HELENA — The bill to require public reporting of so-called “dark money” in Montana campaigns narrowly advanced Monday evening, as a Senate committee voted 4-3 to send the measure to the Senate floor.

Senate Bill 289, sponsored by Sen. Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip, is one of Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock’s major goals this Legislature, revising state law to require more frequent reporting of campaign money and force disclosure by certain political groups that currently avoid such reporting.

Shortly after the committee vote, Ankney said he’s confident he has the votes to pass the bill on the Senate floor this week.

“In this day and age with everybody reading everything as it happens, who wants to record a vote for ‘dark money?’” he said. “It’s a good bill. It really is.”

Sen. Sue Malek, D-Missoula, who voted for the bill, said an overwhelming majority of Montanans want to know who’s spending money on campaigns in the state.

“I don’t think there is any more important campaign-finance bill than this one,” she said. “I just think it is saying, ‘We want to know who’s playing in Montana. Our voters are pleading with us to do something. ... and this is the bill that does something.”

Sen. Dee Brown, R-Hungry Horse, joined three Democrats on the Senate State Administration Committee to endorse SB289 and send it to the floor.

Brown, the committee’s chairwoman, said afterwards she’s not sure she’ll support the measure on the floor, but felt the bill and the issue are important enough that they should be debated by the full Senate.

“Sometimes we need the discussion, for policy’s sake, on the Senate floor,” she said.

The main change made by SB 289 is defining what constitutes “electioneering communication” and requiring any donations and spending connected with that communication to be reported to the state Political Practices Office.

Under current law, some political groups can run ads or send mailers attacking or supporting a candidate and argue they are merely educating voters about issues, rather than advocating for or against a candidate — and therefore, aren’t required to report their funding.

SB 289 would require these groups to report their finances for any communications that mention a candidate or ballot issue within 60 days of the initiation of voting — even though that communication may not expressly advocate voting for or against a candidate.

The committee Monday evening also rejected, on 4-3 votes, two attempts to amend the bill.

Sen. Doug Kary, R-Billings, wanted to amend the bill to include commentary, bloggers and editorials as “election communications” that should be subject to financial reporting requirements.

Malek said adding those categories to the definition would confuse the issue and perhaps restrict free speech, and that writers of commentary are not getting paid by campaign groups or candidates. Kary said he thinks some bloggers are paid.

The panel also defeated an amendment that said the state political practices commissioner cannot require candidates to file reports electronically.

Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl, who was in the committee room during the votes Monday, said afterward he’s pleased SB289 made it to the floor, and that it’s a good bill for Montana.

It will increase the “transparency and immediacy” of public reporting of campaign finances, he said.