The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is the latest agency to be targeted by associations seeking to ensure that Washington, D.C., remains the paper capital of the world rather than switch over to electronic records, the Washington Post reported.

Consumers for Paper Options—a coalition organized by the American Forest & Paper Association and the Envelope Manufacturers Association—is opposing an SEC proposal to allow mutual funds and other investment companies to post shareholder reports and quarterly portfolio holdings online instead of mailing out paper statements.

The move to electronic records has saved the government millions of dollars, but it has come at great expense to the paper industry, which has seen demand for its products drop 5 percent a year in recent years, according to the Post. The coalition had previously fought efforts by the Food and Drug Administration, Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service to replace paper documents with their digital counterparts.

"While we recognize the trend towards a more digital world, it is critical that government efforts to ‘modernize' information delivery do not disenfranchise Americans who need or want resources in paper format," Consumers for Paper Options said in a statement.

The SEC has received 232 comments to its proposal to put shareholder statements online, almost all in opposition, the Post reported. http://wapo.st/1EjFTP6

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