Amendments Adopted September 17th, 2009
COLORADO SECRETARY OF STATE
8 CCR 1505-6
RULES CONCERNING CAMPAIGN AND POLITICAL FINANCE 

Annotations may be included.

Rule 1.6 is repealed as follows:
1.6	Repealed.
Rule 1.14 is amended as follows:
1.14	“Signature”, for purposes of any report filed electronically with the secretary of state, means the designated representative has electronically submitted the report through the online filing system. 
Rules 2.1, 2.3, 2.4, and 2.5 are amended as follows
2.1	When a committee registration form is received and deemed complete by the appropriate filing officer, an identification number will be assigned and a letter or email of acknowledgement will be sent by the appropriate filing officer to the registered agent on file.  The registered agent for any issue committee, political committee, small donor committee, or political party shall sign the committee’s registration form and all disclosure reports.  [1‑45-108(3) through (6)]
2.3	A registered agent resigning from a political committee, issue committee, small donor committee, or political party shall file a letter of resignation with the appropriate filing officer and the committee or party via certified mail.  A registered agent for a candidate committee, who is not the candidate, shall file a letter of resignation with the appropriate filing officer and the candidate of the candidate committee via certified mail.  The letter of resignation to the appropriate filing officer shall be filed within seven business days of resignation and shall include the certified mail receipt number sent to the committee or party and the contact information for the committee or party.  In accordance with Rule 3.1, the committee or party shall file an amended committee registration form within five days of receipt of the letter of resignation.  If the registered agent does not provide the committee notice of resignation as required by this rule, the committee shall file the amended committee registration form within five days of becoming aware that the agent has resigned.  [1-45-108(3)(b)]
2.4	The purpose or nature of interest of the committee or party shall be included.  A candidate committee shall identify the name of the candidate and the specific elective office sought upon registration.  A political committee or small donor committee shall identify the types of candidates being supported or opposed, such as party affiliation or public policy position, and if known, the specific candidates being supported or opposed.  Terms describing types of candidates shall be descriptive in providing disclosure of the committee’s purpose.  It is not sufficient to identify candidate types by listing the jurisdiction or office sought, such as “legislative candidates” or “statewide candidates.”
2.5 	An issue committee may support or oppose more than one issue without having to open numerous campaign accounts and file numerous committee registration forms if the following conditions are met:  the specific issues are included on the committee registration form at such time as an issue meets the provisions of section 1-45-108(7), C.R.S.; no generic phraseology may be used once such an issue is known (i.e.: Support or oppose issues affecting the basic rights of cattle); and the registration form states whether the committee will be supporting or opposing said issues. [Article XXVIII, Section 2(10)(a)(I) and (2)(10)(a)(II)] 
Rule 3.4 is amended as follows:
3.4	A committee may terminate if the following conditions are met:  the candidate or committee no longer intends to receive contributions or make expenditures; a zero balance is achieved by having no cash or assets on hand and no outstanding debts or obligations; and the candidate or committee files a termination statement of contributions and expenditures.  Assets remaining in possession of a committee prior to termination may be disposed of in the same manner as allowed for unexpended contributions. A termination statement may be filed at any time.  [Article XXVIII, Section 2(3) and 1-45-106]
Rule 3.7 is amended as follows:
3.7	Unexpended campaign contributions to candidate committees not subject to the limits set forth in Article XXVIII, Section 3 may not be contributed to a candidate committee that is subject to such limits. 
Rule 4.11 is repealed as follows:
4.11	Repealed
	[Relocated verbatim to new Rule 14.]
Rule 4.3 is amended as follows:
4.3	Contributions – when counted.
a.		A contribution is considered made or received as of the date that it is accepted by the committee or party.  In the case of a contribution by check or credit card, the date accepted is the date that the contribution is deposited into the committee’s or party’s account.  Any contribution in the form of a check received by a committee or 527 political organization at least five business days prior to the end of a reporting period must be deposited or returned to the contributor by the close of that reporting period.
b.	However, for purposes of section 1-45-105.5, concerning contributions by lobbyists to certain state officers and candidates when legislation is under consideration, a contribution is considered made or promised when possession of the check is transferred to any person not under the control of the issuer. 
Rule 4.5 is amended as follows:
4.5	Loans received by a committee or party
a.		All loans received by a committee or party must be reported continuously until repaid.  [Article XXVIII, Section 3(8)]
b.	Notwithstanding Article XXVIII, Section 3(8), a candidate may make a loan to his or her candidate committee.  Such loan shall be at no interest.  In accordance with the definition of “contribution” in Article XXVIII, section 2(5), the amount of the loan is a contribution from the candidate to the committee, but the interest-free use of such loan by the committee is not a contribution to the committee.
c.		Any repayment of a loan shall be considered a returned contribution, except that interest repaid for a loan made pursuant to Article XXVIII, Section 3(8) shall be reported as an expenditure by the committee.
d.	A loan made by a candidate to the candidate’s own committee may be forgiven by the candidate.  The amount of unpaid debt forgiven by the candidate shall remain a contribution and shall not be considered a returned contribution.
e.		Loans made from a financial institution to a candidate committee pursuant to Article XXVIII, Section 3(8) shall not be forgiven.
Rule 4.8 is amended as follows:
4.8	For any contribution received in excess of contribution limits, neither the contributor nor the receiving committee shall be liable for exceeding the contribution limit if the excess amount is returned to the contributor within thirty (30) days. 
New Rule 4.24 is adopted as follows:
4.24	If a primary election is cancelled in accordance with section 1-4-104.5(1), a candidate committee may accept the contribution limit specified in article XXVIII, section 3(1) for the primary election in which the candidate whose name the candidate committee is accepting contributions for is eligible to be on the primary election ballot.  In accordance with section 1-45-103.7(3) such contributions may be accepted at any time before or after the primary election was cancelled.
Rule 6.1 is amended as follows:
6.1	If the appropriate officer, as defined in Section 2(1) of Article XXVIII, discovers in the ordinary course of his or her duties in maintaining a campaign finance filing system a possible violation of Article XXVIII or Title 1, Article 45, and no complaint alleging such violation has been filed with the secretary of state pursuant to Article XXVIII, Section 9(2)(a), then the appropriate officer shall:
a.		Provide the person believed to have committed the violation with written notice of the facts or conduct that constitute the possible violation, and
b.	Allow seven business days to correct the violation or to submit written statements explaining the reasons that support a conclusion that a violation was not committed. 
The title to Rule 10 is amended as follows:
10.	Recall Elections
Rule 10.2 is amended as follows:
10.2	The reporting period for committees participating in the recall election shall begin on the date the recall petition is approved by the designated election official for circulation pursuant to section 1-12-108, C.R.S.  Reporting periods for all reports relating to the recall election shall close five calendar days prior to the date that the report is due.
Rule 10.5 would be amended as follows: 
10.5	Notwithstanding section 1-45-108(6), C.R.S., any issue committee whose purpose is to support or oppose the recall of any elected official shall register within ten calendar days of accepting or making contributions or expenditures in excess of two hundred dollars in accordance with section 1-45-108(3.3), C.R.S.  Such committee shall otherwise follow the filing calendar established in section 1-45-108 (6), C.R.S. 
Rule 11.2 is amended as follows:
11.2	In accordance with section 24-21-111, C.R.S., reports are not required to be filed electronically in either of the following circumstances:
11.2.1	The secretary of state has granted an exception to the electronic filing requirement after written application based on hardship or other good cause shown.  All applications for an exception shall include a brief statement of the hardship or good cause for which the exception is sought.  Applications must be received by the secretary of state at least fifteen (15) calendar days prior to the first applicable filing deadline in the election cycle, unless the exception is based on emergency circumstances arising after such deadline, in which case the nature of the emergency shall be described in the application.  The filing of an application for exception based on emergency circumstances does not delay any reporting deadlines, however, if a penalty is imposed for failure to file a report on the date due, the penalty may be set aside or reduced in accordance with section 10(2) of Article XXVIII.  The Secretary of State shall review and respond in writing to all applications for an exception within three (3) business days.
11.2.2	The report is filed using the secretary of state’s Electronic Data Interface (EDI) upon approval of the secretary of state.
New Rule 11.5 is adopted as follows:
11.5	The Transparency in Contribution and Expenditure Reporting electronic filing system, known as “TRACER”, will attempt to identify potential violations as an aid to filing by displaying warning messages when contributions or expenditures appear to violate Article XXVIII of the Colorado Constitution or Article 45 of Title 1, C.R.S.  However, filers are ultimately responsible for compliance with the law and these rules regardless of whether the system identifies or fails to identify a potential violation.
New rule 14 is adopted as follows:
Rule 14. Independent Expenditures
14.1 	For purposes of complying with the requirement of Article XXVIII, Section 5, that a notice of independent expenditure include “a detailed description of the use of such independent expenditure”, such notice is sufficient if it includes an identification of the payee of the expenditure, the medium used for the communication, the date or dates for broadcast, delivery, or publication of the communication, and either the complete written text or transcript of the communication produced by the expenditure or a summary of the major points contained within the communication. 
	[Relocated verbatim from Rule 4.11]
14.2	For the purposes of section 5, article XXVIII, a candidate committee, political committee, small donor committee, political party, or 527 political organization that is registered with the Secretary of State or a county clerk and recorder that obligates funds exceeding $1,000 for any single independent expenditure more than 30 days prior to a primary or general election shall notify the Secretary of State by disclosing such expenditure on the committee’s or organization’s regularly scheduled disclosure report for that reporting period.
14.3	For the purposes of section 5, article XXVIII, any person who is otherwise not required to file reports with the Secretary of State or county clerk and who obligates funds exceeding $1,000 for any single independent expenditure more than 30 days prior to a primary or general election shall deliver notice to the Secretary of State in accordance with the reporting schedule established for political parties in section 1-45-108 (2), C.R.S.
14.4	Notwithstanding rules 14.1 and 14.2, any person (including a natural person, entity, candidate committee, political committee, small donor committee, political party, or 527 political organization) who obligates funds in any amount for an independent expenditure, fewer than 31 days before a primary or general election, shall deliver notice to the Secretary of State within 48 hours of obligating funds for such expenditure.