Lawmakers consider funding to modernize campaign-finance and lobbyist reporting system

Representative Paul Cutler told the committee the state’s 15-year-old campaign-finance and lobbyist-reporting system is unreliable, hard to use and not mobile or ADA-compliant. He proposed using a commercial package (Maplite was cited in the presentation) that the lieutenant governor’s office selected through an RFP and which would consolidate state and local filings into a single searchable database.

A demonstration video shown to the committee described the new system as easier for officeholders to use, mobile friendly, ADA-compliant and more transparent for the public. “The state's 15 year old software system for campaign finance and lobbying reporting is unreliable, out of date, and needs modernization,” the demonstration stated.

Cutler said the missing element is implementation funding; the vendor won the earlier RFP but the state lacked budget to complete rollout. Committee members asked whether the lieutenant governor's office had completed procurement; Cutler said the RFP was run and Maplite was the commercial winner, and that funding is the outstanding step.

Members discussed user benefits, the potential to add local jurisdictions in later stages, and the possibility of offsetting costs through increased lobbyist fees. No funding vote occurred; staff will place the request on the voting packet for prioritization ahead of the final appropriations meeting.