S.B. 94-122 Campaign reform act - permitted uses of campaign funds. Adds officeholders to those persons subject to the restrictions on the use of campaign funds. Permits the use of campaign funds to defray any reasonable and necessary expenses related to mailings and similar communications to constituents. Allows the use of unexpended campaign funds in a candidate's subsequent campaign for public office.
APPROVED by Governor April 15, 1994
EFFECTIVE April 15, 1994
S.B. 94-171 Campaign reform act - school district elections - governmental expenditures - ballot issue information. Adds those persons seeking office in school district elections to the definition of "candidate" in the "Campaign Reform Act of 1974" and includes such an office within the definition of "public office".
Changes a provision of the Act that permits a policy-making member or employee of an agency or board of the state or a political subdivision to expend up to $50 of public moneys in activities incidental to making himself or herself available to either respond to questions about any issue before the electorate or to express an opinion on any such issue as follows: Allows non-policy-making members and employees to respond to questions. Limits the provision to circumstances where the member or employee does not solicit the question. Removes the $50 limitation on such responses.
Limits issues of official concern that may be addressed in factual summaries dispensed by an agency or board of the state or a political subdivision and paid for with public resources to issues that will appear on an election ballot in the jurisdiction.
APPROVED by Governor June 3, 1994
EFFECTIVE July 1, 1994
S.B. 94-223 Initiative and referendum process - implementation of proposed constitutional amendment concerning information about statewide ballot issues. Implements the provisions of Senate Concurrent Resolution 94-5, subject to its approval by the voters at the November 1994, general election, as follows: Requires the director of research of the legislative council to publish the title and text of each initiated and referred statewide measure at least one time in every legal newspaper and in not less than eight-point standard type. Requires the director of research to prepare a ballot information booklet in accordance with the constitutional provisions and requires the legislative council to review a draft of the booklet at a public hearing at which interested persons are permitted to comment on the accuracy and fairness of the analysis of any measure addressed by the booklet. Requires the director of research to arrange for distribution of the booklet to every residence of one or more active registered electors in the state. Provides that distribution may be made by mailing the booklet to electors, by inserting the booklet in newspapers of general circulation in the state, or by such other methods as the director deems appropriate. Requires that distribution be performed by contract after a competitive bidding process.
APPROVED by Governor May 31, 1994
EFFECTIVE See note below
NOTE: This act shall take effect upon proclamation of the governor of the vote of the registered electors at the 1994
general election approving Senate Concurrent Resolution 94-5. This act shall not take effect if the registered electors
at the 1994 general election disapprove Senate Concurrent Resolution 94-5.
H.B. 94-1080 Initiative and referendum process - implementation of proposed constitutional amendment imposing a single-subject requirement. Establishes the legislative intent of the general assembly in referring to the voters at the 1994 general election Senate Concurrent Resolution 93-4, which would require that initiated measures and referred constitutional amendments be confined to a single subject, which shall be clearly expressed in the title. Declares that the intent of the general assembly is to prevent or inhibit the same inappropriate or misleading practices sought to be prevented or inhibited by the constitutional provision that requires bills to be confined to a single subject, specifically: (1) The practice of including in one measure unrelated subjects that could not pass on their individual merits (logrolling) and (2) the practice of concealing within a measure items not expected on the basis of the title or the major subject matter of the measure. Further declares the intent of the general assembly that judicial decisions construing the constitutional single-subject requirement for bills and the practices followed by the general assembly in implementing the constitutional single-subject requirement for bills should be followed by the initiative title setting board in implementing the single-subject requirement for initiated measures.
Provides that the act will take effect only upon voter approval of Senate Concurrent Resolution 93-4.
APPROVED by Governor March 15, 1994
EFFECTIVE See note below
NOTE: This act shall take effect upon proclamation of the governor of the vote of the registered electors at the 1994
general election approving Senate Concurrent Resolution 93-4. This act shall not take effect if the registered electors
at the 1994 general election disapprove Senate Concurrent Resolution 93-4.
H.B. 94-1091 Campaign reform act - reports of candidates and political committees - electronic filing and review - candidate disclosure statements - filing requirements. Requires the secretary of state to establish, no later than January 1, 1996, computer services necessary to maintain a telecommunications network that allows electronic access to persons who wish to review campaign reports. Requires the secretary of state to establish a telecommunications network by January 1, 1996, for the electronic filing of campaign reports by a candidate, campaign treasurer, or person prior to a general election and authorizes electronic filing to comply with the Act.
Exempts a candidate from filing a financial disclosure statement within 10 days after filing a candidate affidavit if the affidavit is filed within 90 after the filing of a financial disclosure statement.
APPROVED by Governor May 19, 1994
EFFECTIVE July 1, 1994
H.B. 94-1247 Campaign reform act - independent expenditures - disclaimer in advertisements - reporting. Defines an "independent expenditure" under the "Campaign Reform Act of 1974" as an expenditure by a person or campaign treasurer advocating the election or defeat of a candidate or seeking to influence the passage or defeat of any issue which is made without the cooperation or authorization of or consultation with the candidate, an agent of the candidate, or the political committee supporting the candidate or issue, or which is not made in concert with, or at the request or suggestion of those persons.
Requires any person making an independent expenditure of $500 or more within 16 days of an election to file a report within 24 hours of making the expenditure and to provide a copy of the report to the affected candidate or political committee concurrent with that filing. Provides that an advertisement by any person or campaign treasurer making an independent expenditure shall disclose the identity of that person and specifies how that disclosure is made in television, radio, and written materials.
Requires the district attorney or attorney general to investigate and prosecute violations of the independent expenditure provisions and makes such a violation a misdemeanor.
APPROVED by Governor April 28, 1994
EFFECTIVE July 1, 1994
H.B. 94-1286 Election laws - revisions, corrections, and clarifications. Makes various revisions, corrections, and clarifications to the "Uniform Election Code of 1992" (the "Code") and other laws relating to elections.
Makes various amendments to conform to the provisions of section 20 of article X of the state constitution ("Amendment #1") that authorize elections in November of odd-numbered years.
Establishes that the procedure described in the Code for the adjudication of controversies arising from an alleged breach or neglect of duty is the exclusive method for adjudicating such controversies. Requires a petitioner alleging a breach or neglect of duty by an election official to deposit with the court witness fees in the amount set by general law for other judicial proceedings, rather than the $2 per day currently set by the Code.
Requires that registration records include the mailing address of an elector whenever the mailing address is different from the residence address. Requires the county clerk and recorder, at least 40 days prior to the date of the precinct caucus, to furnish each major political party in the county with a list of the registered electors in the county who are affiliated with that political party. Requires the county clerk and recorder to furnish, within 135 days rather than within 120 days after any general election, to the county chairpersons of the two major political parties a list of electors whose names were removed from the registration book after any general election.
Amends the requirement that a person must have been affiliated with a political party for at least 12 months in order to be eligible for designation by assembly as a candidate for nomination at a primary election, by statutorily authorizing the political party to provide otherwise in party rules.
Limits the number of nomination petitions that an elector may sign for candidates for the office of school director to the number of candidates for whom that elector may vote. Requires that nomination petitions for the office of special school district director be signed by 5 eligible electors, unless otherwise required by the district's enabling legislation. Allows the amendment of a nomination petition for a nonpartisan candidate for the office of special district director.
For any vacancy in an office to be filled at a general or congressional vacancy election, requires that the required publication notice appear in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the state or in the congressional district of the vacancy. In the case of a nonpartisan election, requires the designated election official of the political subdivision to certify the order of the ballot and ballot content more than 55 days before the election, rather than at least 50 days before the election.
Requires that the address and hours of any walk-in location and of the location for application and return of absentee ballots be included in the published notice of the election. Requires that such notice be posted at least 10 days prior to and until 2 days after the election and that the notice be retained by the designated election official for 2 years or until an election contest is decided, whichever is later.
Establishes that an election for which a notice was mailed may not be invalidated because an elector failed to receive the mailed information or notification of an election, if the designated election official acted in good faith in mailing the notice. For organizational elections, requires the notice to include the estimated operation and debt service mill levies, fiscal year spending for the first year, and the election date, which may not be less than 10 days after publication.
Except for initiative and recall elections, allows a governing body by resolution to cancel an election held solely for its ballot issues and ballot questions. Prohibits an election from being canceled in part. Requires the governing body within 30 days to pay all costs accrued and attributable to the canceled election and to provide notice by publication of the cancellation. For elections requiring ownership of property in a political subdivision, requires the designated election official to order, no later than 40 days prior to the election, the list of property owners from the county assessor. Authorizes an election official, with the approval of the secretary of state, to use variations from the statutorily prescribed ballot form.
Requires that a booklet with only the candidate's name and the text of a ballot issue or ballot question be provided to an elector when the information is not printed on the ballot card. Lengthens from 5 minutes to 10 minutes the time that a voter may remain in a voting booth when other voters are waiting to occupy voting booths.
For purposes of the existing provision that requires a reasonable sharing of the actual cost of a coordinated election among the county and the political subdivisions, provides that political subdivisions are not responsible for sharing any portion of the usual costs of maintaining the office of the county clerk and recorder. Requires the county clerk and recorder, at least 120 days prior to a regular special district election or regular election of any other political subdivision, to prepare a map of the county showing the location of the polling places and precinct boundaries utilized in the last November election, and requires the county clerk and recorder to maintain a list of owners or contact persons who might grant permission to political subdivisions to use the locations identified on the map for polling places.
Establishes requirements for the filing of written comments concerning ballot issues pursuant to section 20 of article X of the state constitution. Requires that comments must be from persons eligible to vote in the political subdivision submitting the ballot issue. Requires that, in order to be summarized in the ballot issue notice, such comments address a specific ballot issue, include a signature and address, and be filed with the appropriate designated election official by the end of the business day on the Friday before the 30th day before the election.
Requires that a governing body that submits a referred measure be responsible for providing the required fiscal information in the ballot issue notice. For statewide measures referred by the general assembly, designates the executive committee of legislative council as responsible for providing the fiscal information.
Provides that the designated election official is responsible for summarizing the filed comments for a ballot issue notice for referred measures and for the opposing comments for initiated measures, and that the petition representatives for initiated measures are responsible for summarizing the comments in favor of the measure. At least 25 days before an election, requires the election official or a political subdivision conducting an election in November to prepare and transmit to the county clerk and recorder the full text of any required ballot issue notice. For November elections, requires that the county clerk and recorder place such notice in the proper order in the ballot issue notice packet containing a certification that the notice is complete, and that the county clerk and recorder mail the packet to the electors residing in the county. Requires the designated election official for political subdivisions to mail the notice to registered electors not residing in the county.
Requires that ballot issue notices relating to municipal ballot issues be prepared and distributed in a manner consistent with the laws governing the preparation and distribution of ballot issue notices for other political subdivisions. Requires that any contest arising out of a municipal ballot issue or municipal ballot question concerning the order on the ballot or the form or content of any ballot title shall be conducted in the same manner as contests involving ballot issues and ballot questions of other political subdivisions.
Repeals the July 1, 1994, sunset date for the "Mail Ballot Election Act". Establishes a procedure for challenging ballots cast by mail. Requires the election official to immediately deliver all challenges to the district attorney for investigation.
Requires that, in any election conducted by the county clerk and recorder, the application form for an absentee ballot shall include a space where the applicant may give his or her driver's license number, and an eligible elector who appears in the office of the county clerk and recorder to cast an early voters' ballot shall be requested to write on the signature card the elector's driver's license number or the number printed on the voter information card mailed to the elector. Requires that electors be informed that providing such information is optional. Repeals such provisions EFFECTIVE January 1, 1999.
Prohibits members of the board of canvassers from having a direct interest in the election unless all of the eligible electors have a direct interest in the election. Requires that each member of the board of canvassers take an oath and receive a minimum fee of $15 for each day the member is engaged in opening election returns and making abstracts of votes.
Within 10 days after an election, permits the opponents of a passed ballot issue or ballot question or the supporters of a losing ballot issue or ballot question to submit a request for a recount, at the requestor's expense, if such ballot issue or ballot question passed by more than the margin of votes required for a mandatory recount. Requires the canvassers to meet and issue a revised certified statement of results and a revised abstract of votes at the conclusion of the recount and to deliver them to the election official.
Requires that the results of a special district election be certified to the division of local government within 45 days after the election.
Permits an election involving a ballot issue or ballot question to be contested on the grounds that illegal votes were received or legal votes rejected or that an election judge or board of canvasser made a counting error or has committed misconduct that changed the election result.
Requires that a contest involving the order on the ballot or the form or content of any ballot title be summarily adjudicated prior to the election by the district court for the political subdivision within which the contest arises. Requires that the contestor file a bond with the court conditioned to pay all costs if necessary. Upon completion of the required procedural requirements involved in such contests, requires the court to immediately set the matter for trial and to adjudicate it within 10 days of the date of filing of the answer or the expiration of the time to answer. Following entry of the order by the court, requires that the ballot title be certified to the county clerk and recorder and be voted upon as so certified. Requires that any appeal from an order of the district court be taken directly to the supreme court, which shall decide the appeal as expeditiously as practicable.
For election contests for district attorneys and for county and nonpartisan officers, requires that a contestor against whom a judgment is entered is liable for all fees incurred in the contest, including reasonable costs and attorneys fees.
Requires that a candidate to succeed an officer sought to be recalled shall meet the qualifications of a party candidate or independent candidate as provided by law. In the case of a nonpartisan office or the office of county commissioners, establishes minimum signature requirements for petitions for candidates to succeed an officer sought to be recalled.
Clarifies that the prohibition against electioneering on the day of any election in the vicinity of a polling place applies to campaigning for or against a ballot issue or ballot question or soliciting signatures for a candidate petition, a recall petition, or an initiative petition.
Unless otherwise provided by statute, charter, ordinance, or resolution, requires that a petition to submit a local ballot issue be signed by 8% of the registered electors of the local government.
Requires that school elections be conducted by the county clerk and recorder if the county clerk and recorder is conducting a coordinated election. Requires persons desiring to be a candidate for the office of school director to file a written notice of intention more than 66 days, rather than 60 days, before the election date.
Moves the date of the regular biennial school election for the Denver school district from the third Tuesday in May of each odd-numbered year to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May, in the case of the 1995 election, and to the first Tuesday in November, in the case of elections held in 1997 and thereafter. Changes the boundaries of the school district's director districts.
Allows a governing body of a county or a city or town to provide that all eligible registered electors of the county, city, or town may vote on questions concerning the issuance of bonds payable solely from special assessments and concerning local improvement districts created by the governing body of the county, city, or town, or that only registered electors who are owners of property within or residents of the district will be eligible to vote.
At any election for the incorporation of a new municipality or for the establishment of a downtown development authority, allows the ballot to include any local government matters arising under section 20 of article X of the state constitution.
APPROVED by Governor May 19, 1994
EFFECTIVE July 1, 1994
H.B. 94-1294 Voter registration - implementation of federal "motor voter" law - appropriation. Implements the federal "National Voter Registration Act of 1993" (the federal "motor voter" law). Imposes on the secretary of state the duty to coordinate state responsibilities under the federal law. Designates offices of the following governmental agencies as voter registration agencies: All offices that provide public assistance (including assistance under the food stamp program, the "Colorado Medical Assistance Act", the special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children, and aid to families with dependent children); all offices that provide state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons with disabilities; all recruitment offices of the armed forces of the United States; and any other federal, state, local government, or nongovernment office that chooses to provide voter registration service or applications. Requires voter registration agencies to provide voter registration services, including distribution of mail voter registration application forms, assistance to applicants in completing agency voter registration application forms, and acceptance of completed agency voter registration application forms for transmittal to the appropriate county clerk and recorder.
Requires the secretary of state to maintain for at least 2 years and make available for inspection and copying all records concerning the implementation of programs conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of the lists of eligible voters. Permits any person to file a written complaint with the secretary of state no later than 60 days after an election for certain violations of this act. After a determination that a violation has occurred, requires the secretary of state to notify the attorney general, who may institute a civil action, and, if within 120 days after a complaint is filed, no such action is instituted, allows the complainant to have a private right of action based on the alleged violation.
Makes other changes to the election laws to provide consistency between state election laws and the federal law, including the following: Eliminates the requirement that each county clerk and recorder maintain at least one branch registration site in the county. Eliminates the ability of an elector to register or change voter registration information for other members of his or her family.
Changes the deadline for registration from 25 days before an election to 30 days before an election. Allows an elector to register to vote in an election after the close of the registration books for that election if the elector personally files an emergency registration affidavit with the county clerk and recorder declaring either that the elector was registered to vote in a different county prior to the close of the registration books and had no knowledge that he or she was required to register again upon a change of residence to a different county, or that the elector registered to vote within the prescribed period by federal postcard application or at a voter registration agency designated pursuant to the federal "National Voter Registration Act of 1993".
For the implementation of the act, appropriates $278,363 and 2.0 FTE to the department of state and $88,807 and 4.0 FTE to the department of human services.
APPROVED by Governor May 31, 1994
EFFECTIVE January 1, 1995
H.B. 94-1341 Campaign reform act - reporting of gifts received by public officials - computer information system. Amends the public official financial disclosure law contained in the "Colorado Sunshine Act of 1972" to require incumbents in specified state and local elected offices and candidates elected to those offices to report annually on specified gifts, honoraria, and other benefits received in connection with their public service. Requires that such reports include: Money, including a loan, pledge, or advance of money, with a value of $25 or more; a gift of any item of real or personal property, other than money, with a value greater than $50; a loan of any item of real or personal property, other than money, if the value of the loan is $50 or more; payment for a speech, appearance, or publication; tickets to sporting, recreational, educational, or cultural events with a value of $50 or more for any single event, or a series of tickets to sporting events of a specific team scheduled during a season with a total value of $100 or more, or a series of tickets to cultural events of a specific performing company or organization with a total value of $100 or more; and payment of or reimbursement from private funds for travel and lodging for a convention or other meeting. Excludes from the reporting requirements: Contributions reported under the "Campaign Reform Act of 1974"; any item of perishable or nonpermanent value, including but not limited to meals, unless the item is required to be reported under the provision requiring the reporting of tickets; a nonpecuniary award publicly presented by an organization in recognition of public service; the payment of or reimbursement from public funds for travel and lodging for a convention or other meeting; and the payment of salary from employment unrelated to service in elective office.
Requires that every person who provides an incumbent or elected candidate with any item required to be reported by the incumbent or elected candidate must furnish the recipient with a written statement of the dollar value of the item at the time the item is provided.
Imposes a penalty on incumbents and elected candidates who fail to file complete and accurate reports and on persons who fail to provide the required statements of value for items provided to incumbents or elected candidates.
Eliminates the provisions of the "Campaign Reform Act of 1974" that require an incumbent or elected candidate to report annually any "contribution or contribution in kind from any other person, the purpose of which is to compensate him for his public services or to help him defray his expenses incident thereto but which are not covered by official compensation".
Requires the secretary of state to report to the general assembly by January 1, 1995, on the feasibility of a computer information system that would allow computer users to cross-reference and review, using the name of a candidate, incumbent, lobbyist, or any other person, any report filed pursuant to the Campaign Reform Act, the public official disclosure law, or the lobbyist regulation law.
APPROVED by Governor June 1, 1994
EFFECTIVE January 1, 1995
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