SB 22-237

Senate Bill 22-237, which has been signed into law in Colorado, aims to strengthen campaign finance regulations for ballot measures. It expands the definition of "earmark" to include contributions or expenditures over $1,000 that support or oppose specific ballot issues. The bill also updates how organizations are classified as issue committees based on their spending patterns related to statewide ballot questions and requires individuals who spend more than $5,000 supporting or opposing a ballot measure to report this activity to the Secretary of State. This law will help increase transparency in campaign funding for ballot initiatives. Since it has been signed, the bill is now an active law that organizations and individuals must follow when dealing with Colorado ballot issues.

Official Summary

The act expands the definition of "earmark" for purposes of the "Fair Campaign Practices Act" to include contributions or expenditures greater than $1,000 to support or oppose a specified ballot issue or ballot question. The act also modifies the process to determine whether an organization is an issue committee to include an examination of the organization's pattern of conduct based upon whether the organization: During the combined period of the current calendar year and the preceding 2 calendar years, made either contributions to one or more statewide Colorado issue committees or direct ballot issue or ballot question expenditures, in either support of or opposition to one or more statewide Colorado ballot issues or ballot questions, that exceeded 30% of the total expenditures by the organization for any purpose and in any location during the entire preceding and current calendar years; During the combined period of the current calendar year and the preceding 2 calendar years, made either contributions to a single statewide Colorado issue committee or direct ballot issue or ballot question expenditures, in either support of or opposition to a single statewide Colorado ballot issue or ballot question, that exceeded 20% of the total expenditures by the organization for any purpose and in any location; or Acted as an issue committee's funding intermediary by making contributions to an issue committee from funds earmarked for the issue committee. Further, the act defines "direct ballot issue or ballot question expenditure" as direct spending in support of or opposition to any single ballot issue or ballot question by a person who does not otherwise meet the requirements of an issue committee. Contributions to an issue committee are not direct ballot issue or ballot question expenditures. Any person who expends $5,000 in aggregate in a calendar year on direct ballot issue or ballot question expenditures must report to the secretary of state, and any person who makes a direct ballot issue or ballot question expenditure must disclose their name in certain communications about a ballot issue or ballot question. For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $30,000 is appropriated from the department of state cash fund to the department of state technology division for information technology personal services to implement the act. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, $14,309 is appropriated from the department of state cash fund to the department of state election division for personal services, based on an assumption that the division will require an additional 0.3 FTE to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

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