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Agency and advocates clash over timing, costs and policy changes to Oregon campaign finance reform
Summary
At an informational hearing, the Secretary of State’s office warned that House Bill 4024’s technical demands (a statewide compliance and reporting platform) will be costly and risky to build quickly, while good‑government advocates and the Campaign Legal Center said proposed fixes in HB 4018 would weaken anti‑evasion and coordinated‑expenditure rules; business groups defended technical corrections and a staggered timeline.
State elections officials and outside experts told the Senate Committee on Rules on Feb. 23 that Oregon’s campaign finance overhaul requires more implementation time and policy clarity than currently scheduled.
Michael Kaplan, Deputy Secretary of State, said House Bill 4024 requires a new statewide IT platform and capabilities that "vastly exceed" the department's 20‑year‑old Orestar system. Kaplan said the office released an RFP and presented a placeholder funding request of $25 million to implement HB 4024 in its current form, but warned costs could exceed that amount if rapid development premiums are required and vendors demand risk premiums. "To have even a shot of making those demanding requirements on a tight deadline, we are having to assume risk right now in our RFP process," Kaplan told the committee.
Kaplan and Ricardo Lujan Valerio, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Secretary of State, urged the…
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