Campaign Finance Bill Gets House Vote Monday

A bill that would provide a statutory mechanism for the filing of complaints that campaign finance laws have been violated will be considered on second reading in the House Monday, Feb. 11.

HB 1041 sets up a procedure by which a person or persons who believe a violation of the campaign finance laws can file a complaint with the Secretary of State's office.

Colorado's campaign finance system is largely constitutional in nature. The relevant provisions of the state constitution are in Article 27, which was enacted by the voters in 2002. Under section 9 of that article citizens are authorized to file complaints, the merits of which are determined by an administrative law judge.

The bill also clean up the state's campaign finance statutes to make clear that enforcement of the constitutional campaign finance requirements is subject to the criteria and standards included in Article 27.

The bill is sponsored in the House by Reps. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, and Majority Leader Alice Madden, D-Boulder. Senate sponsors are Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver, and Sen. Ron Tupa, D-Boulder.