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House committee approves bill to increase reporting for local candidates who raise $5,000 or more
Summary
The House State Agencies & Gov't Affairs Committee approved a bill by Rep. Underwood to require local candidates who raise or spend $5,000 or more during an election year to file monthly campaign finance reports; candidates under $500 keep existing minimal reporting.
Representative Jasmine Underwood, sponsor of House Bill 1243, told the House State Agencies & Governmental Affairs Committee that the bill would require local candidates who raise or spend $5,000 or more in an election year to file campaign finance reports on the same monthly schedule used by state candidates.
Underwood said the change is aimed at increasing transparency for local races that can carry significant budgets. “If you’ve raised or spent $5,000, you certainly should be able to file campaign financial boards,” Underwood said, explaining that the $5,000 trigger is “arbitrary” but chosen to capture higher-dollar local contests.
The bill keeps the current $500 trigger in place for the lighter reporting schedule: candidates who raise or spend $500 must file a pre‑election report and a final report; those who remain below $500 are not required to file. Underwood said off‑year reporting would be annual, with the chosen cutoff of December 31 to cover the full year.
Committee members asked several clarifying questions. Representative Meeks asked whether counties and cities had been consulted; Underwood said she had amended the bill after initial pushback and that the Association of Counties and the Municipal League had indicated they were “good with this bill.” Representative Collins asked that the legislation be kept consistent with other bills that move reporting to the Secretary of State’s office, and Underwood said she would amend the bill later if the separate bill passed the Senate.
Representative Beck and others questioned how the $500 pre‑election trigger works in practice when a candidate crosses that threshold late in a cycle. Underwood and others explained the existing law requires filing once the trigger is reached; Underwood’s bill leaves that $500 rule in place and adds the $5,000 monthly-report schedule for larger local campaigns.
With no members of the public signed to speak for or against the bill, Underwood closed and moved the committee to pass the bill. The committee approved the motion by voice vote; the transcript records a voice vote and the chair declared the bill passed.
The bill as approved applies to local candidates on election years who meet the $5,000 raise-or‑spend threshold, leaves the $500 trigger and related pre‑election/final report requirements unchanged, and keeps annual off‑year reporting for those not on the higher schedule.
