Campaign finance bill would move to monthly reporting and add mid-summer reporting; treasurers warn of burden

A hearing on substitute Senate Bill 5840 drew PDC staff and numerous campaign treasurers on Feb. 25 to debate proposed changes to campaign finance reporting schedules.

Kim Bradford, deputy director of the Public Disclosure Commission, told the committee the bill is the product of years of work. The measure would add annual participation statements to the statement of organization, redefine when an entity "participates" in an election to include expenditures for ballot propositions and independent expenditures regardless of value, and move expenditure reporting to a monthly schedule on the 10th day. For committees participating in primary or general elections, the bill also requires additional reports on the 25th of July–October with a two-business-day reporting lookback for some months (instead of one).

Campaign treasurers and compliance officers warned that the proposed reporting frequency — including bi-monthly reporting from July through November and monthly requirements year-round for filing committees — would dramatically increase workload and compliance costs for small and volunteer campaigns and could produce more administrative complaints. Some suggested preserving the 7- and 21-day pre-election filings or adopting a later single general-election C4 report with more preparation time.

Representative discussion included brief, pointed questions from members who asked whether adjusting timing or thresholds would reduce burdens while preserving transparency. Several treasurers said they would support some form of modernization but urged changes to the proposed schedule and thresholds before moving the bill forward.

Key provisions summarized

- Monthly expenditure reports for committees required to file a statement of organization (10th of each month).
- Additional reports on the 25th day of July–October for entities participating in primary/general elections, with a two-business-day lookback for reporting in July–October.
- Redefinition of "participation in an election" to include certain expenditures for ballot propositions and independent expenditures regardless of dollar value.

Quotes from hearing

"The reporting schedule is all burdens for campaigns and no benefit to the public," said professional treasurer Connor Edwards, urging a no vote unless timing concerns are addressed.

"Given your time constraints, I'm going to end there and see if you have any questions," Kim Bradford said in presenting the PDC's analysis of the bill.

Next steps

Committee members did not record a committee vote in this session. Sponsors and the PDC may return to the committee with revised timing or threshold proposals to balance transparency with administrative capacity.