Committee pauses House bill to require campaign finance filings be electronic after lawmakers press for exception language

House Bill 16‑94, sponsored in the House and presented in committee by Representative R. J. Hawk, would require campaign contribution and expenditure reports for elected officials in state government to be filed online instead of by paper. The sponsor said the change was intended to reduce manual workload at the Secretary of State’s office.

Committee members raised repeated objections about whether the bill provided an exception pathway for candidates who could not file electronically due to system outages, personal technical problems or other emergencies. Senator Peyton and others described past instances where filing systems failed or where fax or other back‑up procedures were used; Peyton said he had faxed filings when the electronic system would not accept documents.

Josh Bridges, assistant director of elections in the Secretary of State’s office, told the committee that the bill only addressed campaign finance reports and not statements of financial interest, and that the current filing system is newer and “more robust” than prior systems. Still, senators asked whether statutory language or a rulemaking option could provide an explicit temporary exception and allow emailed or faxed submissions that could be later ratified into the electronic system.

Representative Hawk said he would pull the bill to draft language creating either a statutory exception or a promulgated rule to allow temporary backup filings and a process to ratify them when electronic systems are restored. Senator Dodson suggested a backup mechanism that would allow emailed or faxed submissions to be ratified in the electronic system within a short time frame (for example, 3–7 days).

The committee did not vote on the bill; the sponsor withdrew it for amendment so that the Secretary of State and committee members could craft explicit backup procedures.