Topeka ? A software system that manages the internal workings of the Kansas Legislature is so plagued with problems that a special legislative committee has been formed to look into whether it should continue a multimillion dollar contract with the company that makes the system.

“I think it was very evident last session when the Revisor’s staff had people working around the clock, when amendments couldn’t come to us for five or six hours at a time, because the system — obviously the word processing wasn’t working,” said Senate President Susan Wagle, R-Wichita.

Wagle chaired the first meeting Monday of a special committee made up of the four highest ranking lawmakers who plan to gather reports from various agencies about how the system is performing and make recommendations about future contracts.

The other committee members are House Speaker Ray Merrick, R-Stilwell; Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka; and House Minority Leader Tom Burroughs, D-Kansas City.

The system is called the Kansas Legislative Information Systems and Services, or KLISS. It’s a product of Propylon Inc., a company that specializes in legislative software. Propylon has offices in Lawrence, New York and Dublin.

That system manages everything from the Legislature’s public website to the drafting of bills and amendments, the scheduling of committee meetings and the publication of statutes and regulations.

The Legislature has been using the system since 2011. At the time, it was touted as a cutting-edge system that would improve the flow of information and transparency in state government.

So far, the state has paid Propylon more than $14 million, Wagle said.

But lawmakers and legislative staff began venting strong frustrations during the 2015 session because they were unable to perform simple tasks, such as cutting and pasting text from one bill into another. They said every time a bill was amended, or its contents moved into another bill, the entire bill had to be rewritten from scratch.

“Every time we waited, it was over six hours, and it wasn’t because the Revisor (of Statutes) couldn’t get it done. They could get it done,” Wagle said. “There were problems with the software.”

Officials at Propylon did not immediately respond to phone calls requesting comment.