The Senate Government Organization Committee voted to report Senate Bill 483 to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass. The measure would amend Chapter 3, Article 8, Section 7 to change how civil penalties for failures to file campaign finance reports are assessed and collected.

Committee counsel Carl described the bill: if a political committee fails to file a required financial report or files a grossly incomplete or inaccurate report, the Secretary of State may assess a civil penalty of up to $500 for a first violation and up to $1,000 for subsequent violations. The bill replaces the current uncapped $10‑per‑day penalty with a capped amount.

The bill establishes procedures before assessing penalties: the Secretary of State must notify the committee in writing that a report is missing or incomplete; if the committee files or completes the report within seven days of the notice, no penalty will be assessed. For grossly incomplete or inaccurate reports, the Secretary of State must notify the committee pointing out omissions; the committee has ten days to correct it. In both cases the Secretary of State may grant an additional compliance period not to exceed 14 days for good cause. Penalties assessed are payable within 30 days; delinquent penalties may be referred to a bonded collection agency. The bill also clarifies that the law applies broadly to political committees (including candidate committees) and removes municipal recorders as the receiving officer for municipal candidate reports, shifting those responsibilities toward county clerks or the Secretary of State.

David Cook, general counsel for the Secretary of State's office, testified and answered committee questions; he said the office seeks reasonable deadlines and enforcement tools while retaining discretion to negotiate settlements for first‑time or hardship cases. Senators asked about comparability with neighboring states; Cook said he reviewed statutes nationwide and can provide a comparative chart to the committee.

The vice chair moved the bill be reported to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass; the committee approved the motion by voice vote and the bill will be reported to the full Senate.