---
type: "Bill"
title: "Election matters."
description: "Requires particular candidates for selection for an appointment pro tempore to an office to: (1) comply with qualification requirements imposed on candidates for election to the office; and (2) if the individual is a candidate for selection by a caucus, be affiliated with the political party holding the caucus. Allows an individual or entity with authority to select a candidate for an appointment pro tempore to remove a candidate from consideration if the candidate does not meet these requirements. Specifies additional grounds on which certain county officers or a township executive may be charged and deprived of office following a hearing. Provides that if an accused party does not appear before the court, the court may proceed to hear and determine the accusation in the accused party's absence. Includes a member of the county executive, if the county does not contain a consolidated city, in a provision concerning the initiation of an action for removal of a county officer. Exempts a member of the county executive from a requirement concerning physical presence in the county officer's office. Provides that a city-county legislative body may declare the seat of a member vacant by a two-thirds vote if the member fails to perform the duties of the member's office."
jurisdiction: "us/states/in"
legislature: "Indiana General Assembly"
session: "2025"
identifier: "HB 1197"
citation: "Indiana HB 1197 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["CITIES AND TOWNS; Generally", "COUNTY GOVERNMENT", "ELECTIONS; Conducting Elections (Excluding Recounts)", "ELECTIONS; Generally", "ELECTIONS; Political Parties", "ELECTIONS; Vacancies", "LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS; County Clerk", "RESOLUTIONS; General Assembly; Generally"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Ethan Lawson", "Mike Gaskill"]
version_count: 6
action_count: 24
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2025-01-08"
last_action: "2025-05-01"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/211a5f95-27d6-4497-8a3f-97aac5314159"
source_url: "https://api.iga.in.gov/2025/bills/hb1197"
source_hash: "59c75dd89cafdae8a3ab1e8aaac1605123a3e28be8fb6bd2645c810de4ffce53"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-in"]
---

# Indiana HB 1197 (2025) — Election matters.

Requires particular candidates for selection for an appointment pro tempore to an office to: (1) comply with qualification requirements imposed on candidates for election to the office; and (2) if the individual is a candidate for selection by a caucus, be affiliated with the political party holding the caucus. Allows an individual or entity with authority to select a candidate for an appointment pro tempore to remove a candidate from consideration if the candidate does not meet these requirements. Specifies additional grounds on which certain county officers or a township executive may be charged and deprived of office following a hearing. Provides that if an accused party does not appear before the court, the court may proceed to hear and determine the accusation in the accused party's absence. Includes a member of the county executive, if the county does not contain a consolidated city, in a provision concerning the initiation of an action for removal of a county officer. Exempts a member of the county executive from a requirement concerning physical presence in the county officer's office. Provides that a city-county legislative body may declare the seat of a member vacant by a two-thirds vote if the member fails to perform the duties of the member's office.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Engrossed House Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2025/house/bills/HB1197/HB1197.05.ENGS.pdf)
2. **Engrossed House Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2025/house/bills/HB1197/HB1197.03.ENGH.pdf)
3. **Enrolled House Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2025/house/bills/HB1197/HB1197.06.ENRS.pdf)
4. **House Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2025/house/bills/HB1197/HB1197.02.COMH.pdf)
5. **House Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2025/house/bills/HB1197/HB1197.04.COMS.pdf)
6. **Introduced House Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2025/house/bills/HB1197/HB1197.01.INTR.pdf)

## Votes

- HB 1197 - Lawson - 3rd Reading — **85–8** (pass) · lower
- HB 1197 - Gaskill - 2nd Reading — **28–17** (pass) · upper
- HB 1197 - Gaskill - 3rd Reading — **49–0** (pass) · upper
- HB 1197 - Lawson — **88–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Ethan Lawson — primary (person)
- Mike Gaskill — primary (person)
- Carolyn Jackson — coauthor (person)
- Kyle Pierce — coauthor (person)
- Michael Crider — cosponsor (person)
- Timothy Wesco — coauthor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2025-01-08** Coauthored by Representatives Wesco and Pierce K
- **2025-01-08** First reading: referred to Committee on Elections and Apportionment `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2025-01-08** Authored by Representative Lawson
- **2025-01-21** Committee report: amend do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2025-01-27** Amendment #2 (Lawson) prevailed; voice vote `amendment-passage`
- **2025-01-27** Representative Jackson C added as coauthor
- **2025-01-27** Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2025-01-28** Senate sponsor: Senator Gaskill
- **2025-01-28** Cosponsor: Senator Crider
- **2025-01-28** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 31: yeas 85, nays 8 `passage, reading-3, reading-3`
- **2025-01-29** Referred to the Senate `referral`
- **2025-02-18** First reading: referred to Committee on Elections `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2025-03-31** Committee report: amend do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2025-04-10** Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2025-04-10** Amendment #1 (Walker K) prevailed; Roll Call 374: yeas 28, nays 17 `amendment-passage`
- **2025-04-15** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 433: yeas 49, nays 0 `passage, reading-3, reading-3`
- **2025-04-16** Motion to concur filed `filing`
- **2025-04-16** Returned to the House with amendments `receipt`
- **2025-04-17** House concurred with Senate amendments; Roll Call 482: yeas 88, nays 0
- **2025-04-21** Signed by the Speaker `passage`
- **2025-04-22** Signed by the President Pro Tempore `passage`
- **2025-04-23** Signed by the President of the Senate `passage`
- **2025-05-01** Public Law 159 `became-law`
- **2025-05-01** Signed by the Governor `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/211a5f95-27d6-4497-8a3f-97aac5314159`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Indiana legislature records).