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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 20, 2022 11:25 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Perry A. Stambaugh |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Electronic Filing of Campaign Finance Reports (Former HB 711) |
| In the near future, I will be reintroducing legislation encouraging that all candidates for office and political action committees (PACs) in Pennsylvania utilize the Department of State’s online filing system to electronically file campaign finance reports. (Former HB 711, which passed the House unanimously last session.) Paper filing of campaign finance reports is outdated, costly, and inefficient. Having all filings done electronically will greatly improve government transparency and accountability while at the same time reducing expenses for the state. According to the Department of State, a third of all campaign finance reports are already filed electronically. If the other two-thirds of candidates and PACs began filing electronically, the existing online system would be able to handle it with no additional cost. Most importantly, this system will greatly hasten the process of disclosure to keep up with political and legislative developments in the state. There have been times when a lag occurs in the posting of information from paper reports. Because of this, Commonwealth citizens and public watchdog groups are unable to efficiently gain access to these public documents. Instead, if a member of the public wants to see a recent campaign finance report, he/she must travel to Harrisburg, or pay for copies of the report to be sent by mail or e-mail. Pennsylvania must not be left behind in the era of increased public transparency online. We have the technology to give our citizens the transparent government they deserve while saving the taxpayers money. New language to this bill will also greatly simplify the “Cycle” reporting for campaign finance filings to just require quarterly reports be filed by March 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15 of each year. These dates capture most of the key election “accounting” periods (pre-primary, post primary, pre-general election, and post general election/end of year). With electronic filing, the simpler timeframes are warranted. Finally, this bill will further increase the late fees for reports filed with the Secretary of State. Currently, late fees are assessed at $10 per day excluding weekends and holidays and are capped at $250. These fees haven’t been updated since the 1970s. Only one state has lower late penalties than Pennsylvania. Penalties for reports not timely filed with the Department of State would rise to $25/day for the first six days and $35/day for day seven and each day thereafter, with a cap of $500 for each required filing. Please consider joining me in co-sponsoring this legislation. |
Introduced as HB773