee by Representative Kyle Pierce, would create a state-funded online campaign finance portal for local filings, expand the ways election-related deadlines may be communicated (including email), raise certain limits for auxiliary political organizations with inflation adjustments, clarify the legal definition of contributions, codify rules for paid political advertising and void advisory opinions previously issued by the Indiana Election Commission before a specified date in the bill. Pierce said the measure "has the creation of a new local government online campaign finance portal" and also "repeals and nullifies advisory opinions for the Indiana election commission," while noting amendments on procurement and management of the portal. Representative Kyle Pierce, author of the bill, also described an amendment ensuring the system be state funded, bid with a public hearing and not paid for by local governments.

Supporters told the committee the bill increases transparency…