Title 24
ARTICLE 6
Public Official Disclosure Law
24-6-201. Declaration of policy.
In order to continue the public confidence in the integrity of government officials and to promote trust of the people in the objectivity of their public servants, this open disclosure law is adopted.
24-6-202. Disclosure – contents – filing – false or incomplete filing – penalty.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (1.7) of this section, not later than the January 10 following his or her election, reelection, appointment, or retention in office, written disclosure, in such form as the secretary of state shall prescribe, stating the interests named in subsection (2) of this section shall be made to and filed with the secretary of state of Colorado by:
(a) Each member of the general assembly;
(b) The governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and state treasurer;
(c) Each justice or judge of a court of record;
(d) Each district attorney;
(e) Each member of the state board of education;
(f) Each member of the board of regents of the university of Colorado;
(g) Each member of the public utilities commission.
(h) Repealed.
(1.5) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section apply to any person who is serving in any position noted in said subsection (1) on July 1, 1979.
(1.7) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any person who has timely filed an amended statement with the secretary of state pursuant to subsection (4) of this section is not required to additionally file a disclosure statement satisfying the requirements of subsection (1) of this section by the January 10 following his or her election, reelection, appointment, or retention in office.
(2) Disclosure shall include:
(a) The names of any source or sources of any income, including capital gains, whether or not taxable, of the person making disclosure, his spouse, and minor children residing with him;
(b) The name of each business, insurance policy, or trust in which he, his spouse, or minor children residing with him has a financial interest in excess of five thousand dollars;
(c) The legal description of any interest in real property, including an option to buy, in the state in which the person making disclosure, his spouse, or minor children residing with him have any interest, direct or indirect, the market value of which is in excess of five thousand dollars;
(d) The identity, by name, of all offices, directorships, and fiduciary relationships held by the person making disclosure, his spouse, and minor children residing with him;
(e) The identity, by name, of any person, firm, or organization for whom compensated lobbying is done by any person associated with the person making disclosure if the benefits of such compensation are or may be shared by the person making disclosure, directly or indirectly;
(f) The name of each creditor to whom the person making disclosure, his spouse, or minor children owe money in excess of one thousand dollars and the interest rate;
(g) A list of businesses with which the person making disclosure or his spouse are associated that do business with or are regulated by the state and the nature of such business or regulation;
(h) Such additional information as the person making disclosure might desire.
(3) Any disclosure statement shall be amended no more than thirty days after any termination or acquisition of interests as to which disclosure is required.
(4) (a) Any person required by this section to file a disclosure statement shall, on or before January 10 of each calendar year, file an amended statement with the secretary of state or notify the secretary of state in writing that the person has had no change of condition since the previous filing of a disclosure statement.
(b) Any incumbent seeking reelection is not required to file a separate disclosure statement required by section 1-45-110 if the incumbent has filed a disclosure statement as required by subsection (4)(a) of this section.
(5) Each disclosure statement, amended statement, or notification that no amendment is required shall be public information, available to any person upon request during normal working hours.
(6) Any person subject to the provisions of this section may elect to file with the secretary of state annually a copy of his federal income tax return and any separate federal income tax return filed by his spouse or minor children residing with him together with a certified statement of any investments held by him, his spouse, or minor children residing with him which are not reflected by the income tax returns in lieu of complying with the provisions of subsections (1) to (4) of this section, which tax return and any statement filed under the provisions of this subsection (6) shall be public information.
(7) Any person who willfully files a false or incomplete disclosure statement, amendment, or notice that no amendment is required, or who willfully files a false or incomplete copy of any federal income tax return or a false or incomplete certified statement of investments, or who willfully fails to make any filing required by this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars nor more than five thousand dollars.
24-6-203. Reporting by incumbents and elected candidates – gifts, honoraria, and other benefits – prohibition on monetary gifts – penalty – definitions.
(1) (a) As used in this section, the terms “appropriate officer” and “candidate” shall have the meanings ascribed to them in section 1-45-103, C.R.S., of the “Fair Campaign Practices Act”.
(b) (I) As used in this section, the term “public office” means any office voted for in this state at any election. “Public office” includes, without limitation, the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and state treasurer; a member of the general assembly or the state board of education; a regent of the university of Colorado; a judge on the Colorado court of appeals or the Colorado supreme court; a district attorney; or an officer of a county, municipality, city and county, school district, or any elective office within a special district for which the annual compensation exceeds sixteen hundred dollars.
(II) “Public office” does not include:
(A) The office of president or vice president of the United States;
(B) The office of senator or representative in the congress of the United States;
(C) Any office in a political party chosen pursuant to sections 1-3-103, 1-4-403, and 1-4-701, C.R.S.; or
(D) Any political party office in an assembly or convention, including delegates thereto.
(E) Repealed.
(III) Repealed.
(c) As used in this section, “covered state office” means the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer, a member of the state board of education, a regent of the university of Colorado, a member of the general assembly, or a district attorney.
(2) Every incumbent in or candidate elected to public office who receives from any other person any item described in subsection (3) of this section in connection with the incumbent’s or elected candidate’s public service shall file with the appropriate officer, on or before January 15, April 15, July 15, and October 15 of each year, a report covering the period since the last report. The requirement of this subsection (2) pertaining to the report due January 15 shall extend to an incumbent leaving public office between October 15 and January 15, who shall file with the appropriate officer by January 15 a report that covers any items received during the period since the last report. Such report shall be on forms prescribed by the secretary of state and shall contain, at a minimum, the name of the person from whom the item was received and the amount or value and the date of receipt. The secretary of state shall furnish such forms to municipal clerks, to county clerk and recorders, and to incumbents and elected candidates for state offices and district offices of districts greater than a county free of charge for use by incumbents and elected candidates required to file such forms. If any incumbent in or candidate elected to public office does not receive any such item, he or she shall not be required to file such report.
(3) The reports required by subsection (2) of this section shall include the following:
(a) In the case of a candidate elected to public office who is not an incumbent and has not yet been sworn into such office and subject to the requirements of subsection (3.5) of this section, any money, including but not limited to a loan, pledge, or advance of money or a guarantee of a loan of money, or any forbearance or forgiveness of indebtedness from any person, with a value greater than fifty-three dollars;
(b) In the case of a candidate elected to public office who is not an incumbent and has not yet been sworn into such office and subject to the requirements of subsection (3.5) of this section, any gift of any item of real or personal property, other than money, with a value greater than fifty-three dollars;
(c) In the case of a candidate elected to public office who is not an incumbent and has not yet been sworn into such office, any loan of any item of real or personal property, other than money, if the value of the loan is greater than fifty-three dollars. For such purpose, the “value of the loan” means the cost saved or avoided by the elected candidate by not borrowing, leasing, or purchasing comparable property from a source available to the general public.
(d) Any payment for a speech, appearance, or publication;
(e) In the case of a candidate elected to public office who is not an incumbent and has not yet been sworn into such office, tickets to sporting, recreational, educational, or cultural events with a value greater than fifty-three dollars for any single event;
(f) Payment of or reimbursement for actual and necessary expenditures for travel and lodging for attendance at a convention, fact-finding mission or trip, or other meeting that the incumbent or elected candidate who has been sworn into public office is permitted to accept or receive in accordance with the provisions of section 3 of article XXIX of the state constitution, unless the payment of or reimbursement for such expenditures is made from public funds of a state or local government in the case of an incumbent or elected candidate subject to the provisions of said article or from the funds of any association of public officials or public entities whose membership includes the incumbent’s or elected candidate’s office or the governmental entity in which such office is held;
(g) Subject to the provisions of section 3 of article XXIX of the state constitution, any gift of a meal to a fund-raising event of a political party;
(h) Payment of or reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses for travel and lodging for attendance at a convention, fact-finding mission or trip, or other meeting that is from an organization declared to be a joint governmental agency by section 2-3-311, C.R.S.
(3.5) (a) Each incumbent in or candidate elected to covered state office is prohibited from knowingly receiving or accepting from any other person, in connection with the public service of the incumbent or elected candidate:
(I) A gift of any money, including but not limited to a loan, pledge, or advance of money, a guarantee of a loan of money, or any monetary payment given, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of defraying any expenses related to the official duties undertaken by the incumbent or elected candidate; or
(II) An in-kind gift.
(b) Nothing in paragraph (a) of this subsection (3.5) shall be construed to prohibit an incumbent or elected candidate from receiving a salary or other compensation paid to the incumbent or elected candidate in connection with the performance of his or her official duties, including, without limitation, payment for a speech, appearance, or publication or payment of or reimbursement for actual and necessary expenditures for travel and lodging to the extent the incumbent or elected candidate who has been sworn into covered state office is permitted to accept or receive such items in accordance with the provisions of section 3 of article XXIX of the state constitution.
(c) For purposes of this subsection (3.5), an “in-kind gift” means any gift of equipment, goods, supplies, property, services, or anything else, the value of which exceeds fifty dollars in the aggregate in any one calendar year, given, directly or indirectly, to an incumbent in or candidate elected to covered state office for the purpose of defraying any expenses related to the official duties undertaken by the incumbent or elected candidate.
(3.7) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, no incumbent in or candidate elected to covered state office shall accept a gift of any money from any person who is a professional or volunteer lobbyist or from a corporation or labor organization.
(4) The reports required by subsection (2) of this section need not include the following:
(a) A contribution or contribution in kind that has already been reported pursuant to section 1-45-108, C.R.S.;
(b) Any unsolicited item of trivial value as described in section 3 (3) (b) of article XXIX of the state constitution;
(c) An unsolicited token or award of appreciation as described in section 3 (3) (c) of article XXIX of the state constitution;
(d) Payment of or reimbursement for actual and necessary expenditures for travel and lodging for attendance at a convention, fact-finding mission or trip, or other meeting that the incumbent or elected candidate is permitted to accept or receive in accordance with the provisions of section 3 of article XXIX of the state constitution, if the payment of or reimbursement for such expenditures is made from public funds of a state or local government in the case of an incumbent or elected candidate subject to the provisions of said article or from the funds of any association of public officials or public entities whose membership includes the incumbent’s or elected candidate’s office or the governmental entity in which such office is held;
(e) Payment of salary from employment, including other government employment, in addition to that earned from being a member of the general assembly or by reason of service in other public office;
(f) Except as otherwise described in this subsection (4), any other gift or thing of value an incumbent or elected candidate who has been sworn into public office is permitted to solicit, accept, or receive in accordance with the provisions of section 3 of article XXIX of the state constitution.
(5) Any person who provides an incumbent or elected candidate with any item required to be reported by the incumbent or elected candidate pursuant to this section shall, at the time the item is provided, furnish the recipient with a written statement of the dollar value of the item.
(6) Nothing contained in this section shall relieve any person from the disclosure requirements of part 3 of article 6 of this title, relating to the regulation of lobbyists.
(7) Any person who willfully files a false or incomplete report pursuant to this section, who willfully fails to file a report required by this section, who willfully fails to provide the statement of value required by subsection (5) of this section, or who violates any provision of subsection (3.5) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than one thousand dollars.
(8) The amount of the gift limit specified in subsection (3) of this section, set at fifty-three dollars as of August 8, 2012, shall be identical to the amount of the gift limit under section 3 of article XXIX of the state constitution, and shall be adjusted for inflation contemporaneously with any adjustment of the constitutional gift limit pursuant to section 3 (6) of article XXIX.