Colorado Democrats pushing measure requiring political money disclosure

by Joe Hanel
Herald Denver Bureau
April 27, 2010
http://durangoherald.com/sections/News/2010/04/27/Colorado_Democrats_pushing_measure_requiring_political_money_disclosure/

DENVER - State Democrats moved Monday to require corporations to disclose the money they spend on political races.

The U.S. Supreme Court this year said corporations have a First Amendment right to spend freely on political races - something that was barred by Colorado law.

State legislators have no power to overturn the ruling, known as Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. But Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, at least wants people to know who is spending money on campaigns.

While corporate money already finds its way into campaigns through political action committees and other means, the Citizens United case opened a new avenue for companies by allowing them to buy political ads on their own, without donating to campaigns.

Carroll said she fears a new era of money in politics.

“We may be moving into one dollar, one vote, rather than one person, one vote," Carroll said. “That is a problem, and people deserve the right to know this."

On Monday, she introduced Senate Bill 203, which would require companies and unions to tell the public when they spend money on political races. The bill also tries to bring Colorado's law into compliance with the Supreme Court ruling by allowing companies and unions to buy political advertising.

Gov. Bill Ritter and Secretary of State Bernie Buescher said in March that they support such a bill.

Carroll's bill, like the Supreme Court case, applies to money that corporations spend independently, not to donations to official candidate committees. Many corporate and union donations to candidates still are prohibited under Colorado law.

For example, the Acme Corp. cannot donate to the Bill Ritter for Governor Committee. But thanks to Citizens United, Acme could, on its own, buy television advertising that urges people to vote for Ritter.

Carroll's bill would require Acme to tell the Colorado Secretary of State whenever it spent money on such an ad.

House Majority Leader Paul Weissmann, D-Louisville, will be the House sponsor.

Weissmann said he is looking for bipartisan support. However, he hadn't showed the bill to the House's top Republican on Monday.

House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, said he couldn't say whether he supports the bill because he has not seen it. But in principle, he supports added disclosure, plus the removal of limits on donations to candidate committees.

Colorado voters in 2002 adopted strict campaign-finance limits. But corporations and unions still can give to campaigns through political action committees and “small donor committees" - a device often used by unions.

Carroll's bill does not affect either PACs or small donor committees.

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