First Regular Session
Sixty-second General Assembly
LLS NO. 99-0225.01 Dan Cartin HOUSE BILL 99-1110
STATE OF COLORADO
BY REPRESENTATIVES Fairbank and Dean;
also SENATOR Thiebaut.
REREVISED
STATE, VETERANS, & MILITARY AFFAIRS
A BILL FOR AN ACT
101 []CONCERNING THE "FAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICES ACT", ARTICLE 45 OF
102 TITLE 1, COLORADO REVISED STATUTES.
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
not necessarily reflect any amendments that may be subsequently
adopted.)
[ ] denotes HOUSE amendment. { } denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters indicate new material to be added to existing statute.
Dashes through the words indicate material to be deleted from existing statute.
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Deletes the definition of "conduit". Adds candidates to the
definition of "person". Authorizes political committees to engage in
political issue education.
Eliminates all contribution limits on natural persons, political
committees, political parties, and candidate committees. Allows
corporations and labor organizations to make contributions to a state
candidate's candidate committee. Eliminates the prohibition on persons
acting as conduits for contributions.
Removes voluntary campaign spending limits.
Specifies that the monthly report due on the first day of each
month starting 6 months before a major election is not required on the
first day of the month in which the major election is held.
No later than December 31, 1999, requires the secretary of state
to establish, operate, and maintain a web site through which a person who
wishes to review reports required by the "Fair Campaign Practices Act"
may obtain read-only access to such reports free of charge.
Makes conforming amendments.
1 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
2 { SECTION 1. 1-45-103 (12), Colorado Revised Statutes, is
3 amended to read:
4 1-45-103. Definitions. As used in this article:
5 (12) "Political Party" means any group of registered electors who,
6 by petition or assembly, nominate candidates for the official general
7 election ballot. "Political party" includes affiliated party organizations at
8 the state, county, and election district levels. and all such affiliates are
9 considered to be a single entity for purposes of this article.
10 SECTION 2. 1-45-104 the introductory portion to subsection (2)
11 and 1-45-104 (4) and (6), Colorado Revised Statutes, are amended, and
12 the said 1-45-104 is further amended BY THE ADDITION OF THE
13 FOLLOWING NEW SUBSECTIONS, to read:
14 1-45-104. Contribution limits. (2) EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN
15 SUBSECTION (5) OF THIS SECTION, no natural person or political committee
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1 PERSON shall make, and no candidate committee shall accept, aggregate
2 contributions to a candidate committee for a primary or general election
3 in excess of the following amounts:
4 (2.5) NOTHING IN SUBSECTION (2) OF THIS SECTION SHALL
5 PROHIBIT CONTRIBUTIONS FOR BOTH THE PRIMARY ELECTION AND THE
6 GENERAL ELECTION BY MEANS OF A SINGLE PAYMENT THAT INCLUDES
7 BOTH SUCH CONTRIBUTIONS SO LONG AS THE AMOUNT OF EACH
8 CONTRIBUTION IS SPECIFIED.
9 (4) (a) No political party shall accept contributions that are
10 intended, or in any way designated, to be passed through the party to a
11 specific state candidate's candidate committee. Nor shall a EXCEPT AS
12 PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH (b) OF THIS SUBSECTION (4), NO political party
13 MAY accept aggregate contributions from any person that exceed
14 twenty-five hundred dollars per year.
15 (b) THE CONTRIBUTION LIMITS IN PARAGRAPH (a) OF THIS
16 SUBSECTION (4) SHALL NOT APPLY TO ANY CONTRIBUTION OR
17 CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY A NATIONAL POLITICAL PARTY OR A COMMITTEE
18 OR SUBCOMMITTEE OF A NATIONAL POLITICAL PARTY TO A STATE LEVEL
19 POLITICAL PARTY.
20 (6) Only natural persons, political parties, and political
21 committees A PERSON may contribute to a state candidate's candidate
22 committee.
23 (15) NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL PROHIBIT A CANDIDATE
24 FROM USING:
25 (a) FOR THE PRIMARY ELECTION, ALL OR ANY PORTION OF THE
26 TOTAL MONEYS CONTRIBUTED TO THAT CANDIDATE FOR THE GENERAL
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1 ELECTION, UP TO THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT ALLOWED UNDER LAW, DURING
2 THE SAME ELECTION CYCLE; OR
3 (b) FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION, ALL OR ANY PORTION OF THE
4 TOTAL MONEYS CONTRIBUTED TO THAT CANDIDATE FOR THE PRIMARY
5 ELECTION, UP TO THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT ALLOWED UNDER LAW, DURING
6 THE SAME ELECTION CYCLE.
7 (16) NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL PROHIBIT A CONTRIBUTION
8 TO A CANDIDATE UP TO THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT ALLOWED UNDER LAW IN
9 THE ELECTION CYCLE AT ANY TIME DURING SUCH ELECTION CYCLE.
10 (17) NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL PROHIBIT ONE SPOUSE FROM
11 CONTRIBUTING ON BEHALF OF THE OTHER SPOUSE, BY MEANS OF A SINGLE
12 CONTRIBUTION, THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT ALLOWED UNDER LAW FROM THE
13 MARITAL COUPLE FOR THE PRIMARY ELECTION, THE GENERAL ELECTION,
14 OR BOTH, DURING THE SAME ELECTION CYCLE.
15 SECTION 3. 1-45-105 (6) (b) and (7), Colorado Revised Statutes,
16 are amended to read:
17 1-45-105. Voluntary campaign spending limits. (6) (b) State
18 candidates who choose not to comply with the applicable voluntary
19 campaign spending limit shall include the following statement in any
20 political message produced by the candidate or the candidate's committee:
21 "(Candidate's Name) HAS NOT AGREED TO THE CAMPAIGN
22 SPENDING LIMITS ADOPTED BY THE VOTERS IN THE FAIR
23 CAMPAIGN PRACTICES ACT". This statement shall be prominently
24 featured in the political message.
25 (7) Notwithstanding sections 1-5-402, 1-5-407, or any other
26 statutory provision to the contrary:
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1 (a) Each primary election ballot shall clearly indicate which state
2 candidates have accepted the applicable voluntary spending limit and
3 which state candidates have not accepted the voluntary spending limit.
4 (b) Each general election ballot shall also clearly indicate which
5 state candidates have accepted the applicable voluntary spending limit
6 and which state candidates have not accepted the voluntary spending
7 limit.
8 SECTION 4. 1-45-106 (1) (a) and (2), Colorado Revised
9 Statutes, are amended to read:
10 1-45-106. Unexpended campaign contributions.
11 (1) (a) Unexpended campaign contributions to a candidate committee
12 may be contributed to a political party, subject to the limitation set forth
13 in section 1-45-104 (4), donated to a charitable organization recognized
14 by the internal revenue service, returned to the contributors, or retained
15 by the committee for use by the candidate in a subsequent campaign.
16 pursuant to the restrictions set forth in subsection (2) of this section In
17 no event shall contributions to a candidate committee be used for
18 personal purposes not reasonably related to supporting the election of the
19 candidate.
20 (2) Any unexpended campaign contributions retained by a
21 candidate committee for use in a subsequent election cycle shall be
22 counted and reported as contributions from political committees in any
23 subsequent election for purposes of section 1-45-104 (1) no matter how
24 those contributions were originally classified.
25 SECTION 5. 1-45-108 (2) (a), Colorado Revised Statutes, is
26 amended to read:
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1 1-45-108. Disclosure. (2) (a) Such reports that are required to be
2 filed with the secretary of state shall be filed quarterly in off-election
3 years and on the first day of each month beginning the sixth full month
4 before the major election and fourteen days before and thirty days after
5 the major election in election years; EXCEPT THAT NO MONTHLY REPORT
6 SHALL BE REQUIRED ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH IN WHICH THE
7 MAJOR ELECTION IS HELD. Such reports that are required to be filed with
8 the county clerk and recorder or with the municipal clerk shall be filed on
9 the twenty-first day and on the Friday before and thirty days after the
10 primary election, where applicable, and the major election in election
11 years and annually in off-election years on the first day of the month in
12 which the anniversary of the major election occurs.
13 SECTION 6. 1-45-109 (5), Colorado Revised Statutes, is
14 amended to read:
15 1-45-109. Filing - where to file - timeliness. (5) NO LATER THAN
16 DECEMBER 31, 1999, the secretary of state shall establish, operate, and
17 maintain such computer services as are necessary to maintain a
18 telecommunications network that allows electronic read-only access to
19 persons who wish to review the reports filed with the secretary of state's
20 office pursuant to this article. The rates to be charged and procedures for
21 such access shall be determined by the secretary of state. The rates to be
22 charged shall be set at a level which offsets the costs to the secretary of
23 state. A WEB SITE ON THE INTERNET, OR MODIFY AN EXISTING WEB SITE, SO
24 AS TO ALLOW ANY PERSON WHO WISHES TO REVIEW REPORTS FILED WITH
25 THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE
26 ELECTRONIC READ-ONLY ACCESS TO SUCH REPORTS FREE OF CHARGE.
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1 SECTION 7. Safety clause. The general assembly hereby finds,
2 determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate
3 preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.}