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Committee holds bill to streamline dissolution of small campaign committees and fix penalty language
Summary
Senate Bill 233 would let the election division administratively dissolve small inactive committees and specifies penalty levels; sponsors and election-division staff said it simplifies policy and reduces agency rulemaking, while members requested data on how many committees would be affected. The bill was held for amendment.
Senator Gaskell presented Senate Bill 233 as a nonpartisan administrative bill that would allow the Election Division to administratively disband small inactive committees (for example those with under $1,000 and nondeliverable mailings) and would change discretionary language on penalties from "may" to "shall" to place maximums in statute. "This is not one of [the bills] that divide along party lines," he said, and noted the change was intended to have clearer statutory policy rather than delegating details to agency rulemaking.
Valerie Vareja of the Indiana Election Division said placing fines and fee ranges in statute helps candidates find requirements in code rather than in agency rules and reduces the need for the commission to go through rulemaking. Matthew Kochiver and other staff described operational reasons the commission favors clearer statutory guidance and said the bill mirrors some federal practices for closing dormant committees. Committee members asked how many committees would be affected and whether changes applied to local committees as well as statewide ones; staff said they would provide data post-meeting.
An amendment was being drafted with Representative Matt Pierce and the author asked for additional time to refine language; the committee held SB 233 for an amended vote at a future meeting.
