On May 5, the Colorado Senate passed a bill establishing criteria that would require certain groups supporting or opposing ballot initiatives to register as issue committees. SB237 would limit the amount of money nonprofits can spend on ballot measures before they are considered issue committees and become subject to donor disclosure requirements. The Colorado House of Representatives passed the bill on May 10.
Colorado has a Democratic trifecta, which means the Democratic Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature. Democrats have a 20-15 majority in the Senate and a 41-24 majority in the House.
What the bill would do
Colorado law requires nonprofits to disclose their donors if their major purpose is supporting or opposing ballot measures. Section 1-45-103 defines major purpose as support of or opposition to a ballot measure through annual expenditures and its “production or funding…of written or broadcast communications, or both, in support of or opposition to a ballot issue or ballot question.” Section 1-45-108 requires issue committees to disclose the name and address of each person who has contributed more than $20.
SB237 would define an organization’s major purpose based on the percentage of its expenditures spent on ballot measure. An organization would be considered an issue committee if more than 30% of its expenditures in the past three years were to support or oppose two or more ballot measures. Organizations spending more than 20% of their expenditures on a single ballot measure would also be considered issue committees. These issue committees would be subject to pre-existing donor disclosure requirements.
The bill would also enact new disclosure requirements for issue committees and candidates. Committees or candidates making ballot measure expenditures of more than $5,000 in a calendar year would be required to submit campaign finance reports to the secretary of state for additional expenditures of more than $1,000.
Legislative actions
Sens. Stephen Fenberg (D) and Chris Holbert (R) introduced SB237 on April 28, 2022. The Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee voted to refer the bill to the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 3. The Senate passed the bill in a unanimous vote on May 5.
In the House, the bill was initially referred to the House State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Committee, which voted to refer it to the Committee on Appropriations on May 5. The House passed the bill 53-12 on May 10, with Republicans casting all 12 votes against it. The bill now goes to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D).
Reactions
Michael Fields, a senior adviser to Advance Colorado Action said the current regulations on ballot measure spending are unclear “There’s a lack of clarity right now on what (nonprofits) can do on ballot issues,” Fields said.
Sen. Holbert said the bill would assist the secretary of state’s office in investigating campaign finance complaints. “[The bill] provides some clarity as to what the state should or shouldn’t do. I don’t think it allows the groups to do anything new or different,” Holbert said.
Annie Orloff, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D), said, “The Secretary of State’s Office does not support this legislation as drafted at this time,” but did not say why.
What we’ve been reading
- JD Supra, “New York Adopts Regulations Amending Its Donor Disclosure Rules,” May 10, 2022
- The Detroit News, “Michigan Legislature places term limits, financial disclosure proposal before voters,” May 10, 2022
- Daily Journal, “Governor vetoes bill tweaking campaign finance law,” May 4, 2022
The big picture
Number of relevant bills by state: We’re currently tracking 143 pieces of legislation dealing with donor disclosure and privacy. Of these bills, 116 are primarily focused on disclosure, and 27 are primarily focused on privacy. To reflect this distinction, the charts in this section and the recent legislative actions below are divided between disclosure legislation and privacy legislation. On the maps below, a darker shade of green indicates a greater number of relevant bills. Click here for a complete list of all the bills we’re tracking.
Donor disclosure legislation
Number of relevant bills by current legislative status:
Number of relevant bills by partisan status of sponsor(s):
Donor privacy legislation
Number of relevant bills by current legislative status:
Number of relevant bills by partisan status of sponsor(s):
Recent legislative actions
For complete information on all of the bills we are tracking, click here.
Donor disclosure legislation
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California SB746: This bill would require a business intentionally using its products or services to make political communications to submit campaign finance reports in certain circumstances.
- Democratic sponsorship
- This bill was referred to committee on May 10.
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Colorado SB237: This bill would amend the definition of an issue committee and require a person or committee making direct ballot issue or ballot question expenditures of more than $5,000 to file a report with the secretary of state.
- Bipartisan sponsorship
- This bill passed both chambers on May 10.
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Louisiana SB473: This bill would require postsecondary education institutions to disclose the source of any foreign gifts.
- Republican sponsorship
- This bill passed the upper chamber on May 11.
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Missouri HB1505: This bill requires entities making expenditures of $500 or more in support of, or in opposition to, a candidate, an issue considered by the general assembly, or a ballot measures, other than a contribution made directly to a candidate or committee, to disclose their donors in some circumstances.
- Democratic sponsorship
- This bill was referred to committee on May 13.
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Missouri HB1511: This bill requires committees involved in inaugural activities on behalf of a statewide officeholder to file disclosure reports with the ethics commission. It would also bar committees from accepting contributions from anonymous entities.
- Democratic sponsorship
- This bill was referred to committee on May 13.
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Missouri HB2312: This bill would prohibit candidate committees from accepting cash donations in excess of $100, contributions made on behalf of another person, anonymous contributions of more than $25, and contributions from out-of-state committees. Anonymous contributions could not exceed $500 or one percent of the aggregate amount of all contributions received by that committee in the same calendar year, whichever is greater. The bill would also require recipients to disclose the name and address of the actual source of each contribution and to disclose sponsors in print and digital advertisements.
- Democratic sponsorship
- This bill was referred to committee on May 13.
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Missouri HB2891: This bill would require corporations and foreign non-profit organizations making expenditures over $500 in support or opposition to a candidate or ballot measure to file a report disclosing the name and address of the person making the expenditure.
- Democratic sponsorship
- This bill was referred to committee on May 13.
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New Hampshire SB348: This bill would prohibit contributions made on behalf of another individual, from a labor union or affiliate of a labor union, or from an anonymous source. It would also establish maximum limits on contributions made by any single individual or entity.
- Republican sponsorship
- This bill passed both chamber on May 13.
Donor privacy legislation
No legislative actions were taken on privacy bills this week.
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