Committee adopts substitute to require agencies offer electronic submission of government forms

The Government Operations Committee adopted the third substitute and favorably recommended HB147, which requires state and local government agencies to provide an electronic means to request and submit required forms instead of forcing in-person visits.

Sponsor overview: The sponsor framed the bill as a modernization step to reduce unnecessary burden on residents who previously had to appear in person to submit forms. The substitute preserves local discretion about how to implement electronic intake—options listed in the draft include email, upload, electronically completed forms, or scanned and emailed documents—so agencies need not build bespoke portals.

Fiscal note and implementation: Representative McPherson questioned a local-government fiscal note that showed potentially high per-form costs in some implementations. The sponsor explained that the fiscal exposure depends on implementation choices: a simple email-and-scan process has minimal cost, while a full online intake portal would be more expensive. The bill’s effective date is delayed to July 1, 2027 to give agencies time to comply.

Committee action: Representative McPherson moved to adopt the third substitute and then to favorably recommend HB147 with that substitute; the committee approved the motions by voice vote and agreed to place the bill on the consent calendar with the sponsor’s permission.

Next steps: HB147 will be transmitted to the House floor and be eligible for consent calendar consideration; agencies will have until mid-2027 to implement compliance measures.