House committee passes bill creating removal process for township trustees

A House committee on Wednesday passed a bill that would create a removal process for township trustees.

Senate Bill 304 was heard by Rep. Chris Campbell (D-West Lafayette) -- who has herself introduced legislation creating oversight for township budgets (House Bill 1157). She voted against the bill - noting that the removal process it creates uses the courts, and the courts are already used for removing public officials who have violated the law.

“Are we fixing a problem? No. This is adding language that is not necessary. It’s basically redundant language,” she said. “The courts already have these ways to evaluate whether an elected official should be removed from office based on what is in the Indiana code. That is not changing in this bill.”

Campbell also worried that the bill opened the door for a politicized process -- a concern that other Democrats raised during the bill’s hearing in the Senate.

“It’s really creating a situation where you have elected officials working to remove another elected official,” she said.

Supporters of the legislation have argued that a removal process is needed for trustees who aren’t performing their job well but haven’t necessarily committed a crime.

The bill now heads to the full House.