A federal judge has issued an order to the state supreme court seeking clarification of the state’s campaign finance laws. The order arises from a suit filed against the secretary of state by the Coalition for Secular Government (CSG), alleging that certain provisions of the Fair Campaign Practices Act are invalid under the First Amendment. CSG plans to raise funds that will go toward updating and disseminating a policy paper that may address ballot issues, activities that may require it to register as an issue committee and disclose its donors under Colorado law.

The judge requested the Colorado Supreme Court to clarify:

• Whether the position paper expressly advocates for a ballot issue or question such that it falls within the definition of expenditure in the Colorado Constitution;

• If it does qualify as a ballot issue expenditure, is it eligible for the exemptions allowed for news items, editorials, and other similar writings;

• Whether the policy paper is a “written or broadcast communication” that would categorize CSG as an issue committee, and if not, did it become one when CSG posted the paper to its blog or Facebook page; and

• What the monetary threshold is that would require an issue committee to register.

With the November elections on the horizon, a number of lawsuits have been filed by potential campaign contributors seeking to determine the constitutionality of their states’ campaign finance laws. The following states have seen campaign finance laws invalidated in August.

In Nebraska, the state supreme court held the Campaign Finance Limitation Act (CFLA) unconstitutional. The CFLA allowed candidates participating in the public financing program to receive additional public funds if their privately-funded opponents exceeded certain spending limits. The court also struck down the CFLA’s aggregate contribution limits and rules governing acceptance of contributions from independent groups after the court determined the public financing portion of the CFLA was not severable from the rest of the law.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Ohio’s ban on political contributions to candidates for state attorney general or county prosecutor from doctors who treat Medicaid patients unconstitutional. The provision was designed to prevent fraud by banning contributions to those officials who prosecute Medicaid fraud, but the court held the prohibition a violation of doctors’ free speech rights.

In Florida, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction blocking enforcement of Florida’s $100 per election contribution limit for persons 17 and under, holding the law an unconstitutional infringement on free speech rights. Florida allows persons aged 18 and over to contribute $500 per election.

A federal judge in West Virginia granted a preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement of West Virginia’s $1,000-per-election limit on contributions to independent expenditure PACs, on the grounds that the limit chills First Amendment free speech rights. The injunction will remain in place pending a final resolution of the case.

Finally, in Colorado, a federal judge invalidated several campaign finance rule changes made by the secretary of state. The rules struck down include one providing that organizations are only subject to reporting requirements if more than 30 percent of their spending was for or against a ballot issue, and one limiting penalties for certain campaign finance violations. The secretary of state’s rule defining electioneering communications was upheld. Two additional rules await a decision.

The secretary of state has issued amended rules regarding lobbyist registration.

The substantive changes include:

• Elimination of the requirement that the secretary of state provide notice and an opportunity to respond to lobbyists under investigation for violations of Colorado’s sunshine law;
• Providing that the secretary of state may admonish a lobbyist for failure to pay penalties within 45 days of assessment, as opposed to the previous rule of 90 days;
• Providing that the secretary of state will send a penalty to collections if a lobbyist or lobbyist firm fails to pay the penalty within 90 days;
• Amending the requirement that pertains to reporting of gifts to clarify that lobbyists are prohibited from giving gifts of any kind to covered officials; and
• Establishing definitions of rate and standard as those terms pertain to state agencies with rulemaking authority.

These rules will take effect 20 days after publication in the Colorado Register.

The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s decision that Secretary of State Scott Gessler overstepped his authority when he changed the financial disclosure threshold for issue committees to $5,000.

The previous threshold, established by constitutional amendment, required issue committees to register with the secretary of state and file financial disclosures if they accepted contributions or made expenditures of more than $200.

Secretary Gessler argued that the rule change was needed to clarify uncertainty in the law created by a federal appeals court ruling, but the court ruled that the change exceeded his rulemaking authority and voided the rule.

A federal judge has invalidated several campaign finance rule changes made by Secretary of State Scott Gessler. The rules struck down include one providing that organizations are only subject to reporting requirements if more than 30 percent of their spending was for or against a ballot issue, and one that limited penalties for certain campaign finance violations.

The secretary of state’s rule defining electioneering communications was upheld, and two additional rules await a decision.

Colorado: The General Assembly adjourned May 9, 2012. Governor John Hickenlooper announced his intention to call a special session, primarily to address a civil unions bill. The special session could begin as early as Friday.

Connecticut: The General Assembly adjourned May 9, 2012.

Secretary of State Scott Gessler announced on Wednesday the adoption of a recodified set of rules concerning Colorado campaign financing aimed at simplifying the state’s campaign finance process. Among the most notable changes to be made, total fines for late or incomplete campaign finance reports are now to be limited to $50 per day for up to 180 days for a maximum fine of $9,000.

Additionally, Gessler’s office will continue to utilize the $5,000 threshold at which issue committees must register and report, created by Gessler’s adoption of Campaign and Political Finance Rule 4.27, despite a state district court ruling Gessler did not have the authority to increase the threshold from the constitutionally-mandated figure of $200 after a finding by the court determining the threshold to be too burdensome.

Also, in accordance with the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision released the day prior to Gessler’s release of the recodified campaign finance rules, a 527 political group is limited to accepting up to $550 from any person every two years if the 527 group is engaging in express advocacy for a particular candidate by use of certain “magic words” such as “vote for” or “elect.”

Critics of Gessler have claimed the changes made are outside his authority and a legal challenge is expected. The rules are scheduled to temporarily take effect on March 7, 2012, with the rules being permanently effective on March 30, 2012.

Governor John Hickenlooper signed the first bill to come out of the 2012 legislative session on Monday, January 30, 2012. The bill, Senate Bill 12-014, moves the date for candidates, committees, and political parties to begin filing biweekly campaign finance disclosure reports from the first Monday in July prior to the primary election to the first Monday in May prior to the primary election. This settles an ongoing dispute between lawmakers and Secretary of State Scott Gessler over filing biweekly reports prior to the state’s June 26, 2012 primary.

Lawmakers neglected to alter the beginning of biweekly reporting dates during the 2011 session when they chose to move the state’s primary date from August to June. In reaction to this, Gessler issued a rule declaring biweekly reporting would not begin until after the primary election so as to avoid requiring biweekly reporting for the 2012 election to begin in July, 2011.

After facing backlash from critics claiming he was trying to reduce transparency and following a vote by a legislative committee not to include the rule in the package of approved rules, Gessler issued a new rule declaring biweekly reports would begin for the June 2012 primary election on January 30, 2012, but future primary elections would require biweekly reporting to begin in July of the off-election year and continue until the last Monday of the biweekly schedule prior to the primary.

Unhappy with this decision by Gessler, lawmakers were able to pass SB 12-014 in time to avoid beginning biweekly reporting on Monday. The first biweekly report will now be due May 7, 2012.

A rule issued Tuesday, December 27th by Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler requires candidates who plan on being in Colorado’s 2012 primary election to begin filing biweekly campaign-finance reports January 30th. This rule was issued with a statement saying that the Secretary of State hopes that the issue will be taken up by the General Assembly when they convene.

After the primary date was moved earlier this year from August to June by the General Assembly, Gessler altered the filing deadlines, initially adopting rules that would require biweekly reporting to begin next September and until then, reports to be filed either quarterly or monthly.

State lawmakers argued that Gessler didn’t have the authority to change the reporting schedule, and this month the Legal Services Committee voted to not include this rule on the grounds that Gessler had overstepped prompting this issuance of the new rule.

The rule issued Tuesday says candidates are not required to file retroactive reports covering July through December 2011.

To learn more, read this article by Sara Burnett.

Secretary of State Scott Gessler has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking in regards to the Colorado Secretary of State Rules Concerning Campaign and Political Finance, 8 CCR 1505-6. Gessler has proposed a recodification of the rules in their entirety in an effort to improve organization and readability, clarify existing laws and regulations, and address questions arising under Colorado campaign and political finance laws.

Among the more notable changes, the proposed rules would limit fines for late or incomplete campaign finance reports to no more than $50 a day for 180 days, maximized to $9,000. The rules would also continue to utilize the $5,000 threshold at which issue committees would need to register and report, created by Gessler’s adoption of Campaign and Political Finance Rule 4.27, despite a recent state district court ruling that Gessler did not have the authority to increase the threshold from the constitutionally-mandated figure of $200 despite a finding of the threshold to be too burdensome in the recent Colorado case of Sampson v. Buescher.

A hearing regarding these proposed changes is scheduled for December 15, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the Blue Spruce Conference Room on the second floor of the Secretary of State’s Office.

The Denver District Court has ruled Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler did not have the authority to raise contribution thresholds concerning when state issue committees have to register and report their activity.

At issue was Gessler’s adoption of Campaign and Political Finance Rule 4.27, which increased from $200 to $5,000 the threshold at which an issue committee must register and report. The $200 threshold, set by the Colorado Constitution, was found to be too burdensome in the recent Colorado case of Sampson v. Buescher.

The court determined that, despite the conflict, Gessler’s alteration of the constitutionally mandated $200 threshold was an impermissible unilateral alteration of the Colorado Constitution. Gessler plans to appeal the ruling.

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Voters in Boulder, Colorado will have the opportunity to vote whether they support corporate personhood on the November 1, 2011 ballot.

By a 6 – 3 decision, the Boulder City Council approved placing a resolution on the ballot calling for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution declaring only human beings, not corporations, are entitled to constitutional rights and money is not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech.

The ballot measure is in response to the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court Citizens United decision, where the ability of the government to limit corporate and labor union independent expenditures was ruled unconstitutional.

“I think it’s a real threat to our government,” said councilman Ken Williams, “and whatever we can do to change that, I think we should.”

If approved by voters, Boulder would join a growing list of localities that have passed similar resolutions.

Photo of the Flatirons by Aza Toth on Wikipedia.

The office of the Secretary of State has released an amended version of the Rules Concerning Campaign and Political Finance, 8 CCR 1505-6.

Rule 5.13 now requires reports of contributions and expenditures to be filed on a monthly basis leading up to the state’s primary election in June and continuing until reports are required to be filed on a biweekly basis beginning in September.

The rule was necessitated by the enactment of Senate Bill 11-189, which changed the date of the state’s primary from August to June. Thus, the requirement to begin filing biweekly reports in July prior to the now vacated primary election date in August was rendered infeasible.