Today, Secretary of State Bernie Buescher announced the adoption of revised campaign finance rules.  Included in the rules is new Rule 4.25, which prohibits committees from reporting lump sum payments to credit card companies instead of reporting expenditures made by credit card, and which clarifies reporting requirements regarding reimbursement payments to candidates or third parties.  Ethics Watch supported the rule change.

In 2009, Ethics Watch observed that several candidate committees, from both parties, reported large reimbursements or credit card payments but provided no detail regarding the expenses that were being reimbursed or paid for through credit cards.  On February 5, Ethics Watch submitted to the Secretary of State's office examples of such disclosures, made by candidate committees from both major parties, to help establish the need for the rule change. 

The final rule's provisions regarding reimbursement disclosures are different from the original proposed rule, which Ethics Watch supported.  Nevertheless, the rule change should lead to increased transparency regarding campaign spending in Colorado.

Read Ethics Watch's comments in support of the rule change here.

The final rule can be viewed under Related Documents on the right hand side of the page.