The head of the Government Accountability Board says the agency may have acted too quickly in rolling out a new electronic system for filing campaign finance reports.
Since the Campaign Finance Information System went online in January, it has been the target of frequent criticism for problems such as limited accessibility and missing data. There have also been complaints about long delays in filing reports, with state Representative Gary Sherman (D-Port Wing) says it took his treasurer 12 hours to send the information through.
State Representative Cory Mason (D-Racine) says time clearly wasn’t taken to fix the bugs before the system was put in place and all candidates were required to use it.
Lawmakers held a Capitol hearing Tuesday, where they outlined concerns about the continued use of the database. GAB Executive Director Kevin Kennedy says they are constantly working to fix problems, and are already taking steps to address specific concerns raised during the hearing.
Still, Kennedy says they probably could have avoided some problems by delaying implementation. He says they felt a great deal of pressure to get the system out as quickly as possible.
The system was intended to give the public more access to campaign finance reports and make filing easier for candidates. However, critics say it’s doing just the opposite right now, in its current form.
