As used in this article 45, unless the context
otherwise requires:
(1) Appropriate officer shall have the same meaning as set forth in section
2 (1) of article XXVIII of the state constitution.
(1.3) Ballot issue shall have the same meaning as set forth in section 1-1-104 (2.3); except that, for purposes of section 1-45-117, ballot issue shall mean
both a ballot issue as defined in this subsection (1.3) and a ballot question.
(1.5) Ballot question shall have the same meaning as set forth in section 1-1-104 (2.7).
(2) Candidate has the same meaning as set forth in section 2 (2) of article
XXVIII of the state constitution; except that:
(a) Candidate also includes a candidate for a major political party vacancy
election conducted pursuant to section 1-12-203 (1.5) and a vacancy contender who
has publicly announced an intention to be selected by a vacancy committee to fill a
vacancy in the general assembly and thereafter has received a contribution or made
an expenditure in support of the candidacy. A vacancy contender remains a
candidate for purposes of this article 45 so long as the vacancy contender
maintains a registered candidate committee. A vacancy contender who maintains a
candidate committee after a vacancy committee has filled the applicable vacancy
in the general assembly, but who has not publicly announced an intention to seek
election to the general assembly in the next or any subsequent election cycle, is a
candidate for purposes of this article 45.
(b) Candidate also includes a candidate for a county commissioner vacancy
election.
(3) Candidate committee shall have the same meaning as set forth in
section 2 (3) of article XXVIII of the state constitution.
(4) Candidate committee account shall mean the account established by a
candidate committee with a financial institution pursuant to section 3 (9) of article
XXVIII of the state constitution.
(5) Conduit shall have the same meaning as set forth in section 2 (4) of
article XXVIII of the state constitution.
(6) (a) Contribution shall have the same meaning as set forth in section 2
(5) of article XXVIII of the state constitution.
(b) Contribution includes, with regard to a contribution for which the
contributor receives compensation or consideration of less than equivalent value to
such contribution, including, but not limited to, items of perishable or
nonpermanent value, goods, supplies, services, or participation in a campaign-related event, an amount equal to the value in excess of such compensation or
consideration as determined by the candidate committee.
(c) Contribution also includes:
(I) Any payment, loan, pledge, gift, advance of money, or guarantee of a loan
made to any political organization;
(II) Any payment made to a third party on behalf of and with the knowledge
of the political organization; or
(III) The fair market value of any gift or loan of property made to any political
organization.
(d) Contribution does not include the payment of legal fees to advise a
candidate on compliance with campaign laws or regulations or to represent a
candidate or candidate committee in any action in which the candidate or
committee has been named as a defendant. Such legal services are not undertaken
for the benefit of any candidate committee or for the purpose of promoting the
candidate's nomination, retention, recall, or election as those phrases are used in
section 2 (5)(a)(II) and (5)(a)(IV) of article XXVIII of the state constitution.
(e) Contribution does not include an intervention by the secretary of state,
as authorized by section 1-45-111.5 (1.5)(g), in any action brought to enforce the
provisions of article XXVIII of the state constitution or this article 45.
(7) Corporation means a domestic corporation incorporated under and
subject to the Colorado Business Corporation Act, articles 101 to 117 of title 7,
C.R.S., a domestic nonprofit corporation incorporated under and subject to the
Colorado Revised Nonprofit Corporation Act, articles 121 to 137 of title 7, C.R.S., or
any corporation incorporated under and subject to the laws of another state. For
purposes of this article, domestic corporation shall mean a for-profit or nonprofit
corporation incorporated under and subject to the laws of this state, and
nondomestic corporation shall mean a corporation incorporated under and
subject to the laws of another state or foreign country. For purposes of this article,
corporation includes the parent of a subsidiary corporation or any subsidiaries of
the parent, as applicable.
(7.2) Direct ballot issue or ballot question expenditure means direct
spending in support of or opposition to any single ballot issue or ballot question by
a person who does not otherwise meet the requirements of an issue committee.
Contributions to an issue committee are not direct ballot issue or ballot question
expenditures.
(7.3) (a) Donation means:
(I) The payment, loan, pledge, gift, or advance of money, or the guarantee of
a loan, made to any person for the purpose of making an independent expenditure;
(II) Any payment made to a third party that relates to, and is made for the
benefit of, any person that makes an independent expenditure;
(III) The fair market value of any gift or loan of property that is given to any
person for the purpose of making an independent expenditure; or
(IV) Anything of value given, directly or indirectly, to any person for the
purpose of making an independent expenditure.
(b) Donation shall not include a transfer by a membership organization of a
portion of a member's dues for an independent expenditure sponsored by such
membership organization.
(7.5) Earmark means a designation, instruction, or encumbrance that
directs the transmission and use by the recipient of all or part of a donation to a
third party for the purpose of making:
(a) Independent expenditures greater than one thousand dollars to support
or oppose a specified candidate;
(b) Electioneering communications greater than one thousand dollars; or
(c) Contributions or expenditures greater than one thousand dollars to
support or oppose a specified ballot issue or ballot question.
(8) Election cycle has the same meaning as set forth in section 2 (6) of
article XXVIII of the state constitution; except that:
(a) For a vacancy committee selection process used to fill a vacancy in the
general assembly pursuant to section 1-12-203, election cycle means the period
beginning on the effective date of the vacancy in the general assembly and ending
thirty days following the date upon which the vacancy committee selects an
individual to fill the vacancy;
(b) For major political party vacancy elections held pursuant to section 1-12-203 (1.5), election cycle means the period beginning on the date upon which a
vacancy committee selects a member to fill the vacancy in the general assembly
pursuant to section 1-12-203, and ending thirty days following the major political
party vacancy election; and
(c) For county commissioner vacancy elections held pursuant to section 1-12-206, election cycle means the period beginning on the date the vacancy to be
filled by vacancy election occurred and ending thirty days following the vacancy
election for that office.
(9) Electioneering communication has the same meaning as set forth in
section 2 (7) of article XXVIII of the state constitution. For purposes of the
disclosure required by section 1-45-108, electioneering communication also
includes any communication that satisfies all other requirements set forth in said
section 2 (7) of article XXVIII but that is broadcast, printed, mailed, delivered, or
distributed between the primary election and the general election.
(10) (a) Expenditure has the same meaning as set forth in section 2 (8) of
article XXVIII of the state constitution.
(b) Expenditure does not include legal services paid to defend a candidate
or candidate committee against any action brought to enforce the provisions of
article XXVIII of the state constitution or this article 45.
(10.5) Foreign corporation means:
(a) A parent corporation or the subsidiary of a parent corporation formed
under the laws of a foreign country that is functionally equivalent to a domestic
corporation;
(b) A parent corporation or the subsidiary of a parent corporation in which
one or more foreign persons hold a combined ownership interest that exceeds fifty
percent;
(c) A parent corporation or the subsidiary of a parent corporation in which
one or more foreign persons hold a majority of the positions on the corporation's
board of directors; or
(d) A parent corporation or the subsidiary of a parent corporation whose
United States-based operations, or whose decision-making with respect to political
activities, falls under the direction or control of a foreign entity, including the
government of a foreign country.
(11) Independent expenditure shall have the same meaning as set forth in
section 2 (9) of article XXVIII of the state constitution.
(11.5) Independent expenditure committee means one or more persons that
make an independent expenditure in support of or in opposition to a candidate in an
aggregate amount in excess of one thousand dollars or that collect in excess of one
thousand dollars from one or more persons for the purpose of making an
independent expenditure.
(12) (a) Issue committee shall have the same meaning as set forth in
section 2 (10) of article XXVIII of the state constitution.
(b) For purposes of section 2 (10)(a)(I) of article XXVIII of the state
constitution, major purpose means support of or opposition to a ballot issue or
ballot question that is reflected by:
(I) An organization's specifically identified objectives in its organizational
documents at the time it is established or as such documents are later amended; or
(II) An organization's demonstrated pattern of conduct based upon it:
(A) and (B) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2022.)
(C) During the combined period of the current calendar year and the
preceding two calendar years, making either contributions to one or more statewide
Colorado issue committees or direct ballot issue or ballot question expenditures, in
either support of or opposition to one or more statewide Colorado ballot issues or
ballot questions, that exceeded thirty percent of the total dollar amount of all
funds spent by the organization for any purpose and in any location during the
entire preceding and current calendar years;
(D) During the combined period of the current calendar year and the
preceding two calendar years, making either contributions to a single statewide
Colorado issue committee or direct ballot issue or ballot question expenditures, in
either support of or opposition to a single statewide Colorado ballot issue or ballot
question, that exceeded twenty percent of the total dollar amount of all funds
spent by the organization for any purpose and in any location; or
(E) Acting as an issue committee's funding intermediary by making
contributions to an issue committee from funds earmarked for the issue committee.
(c) The provisions of paragraph (b) of this subsection (12) are intended to
clarify, based on the decision of the Colorado court of appeals in Independence
Institute v. Coffman, 209 P.3d 1130 (Colo. App. 2008), cert. denied, 558 U.S. 1024,
130 S. Ct. 165, 175 L. Ed. 479 (2009), section 2 (10)(a)(I) of article XXVIII of the state
constitution and not to make a substantive change to said section 2 (10)(a)(I).
(12.5) Media outlet means a publication or broadcast medium that
transmits news, feature stories, entertainment, or other information to the public
through various distribution channels, including, without limitation, newspapers;
magazines; radio; and broadcast, cable, or satellite television.
(12.7) Obligating means, in connection with a named candidate, agreeing to
spend in excess of one thousand dollars for an independent expenditure or to give,
pledge, loan, or purchase one or more goods, services, or other things of value that
have a fair market value in excess of one thousand dollars as an independent
expenditure. Obligating shall not require that the total amount in excess of one
thousand dollars be finally determined at the time of the agreement to spend
moneys for an independent expenditure or to give, pledge, loan, or purchase
anything of value.
(13) Person shall have the same meaning as set forth in section 2 (11) of
article XXVIII of the state constitution.
(14) Political committee shall have the same meaning as set forth in
section 2 (12) of article XXVIII of the state constitution.
(14.5) Political organization means a political organization defined in
section 527 (e)(1) of the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, that
is engaged in influencing or attempting to influence the selection, nomination,
election, or appointment of any individual to any state or local public office in the
state and that is exempt, or intends to seek any exemption, from taxation pursuant
to section 527 of the internal revenue code. Political organization shall not be
construed to have the same meaning as political organization as defined in
section 1-1-104 (24) for purposes of the Uniform Election Code of 1992, articles 1
to 13 of this title.
(15) Political party shall have the same meaning as set forth in section 2
(13) of article XXVIII of the state constitution.
(15.3) Regular biennial school election means the election that is described
in section 22-31-104 (1), C.R.S.
(15.5) Regular biennial school electioneering communication has the same
meaning as electioneering communication as defined in section 2 (7) of article
XXVIII of the state constitution; except that, for purpose of the definition of regular
biennial school electioneering communication only, candidate as referenced in
section 2 (7)(a)(I) of said article means a candidate in a regular biennial school
election and the requirements specified in section 2 (7)(a)(II) mean a communication
that is broadcast, printed, mailed, delivered, or distributed within sixty days before
a regular biennial school election. Except as otherwise specified in this subsection
(15.5), the definition of regular biennial school electioneering communication is
the same as that of electioneering communication.
(15.7) School district director means a person serving as a director on the
board of education of any school district within the state, including a school district
composed of a city and county.
(16) Small donor committee shall have the same meaning as set forth in
section 2 (14) of article XXVIII of the state constitution.
(16.3) (a) Small-scale issue committee means an issue committee that has
accepted or made contributions or expenditures in an amount that does not exceed
five thousand dollars during an applicable election cycle for the major purpose of
supporting or opposing any ballot issue or ballot question.
(b) The following are treated as a single small-scale issue committee:
(I) All small-scale issue committees that support or oppose a common ballot
measure if the committees are established, financed, maintained, or controlled by a
single corporation or its subsidiaries;
(II) All small-scale issue committees that support or oppose a common ballot
measure if the committees are established, financed, maintained, or controlled by a
single labor organization or the affiliated local units it directs; or
(III) All small-scale issue committees that support or oppose a common
ballot measure if the committees are established, financed, maintained, or
controlled by substantially the same person, group of persons, or other
organizations.
(16.4) Special school election means any school election provided for by
law and held at a time other than the regular biennial school election.
(16.5) Spending means funds expended influencing or attempting to
influence the selection, nomination, election, or appointment of any individual to
any state or local public office in the state and includes, without limitation, any
purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit, or gift of money or anything
else of value by any political organization, a contract, promise, or agreement to
expend funds made or entered into by any political organization, or any
electioneering communication by any political organization.
(17) Subsidiary means a business entity having more than half of its stock
owned by another entity or person, or a business entity of which a majority interest
is controlled by another person or entity.
(18) Unexpended campaign contributionsshall have the same meaning as
set forth in section 2 (15) of article XXVIII of the state constitution.
(19) Vacancy contender means any person who seeks to be selected by a
vacancy committee to fill a vacancy in the general assembly pursuant to section 1-12-203.