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February 21, 2024 HB 24-1283
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
Fiscal Note
Drafting Number:
Prime Sponsors:
LLS 24-0960
Rep. Willford; Marvin
Sen. Mullica
Date:
Bill Status:
Fiscal Analyst:
February 22, 2024
House State Affairs
Hamza Syed | 303-866-4976
hamza.syed@coleg.gov
Bill Topic: SOS REVIEW OF MUNICIPAL CAMPAIGN FIN COMPLAINTS
Summary of
Fiscal Impact:
☒ State Revenue
☒ State Expenditure
☐ State Transfer
☐ TABOR Refund
☒ Local Government
☐ Statutory Public Entity
The bill requires municipal campaign finance complaints to be reviewed and
investigated by the Secretary of State under certain circumstances. The bill increases
state expenditures and may increase state revenue beginning FY 2024-25.
Appropriation
Summary:
For FY 2024-25, the bill requires an appropriation of $253,481 to the Department of
State.
Fiscal Note
Status:
The fiscal note reflects the introduced bill.
Table 1
State Fiscal Impacts Under HB 24-1283
Budget Year
FY 2024-25
Out Year
FY 2025-26
Revenue - -
Expenditures Cash Fund $253,481 $246,188
Centrally Appropriated $56,061 $61,316
Total Expenditures $309,542 $307,505
Total FTE 3.2 FTE 3.5 FTE
Transfers - -
Other Budget Impacts - -
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February 21, 2024 HB 24-1283
Summary of Legislation
Under current law, all municipal campaign finance violation complaints must be filed with the
clerk of the affected municipality. The bill requires a clerk to refer a complaint to the Secretary of
State’s (SOS) office if the municipality does not have a campaign finance complaint ordinance
and hearing process, or if the clerk determines that the clerk's review of the complaint would
create a conflict of interest for the clerk or the clerk's staff. A clerk must do an administrative
check to see if the complaint was filed correctly before referring it to the SOS’s office.
State Revenue
The bill potentially increases state cash fund revenue from fines and fees to the Department of
State as outlined below.
Campaign finance violation fines. The bill may increase state revenue from fines paid to the
Department of State Cash fund. As these fines vary in amount depending on the number and
severity of the violations, no estimate is available. Fine revenue is subject to TABOR.
Fee impact on businesses and professions. Colorado law requires legislative service agency
review of measures which create or increase any fee collected by a state agency. Under current
law, the DOS is authorized to adjust fees so that the revenue generated approximates its direct
and indirect costs. The DOS is primarily funded through business filing fees. To cover the costs
described in the State Expenditures section below, fees may need to be raised to cover all or
some of the costs of this bill. The fees affected and the actual amount of fee charges will be set
administratively by the DOS based on cash fund balance, total program costs, and the estimated
number of professional activities subject to fees. This revenue is subject to TABOR.
State Expenditures
This bill will increase state expenditures in the Department of State by about $310,000 in
FY 2024-25 and about $308,000 in FY 2025-26 to review and investigate increased cases of
alleged municipal election finance complaints. These costs, paid from the Department of State
Cash Fund, are displayed in Table 2 and described below.
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February 21, 2024 HB 24-1283
Table 2
Expenditures Under HB 24-1283
FY 2024-25 FY 2025-26
Department of State
Personal Services $202,705 $221,708
Operating Expenses $4,096 $4,480
Capital Outlay Costs $26,680 -
Administrative Hearing Officers $20,000 $20,000
Centrally Appropriated Costs
1
$56,061 $61,316
FTE – Personal Services 3.2 FTE 3.5 FTE
Total Cost $309,542 $307,505
Total FTE 3.2 FTE 3.5 FTE
1
Centrally appropriated costs are not included in the bill's appropriation.
Personal services. The Campaign and Political Finance Unit within the Department of State
(DOS) will require 2.0 FTE Policy Advisors to handle the increase in complaints regarding
municipal races. The Policy Advisors will conduct reviews, perform investigations, draft motions,
assist in compliance, and coordinate with other divisions within DOS. The Elections Division will
require a 0.5 FTE Election Specialist to handle questions from respondents and train municipal
clerks and their staff on requirements. The Legal and Policy Team will require a 1.0 FTE Policy
Advisor to manage filing documents and accessibility, track deadlines, and facilitate
administrative hearings.
Administrative hearing officers. An increase in complaints will require more administrative
hearings and more contract hours for administrative hearing officers to conduct those hearings.
This is estimated to require an additional 100 hours of hearings per year at $200 per hour.
Centrally appropriated costs. Pursuant to a Joint Budget Committee policy, certain costs
associated with this bill are addressed through the annual budget process and centrally
appropriated in the Long Bill or supplemental appropriations bills, rather than in this bill. These
costs, which include employee insurance and supplemental employee retirement payments, are
shown in Table 2.
Local Government
Municipalities that are currently reviewing campaign finance violation complaints may, in some
circumstances, instead refer the complaints directly to the SOS. This may result in minimal cost
savings to some municipalities for processing and investigating a complaint.
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February 21, 2024 HB 24-1283
Effective Date
The bill takes effect 90 days following adjournment of the General Assembly sine die, assuming
no referendum petition is filed, and applies to municipal campaign finance complaints filed on
or after that date.
State Appropriations
For FY 2024-25, the bill requires an appropriation of $253,481 from the Department of State
Cash Fund to the Department of State, and 3.2 FTE.
State and Local Government Contacts
County Clerks Municipalities Secretary of State
The revenue and expenditure impacts in this fiscal note represent changes from current law under the bill for each
fiscal year. For additional information about fiscal notes, please visit the General Assembly website.