State government

What this level is

Indiana fills five kinds of state office this year: the Senate seats that are up, all 100 House seats, and three statewide officers who handle the state's money and its elections. The most important thing to know about this level is how far down it reaches. When a county council sets a tax rate, it is choosing among options the General Assembly wrote. The limits, the deductions and the deadlines all come from here.

• The General Assembly writes state law and the two-year state budget, which is drafted in odd-numbered years. Bills that raise revenue, the budget included, have to start in the House. ^{[1, 2, 3]}
• It also writes the rules on property tax, local income tax and local budgets that every county, city, township and school corporation follows. SEA 1-2025 is the current example, and its effects run through every level of local government below this one. ^{[4, 5]}
• The three statewide offices on this ballot do not write laws. The Secretary of State is the state's chief election official and also registers businesses. The Comptroller keeps the state's accounts, pays its bills and sends out the tax distributions local governments receive. The Treasurer holds and invests the money. ^{[6, 7, 8]}

How these offices work together

Each item below is one step the law requires: which office hands what to which, and why.

1. House → to Senate

   Bills that raise revenue, the state budget included, have to start in the House. The House Ways and Means Committee writes the budget bill, and the Senate takes it up afterward. ^{[1, 2]}

2. Senate → to Governor (Not on this ballot this year.)

   A bill both chambers have passed goes to the Governor to be signed or vetoed. The Senate also confirms certain appointments the Governor makes. ^{[10, 1]}

3. Senate → to Counties, cities, townships, schools (Elected separately, each at its own level.)

   The General Assembly writes the property tax, local income tax and budget rules that counties, cities, townships and schools all work inside. A county council choosing a rate in 2028 will be choosing among options set here. ^{[4, 5]}

4. State (DLGF) (A state agency. No election fills it.) → to Counties, cities, townships, schools (Elected separately, each at its own level.)

   The Department of Local Government Finance checks each local budget against the levy limits, turns it into a tax rate and certifies it. It can cut a local budget but cannot raise one. It is a state agency, so no vote on this ballot fills it. ^{[11, 12]}

5. Comptroller → to Counties, cities, townships, schools (Elected separately, each at its own level.)

   The Comptroller keeps the state's accounts and sends counties, cities, towns and school corporations the tax distributions they are owed. The office has no authority over how a county auditor does the same job locally. ^{[7, 13, 4]}

6. Comptroller → to Treasurer

   The Comptroller and the Treasurer both sit on the State Board of Finance, along with the state budget director. The board has advisory supervision over the safekeeping of state funds. ^[14]

7. Secretary of State → to Counties, cities, townships, schools (Elected separately, each at its own level.)

   The Secretary of State is the state's chief election official, setting statewide procedure. The elections themselves are run county by county, by the clerks and the county election boards. ^{[6, 15]}

8. House → to Comptroller

   The Comptroller can pay out only what the General Assembly has appropriated, so the state budget is the instruction the office works from. ^{[3, 16]}

Every office at this level 128 races on this ballot

• Secretary of State

  1 race in Indiana this year

  Indiana's chief election official and head of four divisions: Business Services, Elections, Securities and Auto Dealer Services.

• State Comptroller (Auditor of State)

  1 race in Indiana this year

  Indiana's chief financial officer: keeps the state's accounts, pays the state's bills and employees, and distributes tax revenue to counties, cities, towns and schools. The constitutional "Auditor of State" has used the title…

• Treasurer of State

  1 race in Indiana this year

  The state's banker and chief investment officer, responsible for safekeeping and investing money paid into the state treasury, and chair of several state finance boards.

• State Senator

  25 races in Indiana this year

  One of 50 members of the Indiana Senate, which with the House writes state law, the two-year state budget and the rules for local taxes.

• State Representative

  100 races in Indiana this year

  One of 100 members of the Indiana House of Representatives. Revenue bills, including the state budget, must start in the House.

The problems this level has to solve

What the people elected to these offices will have to decide in the term starting in 2027, and why each one is a problem.

• The 2025 property tax overhaul phases in across the term being elected. The deductions, the levy limits and the rebuilt local income tax are all state law, so the General Assembly can change any of them, and local governments cannot. ^{[5, 4]}
• The next two-year state budget is written in the 2027 session, inside the term being elected, and it starts in the House. ^{[3, 1]}
• Public Question 1 is on this ballot. A constitutional amendment reaches voters only after the General Assembly has passed it in two sessions with an election in between, so this is the last step of a process that began in an earlier term. ^{[1, 9]}

Sources