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Committee approves law to let ethics software account for campaign refunds and carryovers
Summary
Lawmakers approved a bill to allow refunds and reimbursements to be recorded in the legislature's new ethics software so campaign carryover accounts can reflect reimbursements, restoring accounting that existed under the old paper system.
The committee approved House Bill 16-97 to direct the ethics system vendor to add functionality that lets officeholders record refunds and reimbursements in their campaign/carryover accounts.
Representative Steve Meeks, who presented the bill, said the new software lacks a way to record a negative-expense that previously returned small refunds to campaign carryover accounts. "Unless y'all pass a law specifically authorizing it ... the software vendor basically said they wouldn't add that functionality," Meeks told the committee, arguing the bill restores accountability for small refunds and reimbursements.
Graham Sloan, director of the state ethics commission, described how the paper system previously allowed negative entries to return money to a carryover account and confirmed the current electronic system lacks that mechanism. Sloan said the change would not expand allowable expenses but would permit the accounting entries necessary to reflect reimbursements.
Committee members asked whether the bill would change substantive ethics rules; Sloan and Meeks said it would not, and the measure passed by voice vote.
The committee recorded the action as a do-pass; sponsors said further implementation details would be set through the vendor and rulemaking where necessary.
