Lee Ann Bruce Boone, executive director of the Oklahoma Ethics Commission, told the House Appropriations and Budget Committee the commission secured a vendor to replace its Guardian electronic filing system and intends to own the replacement system’s source code.

Boone said the commission selected a vendor who built Texas’s e‑file system and that the new contract gives the state an opportunity to own source code once implemented. “What’s really exciting about this opportunity is, not just an opportunity to modernize, but we have the opportunity to own our own source code when this is done,” she said.

Boone described several accomplishments and outstanding needs: the commission offered more than 10 trainings in a recent quarter, implemented a pilot diversionary program for first‑time filers, expanded its compliance staff, and cleared a backlog of investigative matters dating back to 2020. She told the committee the agency brought nearly 40 complaints before the commission in 2024 and had reduced a backlog of administrative matters such that new complaints are placed on the next available agenda in most cases.

On the Guardian replacement, Boone said the commission received an initial appropriation last year and asked for roughly $1,000,000 more this year to finish implementation, cover the first year of licensing, project management and possible incentive payments tied to milestones. She told members the commission received approximately $1,200,000 in recurring appropriation and $1,200,000 in one‑time funding for the Guardian project and that the additional $1,000,000 would complete phase 1 and phase 2 implementation costs.

Boone asked the committee to approve converting $150,000 in one‑time funding for political‑subdivision work into recurring funds and to add another $150,000 to expand outreach and compliance at the county and municipal level. She said the commission has found substantial variation in filings and record‑keeping at the local level and that consolidating local reporting into a statewide e‑file system would create a single repository of campaign finance data rather than disparate local paper files.

Boone also described a lobbyist fee error discovered in 2023: the commission raised lobbyist registration fees to $125 but statute allows a $100 registration fee, she said. To remedy that difference, the commission sent almost 800 refund checks of $25 each in December. “In December, we sent out almost 800 checks of $25 each, to try to remedy that situation,” she said.

Committee members asked about data transfer, ownership of source code and timing. Boone said the current vendor owns the old system’s source code but the new system will be a joint ownership arrangement; she also said data transfer and data availability from the old vendor remain the project’s largest technical risk. Boone said the goal is to have the new system live by July 1 at end of Guardian’s life, but that data migration may force phased availability of older records.

Boone closed by noting the commission has been working to reduce outside legal fees by partnering with the attorney general’s office and by hiring in‑house litigators, and she told lawmakers the commission will continue to expand training, finalize metrics and pilot diversion and political‑subdivision programs during FY 2025.