South Carolina is one of the four most difficult states to access and track the impact money has on the political system.

State Sen. Wes Hayes, R-York, thinks he has a good chance this year of changing that.

Hayes' campaign finance reform bill would require the state to develop an Internet-based system for elected officials and candidates to file quarterly fund-raising reports. The public then could access those reports over the Internet.

"I'm optimistic we can make it work," said Hayes, chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee.

Making this information available online is important, proponents say, because now it is difficult and expensive for South Carolinians to get it.

Forty-six states have an electronic-filing system for campaign finance forms, according to the Center for Governmental Studies, a Los Angeles-based group that tracks government trends.

Only South Carolina, Montana, Tennessee and Wyoming do not.

There are three other campaign finance bills before the General Assembly, but Hayes' is the only one that goes as far as some, including Gov. Mark Sanford, would like.

For years, the State Ethics Commission has tried to get the money it needs to collect campaign data electronically and to make that information available over the Internet. The commission believes $300,000 upfront and $25,000 a year would do it.

According to the Center for Governmental Studies, states spent an average of $164,300 to develop filing systems and an average of $87,500 a year to maintain them.

To date, the Legislature has yet to find the money. For the next budget cycle, the spending plan recommended by the House Ways and Means Committee would cut state agency budgets by more than 10 percent.

With more budget cuts expected this year, it might be several years before the project is funded. The law still could be changed to call for the new system, however.

Some version of campaign finance reform has passed the House each of the past three years.

In 2000, it passed the House and Senate but was vetoed by then-Gov. Jim Hodges, who claimed parts were unconstitutional. In 2001, it passed the House again but died in the Senate. Last year, it made it through the House and Senate, but a compromise failed at the last minute.

This year, Hayes might have the votes. A House version of campaign finance reform, approved by the full House, does not include electronic filing. But House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Harrison, R-Richland, said he can get the House to go along.

Senate Judiciary chairman Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, said he, too, can support electronic filing. All four campaign finance reform bills are before Senate Judiciary subcommittees.

Sanford also is on board, spokesman Will Folks said.

Hayes' bill and the House version do much of the same things, including tightening disclosure rules for political parties and increasing contribution limits. But only Hayes' bill includes electronic filing.

Adopting campaign finance reform without electronic filing is a mistake, said Laurel Suggs, president of the S.C. League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan civic group.

Without that component, the new rules would be "worthless to all but the most diligent seekers of information," Suggs said. "We feel very strongly that without electronic filing and access to the filed information, any disclosure laws will mean little to citizens."

Four times a year, every elected official and candidate -- from the members of the smallest town council to the governor -- must submit a campaign finance form that details who has given or loaned them money and how they have spent their money.

House and Senate members file with their respective ethics committees. Everyone else files with the State Ethics Commission.

There are 170 members of the General Assembly and thousands of elected officials around the state. Each report is at least two pages and sometimes many more. Sanford's Jan. 10 filing, for instance, is 35 pages. Beyond the expense and difficulty of auditing and storing such massive amounts of paper, public access to the information is limited.

To get a copy of Sanford's most recent filing, one must call or visit the Ethics Commission and request a copy. Commission staff will not make the copy until they receive payment. The commission charges 50 cents a page, so a copy of the governor's report costs $17.50. The commission charges $2 to mail copies.

Changing to an electronic system would not only make the information more easily accessible by the public, but it also would save the state money, supporters say. It would take staff less time to audit reports, decipher handwriting, file and maintain reports and make copies.