BY JOY HESELTON AND NATHAN CRABBE
Special to the Beacon Journal

COLUMBUS: The Ohio House yesterday approved a bill requiring state candidates to file their campaign finance reports electronically -- but not before a debate over whether the measure should include them.

The House voted 84-5 to pass a Senate version of the bill, sending it on its way to the governor's desk. It requires candidates for statewide offices to begin filing their reports electronically with the Ohio secretary of state's office on Jan. 1, 2001.

Those running for a seat on the General Assembly can pay the state a fee ranging from $50 to $200 to file paper reports, until Jan. 1, 2003, when all state candidates will be subject to the new electronic requirements.

The bill, sponsored by Ron Amstutz, R-Wooster, also requires political action committees, state political parties, and other political contributors to file electronic campaign finance reports. Contributions that total less than $10,000 for a reporting period are excluded from the requirements.

In June, House members removed themselves from the bill's requirements, passing on a watered-down version to the Senate that spurred complaints from critics who said the legislature was creating a double standard.

But a Senate committee rewrote parts of the bill, putting state lawmakers back in, along with a phase-in provision that allows them to gradually adjust to the new requirements.

The changes, approved by the full Senate on Wednesday, triggered some protest yesterday from House members who said the new requirements could discourage ordinary citizens -- who might not be so computer-savvy -- from running for state office.

``I'm beginning to sound like a Luddite, but I'm not. I love my computer,'' said Rep. Jeff Jacobson, R-Brookville. ``You can't write technology and make it perfect and then hold people accountable when they make a human error.''

Rep. Dennis Stapleton, R-Washington Court House, said the bill requires too much out of candidates running for the General Assembly.

``I know a lot of you, like myself, file with our own individual efforts,'' Stapleton said. ``I'm not trying to hide anything. All I'm trying to do is meet the deadlines.''

But Rep. Don Mottley, R-West Carrollton, cautioned lawmakers about creating an image of special treatment in the eyes of their constituents by exempting themselves from the electronic filing requirements.

``I think the perception out there . . . really is that we're trying to give ourselves a special favor,'' Mottley said. ``I think if we don't accept this . . . it's going to greatly undermine public confidence in this institution.''

Rep. Gary Cates, R-West Chester, said he's seen campaign Web sites where visitors can make a contribution by entering their credit card numbers.

``If it's OK for the money coming in, why isn't it good enough (for the money) coming out?'' Cates said.