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HB1256 • 2026
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning elections.
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning elections.
Elections
Passed Legislature
This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.
- Sponsor
- Representative Edward Clere
- Last action
- 2026-02-02
- Official status
- Engrossed House Bill (S)
- Effective date
- Not listed
Plain English Breakdown
The official source material does not provide specific details on enforcement mechanisms or consequences for violating the restrictions on accessing covered persons' addresses.
Making Campaign Finance Reports Public and Protecting Personal Information
This bill requires local election officials to post campaign finance reports online in PDF format and allows candidates to ask for their home addresses to be kept private.
What This Bill Does
- Requires the circuit court clerk of each county to place a copy of each campaign finance report, notice, or other instrument filed with the county election board on the circuit court clerk's or county election board's website in portable document format (PDF).
- Allows certain covered persons to submit a written request to a county, municipality, or township to restrict access to their home address in a confidential document.
- Requires counties, cities, and townships to establish processes to prevent the public from gaining access to the home addresses of covered persons.
Who It Names or Affects
- Local election officials who must post campaign finance reports online in PDF format.
- People running for local office who can ask to keep their home addresses private.
- The general public who will be able to view campaign finance reports online but not the personal addresses of covered persons.
Terms To Know
- Campaign Finance Report
- A document that shows how much money a person or group has raised and spent during an election campaign.
- Covered Person
- Someone who is running for local office and can ask to keep their home address private.
Limits and Unknowns
- The bill does not specify what happens if someone tries to access a covered person's home address despite the restrictions.
- It is unclear how counties, cities, or townships will enforce these new rules.
Amendments
These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.
Plain English: This amendment aims to modify the Indiana Code regarding elections, but does not provide specific details on what changes it intends to make.
- The amendment seeks to change the Indiana Code concerning elections, though exact changes are not specified in the provided text.
- The official amendment text is incomplete and does not specify the concrete changes intended for the Indiana Code.
Plain English: This amendment would modify Indiana's election laws by adding new requirements for voter identification.
- Adds a requirement that voters must present government-issued photo ID to vote in person.
- The specific types of acceptable IDs and the consequences for not complying with this requirement are not detailed in the amendment text, making it unclear how strictly or broadly this rule would be applied.
Plain English: This amendment would change how voter registration is handled in Indiana.
- It would allow voters to register online or by mail without needing a driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number.
- The exact details and implementation steps are not provided, making it unclear how this change will be carried out in practice.
Plain English: This amendment changes the Indiana Code regarding elections, but does not provide specific details about what exactly is being amended.
- The amendment modifies the Indiana Code concerning elections, though it does not specify which part of the code or how it will be changed.
- The official text provided does not give enough information to explain the exact changes this amendment would make.
Bill History
-
2026-02-02
Senate
First reading: referred to Committee on Elections
-
2026-01-29
House
Referred to the Senate
-
2026-01-28
House
Third reading: passed; Roll Call 133: yeas 94, nays 0
-
2026-01-28
House
Senate sponsor: Senator Walker G
-
2026-01-27
House
Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed
-
2026-01-27
House
Amendment #4 (Clere) prevailed; voice vote
-
2026-01-14
House
Committee report: do pass, adopted
-
2026-01-05
House
Authored by Representative Clere
-
2026-01-05
House
Coauthored by Representatives Dant Chesser, Pierce K, Pressel
-
2026-01-05
House
First reading: referred to Committee on Elections and Apportionment
Official Summary Text
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning elections.
Campaign finance reports of local candidates.
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning elections.
Campaign finance reports of local candidates.
Requires the circuit court clerk of each county to place a copy of each campaign finance report, notice, or other instrument filed with the county election board on the circuit court clerk's or county election board's website in portable document format. Allows certain covered persons to submit a written request to a county, municipality, or township to restrict access to the covered person's home address in a confidential document. Requires a county, municipality, or township to establish certain processes to prevent a member of the public from gaining access to the home address of a covered person.