BY AUTHORITY 1 2ORDINANCE NO. _____ COUNCIL BILL NO. ________ 3SERIES OF 2018 COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE: 4 5 A BILL 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 For an ordinance submitting to a vote of the registered electors of the City and County of Denver at a special municipal election to be held in conjunction with the general election of November 6, 2018, a proposed change to the Denver Revised Municipal Code concerning the creation of a dedicated fund to match campaign donations of up to $50 per donor to candidates who participate in a matching fund program with lower donation limits. 15BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER: 16 17 Section 1. There is hereby submitted to the registered electors of the City and County of 18Denver for their approval or rejection at a special municipal election to be conducted at the same 19time and in conjunction with the general election to be held in the City and County of Denver on 20November 6, 2018, a proposed change to the Denver Revised Municipal Code, as follows: 21 22 Section 2. That section 15-31, D.R.M.C. shall be amended by deleting the language 23stricken and adding the language underlined, to read as follows: 24 25Sec. 15-31. - Purpose & Finding 26 27 (a) As a home rule city under Article XX of the Colorado Constitution, the council 28people of Denver hereby find and declare that preserving integrity and openness in the political 29process is a matter of the highest public interest; that the people of Denver can be better served 30through a more informed electorate; that the trust of the people is essential to representative 31government; and that public disclosure and regulation of certain campaign contributions are 32necessary to promote public confidence in government, to curb corruption and its appearance, 33and to protect the integrity of the electoral process. 34 (b) The council people further find and declare that regulation of campaign 35contributions, public disclosure of political spending, and establishment of a voluntary alternative 36source of campaign financing in the form of limited public matching funds are required because 37the costs of running political campaigns have dramatically escalated in recent years, leading to a 1 1 1public perception that special interests and wealthy individuals may have undue influence on or 2access to elected officials. 3 (c) It is the policy of the city to promote and encourage broad based citizen 4involvement in the financing of election campaigns. The people further find and declare that 5providing public funds to match small donations from city residents will give a greater voice to 6small donors, thereby encouraging more citizens to get involved in the financing of election 7campaigns. It is also the intent of this article to foster an open political process which allows 8incumbents and challengers alike to compete in the marketplace of ideas on a fair and equitable 9basis. The people of Denver will best be served by a process which promotes the fullest and 10most thorough discussion and debate of issues and candidates. 11 (d) The Supreme Court held in Citizens United v FEC that "the public has an interest in 12knowing who is speaking about a candidate shortly before an election," and in McCutcheon v 13FEC that disclosure of political spending is "justified based on a governmental interest in 14provid[ing] the electorate with information about the sources of election related spending." The 15people further find and declare that full and timely disclosure of political spending referring to 16municipal candidates and ballot issues preserves integrity and openness in the political process. 17 (e) The council people further find and declare that adequate enforcement of the 18provisions of this article is required to protect public confidence in the political process. 19 (f) The people of Denver voted in 1974 to amend the Charter to provide for limitations 20on political contributions and expenditures to be adopted by ordinance. This article modernizes 21and further implements section 8.2.15 of the Charter. 22 23 Section 2. That section 15-32, D.R.M.C. shall be amended by deleting the language 24stricken and adding the language underlined, to read as follows: 25 26Sec. 15-32. - Definitions. 27 28As used in this article, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings, unless 29otherwise clearly indicated by the context: 30 (a)  Candidate shall mean any person who: 31 (1)  Seeks election or re-election to any elected Charter office listed in Charter section 329.2.1(A) (the offices of mayor, auditor, clerk and recorder, and member of city council) and any 33judge of the county court who seeks to be retained in office pursuant to Charter subdivision 4.1.5. 34A person is a candidate for election upon the first to occur of the following: 35 a.  The person has publicly announced an intention to seek election or re-election to 1 2 1office and the person or a candidate committee authorized by the person has received 2contributions and contributions in-kind or has made expenditures aggregating five hundred dollars 3($500.00) or more during the election cycle; or 4 b.  The person has filed nominating petitions pursuant to Charter section 8.2.7; or 5 c.  The person has filed a declaration of intent to run for another term as judge under 6Charter subdivision 4.1.5. 7 (2)  As an incumbent, an unsuccessful candidate for office, or former office holder, still 8has a cash balance of contributions or a debt or deficit or who receives contributions or 9contributions in-kind. 10 (b)  Candidate committee shall mean the committee authorized by a candidate to receive 11contributions or contributions in-kind or make expenditures on behalf of such candidate. A 12candidate shall have only one (1) candidate committee. 13 (c)  Commercial loan shall mean any loan of money by a commercial lending institution 14made in accordance with applicable law and in the ordinary course of business, but such loans 15shall be made on a basis which assures repayment, evidenced by a written instrument, and 16subject to a due date or amortization schedule, and shall bear the usual and customary interest 17rate of the lending institution. 18 (d)  Contribution shall mean a gift, loan, pledge or advance of money; guarantee or 19endorsement of loan; or letter of credit or line of credit made by any person for the purpose of 20influencing any election. "Contribution" includes, but is not limited to: 21 (1)  A transfer of money between one (1) candidate or political committee and another 22(which shall be a contribution to the committee which receives the money); 23 (2)  The payment by any person of compensation for the personal services of another 24person which are rendered to a committee; 25 (3)  A payment made to a third party at the request of or with the prior knowledge of a 26candidate, committee, or agent of either; 27 (4)  A payment made after an election to meet any deficit or debt incurred during the 28course of a campaign; 29 (5)  A loan, other than a commercial loan, to a candidate or committee, up until the time 30when the loan is fully paid. An unsecured loan shall be a contribution from the lender. A secured or 31guaranteed loan shall be a contribution from the guarantor or person whose property secures the 32loan; and 33 (6)  An unpaid financial obligation which is forgiven. 34"Contribution" does not include services provided without compensation by any individual who 35volunteers on behalf of a candidate or committee. "Contribution" does not include any commercial 1 3 1loan. 2 (e)  Contribution in-kind shall mean a gift or loan of any item of real or personal property, 3or any other thing of value, but not including money, made to or for any candidate or committee for 4the purpose of influencing an election or for the purpose of disseminating newsletters related to 5the scope of duties of an incumbent. "Contribution in-kind" does not include services provided 6without compensation by any individual who volunteers on behalf of a candidate or committee or 7an endorsement of candidacy or issue by any person. In determining the value to be placed on 8contributions in-kind, a reasonable estimate of the fair market value shall be used. 9 (f)  Contributor shall mean any person who makes a contribution or contribution in-kind. 10 (g) (1) Controlled by or coordinated with a candidate committee or issue committee means 11a communication that refers to a candidate or ballot issue or ballot question when: 12 a. The communication is made in cooperation or consultation with, or at the request or 13suggestion of, a candidate, or issue committee or agents of the candidate or committee, including 14any general or particular understanding with, or pursuant to any non-public communication with, 15the candidate, committee, or agents; 16 b. The communication is made by a person or committee that was directly or indirectly 17formed by, or at the request of, the candidate or issue committee or agents of the candidate or 18committee, or by a person or committee that is established, financed, directed or controlled by a 19member of the immediate family of the candidate; or 20 c. The candidate, issue committee, or agents of the candidate or committee solicit funds or 21appear at fundraising events on behalf of the person or committee making the communication 22during the same election cycle as the communication is made. 23 (2) No communication shall be considered controlled by or coordinated with a candidate or 24issue committee if it is a news story, commentary, or editorial distributed through the facilities of 25any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, or other periodical publication, unless such 26facilities are owned or controlled by any political party, political committee, or candidate or the 27communication is a candidate or issue debate or promotion materials for such a debate. 28 (3) Any communications referring to a candidate or ballot issue or ballot question that are 29controlled by or coordinated with a candidate or issue committee or their agents pursuant to this 30section are deemed to be contributions to the candidate or issue committee and are subject to all 31contribution limits and prohibitions in section 15-37 and reporting requirements in sections 15-35. 32 33 (h)  Election shall mean any city general election or runoff election; any special election 34held to elect Charter officers listed in Charter section 9.2.1(A), held under Charter section 1.1.13 35or 9.7.9, or at which an issue is submitted to the electorate as required by part 3 of article VIII of 1 4 1the Charter; any election at which a Charter amendment or the question of issuing bonds is 2submitted to the electorate; or any election held under Article X, Section 20, paragraph (3) of the 3Colorado Constitution. 4 (i)  Election cycle shall mean; 5 (1)  For the candidates of mayor, auditor, clerk and recorder, and member of city council, 6the period from January 1 of the year following a general municipal election held to elect Charter 7officers listed in Charter section 9.2.1 through December thirty-first of the next year in which such 8an election is held. 9 (2)  For judges in their first term, the date from appointment as a judge through December 10thirty-first of the year in which the judge is subject to a retention election as required by 11subdivision 4.1.5 of the Charter. 12 (3)  For judges in other terms, the period from January first of the year following the last 13election for retention of the judge through December thirty-first of the year in which the next 14retention election is held. 15 (4)  For any vacancy election, the election cycle shall end on December thirty-first of the 16year in which the vacancy election is held and a new election cycle shall begin on January first of 17the following year, and shall end on December thirty-first of the next year in which a general 18municipal election is held; and 19 (5)  For any ballot issue or ballot question, the calendar period from January first through 20December thirty-first during which the issue or question is on the ballot. 21 (j) Electioneering communication shall mean any communication broadcasted by 22television or radio, printed in a newspaper or on a billboard, directly mailed or delivered by hand 23to personal residences, placed on a website, streaming media service, or online forum for a fee, or 24a pre-recorded audio message delivered by telephone, that: 25 (1)  Unambiguously refers to any candidate, ballot issue or ballot question; and 26 (2)  Is broadcast, printed, mailed, delivered, posted or otherwise distributed in the period 27beginning sixty (60) days before a general municipal election until the run-off election, or within 28thirty (30) days of a special or vacancy election; and 29 (3)  Is broadcast to, printed in a newspaper distributed to, mailed or delivered by hand to, 30targeted online to, or posted on a billboard to an audience that includes members of the electorate 31for the candidate, ballot issue or ballot question. 32 (4)  Electioneering communication does not include: 33 a.  Any news articles, editorial endorsements, opinion or commentary writings, or letters to 34the editor printed or digitally published in a newspaper, magazine or other periodical not owned or 35controlled by a candidate or political party; 1 5 1 b.  Any editorial endorsements or opinions aired by a broadcast facility not owned or 2controlled by a candidate or political party; or 3 c.  Any communication by persons, other than committees, made in the regular course 4and scope of their business or any communication made by a membership organization solely to 5members of such organization and their families. 6 (5)  An electioneering communication is made when the actual spending occurs or when 7there is a contractual agreement requiring such spending and the amount is determined. 8 (k)  Expenditure shall mean the purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or 9gift of money or anything of value, made by any person for the purpose of influencing an election. 10Expenditure includes a transfer of money between one (1) committee and another (which shall be 11an expenditure by the committee that transfers the funds). An expenditure occurs when the actual 12payment is made. A written contract, promise or agreement to make an expenditure shall be 13considered and reported as an unpaid obligation if payment is thirty (30) days or more overdue. 14 (l)  Independent expenditure shall mean an expenditure made by any person for the 15purpose of expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate or supporting or opposing a 16ballot issue or ballot question that is not controlled by, or coordinated with, any candidate or issue 17committee or agent of a candidate or issue committee. 18 (1)  Independent expenditure does not include: 19 a.  Any news articles, editorial endorsements, opinion or commentary writings, or letters to 20the editor printed in a newspaper, magazine or other periodical not owned or controlled by a 21candidate; 22 b.  Any editorial endorsements or opinions aired by a broadcast facility not owned or 23controlled by a candidate; 24 c.  Any communication by persons made in the regular course and scope of their business 25or any communication made by a membership organization solely to members of such 26organization and their families. 27 (2)  Any expenditure that is controlled by, or coordinated with, a candidate or issue 28committee or agent of a candidate or issue committee, is deemed to be both a contribution by the 29maker of the expenditure and an expenditure by the candidate or issue committee. 30 (3)  An independent expenditure is made when the actual spending occurs or when there 31is a contractual agreement requiring such spending and the amount is determined. 32 (m)  Issue committee shall mean any committee, club, association, corporation, or other 33group of persons which receives contributions or contributions in-kind aggregating five hundred 34dollars ($500.00) or more during an election cycle and makes expenditures aggregating five 35hundred dollars ($500.00) or more during an election cycle for the major purpose of supporting or 1 6 1opposing one (1) or more ballot issues or ballot questions. Issue committee does not include 2political parties, political committees, or candidate committees as otherwise defined in this section. 3 (n)  Person shall have the same meaning as contained in section 1-2(12) of the Revised 4Municipal Code. 5 (o)  Political committee shall mean any committee, club, association, local political party, 6or other group of persons not authorized by a candidate and formed for the major purpose of 7making contributions to candidate, issue, or political committees, which receives contributions or 8contributions in-kind aggregating five hundred dollars ($500.00) or more during an election cycle 9and which makes expenditures aggregating five hundred dollars ($500.00) or more during an 10election cycle. Political committee includes a committee, club, association or other group which 11solicits contributions or contributions in-kind and places such contributions or contributions in-kind 12in its treasury for distribution to candidate, issue, or political committees. Political committee does 13not include a committee, club, association or other group which solicits individual contributions 14and passes those contributions along to candidate, issue, or political committees without placing 15the contributions in its own treasury prior to distribution to a political committee. 16 (p) “Small donor committee” means any political committee that has accepted 17contributions only from natural persons who each contributed no more than fifty dollars in the 18aggregate per year. “Small donor committee” does not include political parties, political 19committees, issue committees, or candidate committees. 20 21 Section 3. That Sec. 15-37 of the Denver Revised Municipal Code shall be amended 22 by deleting the language stricken and adding the language underlined, to read as follows: 23 24 Sec. 15-37. - Limitations on contributions and contributions in-kind. 25 26 (a)(1) For any particular election cycle, no person shall make contributions or 27contributions in-kind to a candidate and his or her candidate committees that, in the 28aggregate, exceed the following amounts : 29 30 Office Mayor Auditor Councilmember at large Judge Clerk and Recorder 1 Amount $3,000.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.00 7 District councilmember $1,000.00 Office Mayor Auditor Councilmember at large Judge Clerk and Recorder District councilmember Amount $1,000.00 $700.00 $700.00 $700.00 $700.00 $400.00 1 2 3 For purposes of this subsection, the aggregate limits shall not apply to transfers between 4candidate committees when both candidate committees are authorized by the same candidate(s). 5Further, the aggregate limits shall not apply to transfers between a joint candidate committee and 6the candidate committee of one (1) of its candidates. For the purposes of transferring money 7between candidate committees that are authorized by the same candidate, it is not a violation of 8D.R.M.C. § 15-32(b) if a candidate creates a new candidate committee for another city office, 9transfers money from the original committee to the new committee, and then closes the original 10committee no later than ten (10) days after such transfer is made. 11 (2) Except for entities registered as committees pursuant to section 15-34, it shall 12be unlawful for any unincorporated association, corporation. limited liability company, 13partnership, limited political partnership or labor organization to make contributions to a 14candidate committee and no candidate committee shall accept any contribution from these 15entities. 16 (3) Each election cycle limit on contributions and contributions in-kind described in 17subsection (a)(1) of this section shall be adjusted by an amount based upon the percentage 18change over a four-year period in the United States bureau of labor statistics consumer price 19index for Denver- Boulder-Greeley, all items, all consumers, or its successor index, rounded 20to the nearest lowest five dollars. The first adjustment shall be done in the first quarter of 212020 and then every four years thereafter. The clerk and recorder shall calculate such an 22adjustment in each limit and specify the limits in rules promulgated in accordance with section 2315-46. 24 (b) No candidate committee shall accept any contribution or contribution in-kind 25from any person if that person's contributions or contributions in-kind on behalf of the 26candidate have an aggregate amount or value in excess of the amounts listed in section 152737(a). Any contribution or contribution in-kind or portion thereof that exceeds the limits in 28section 15-37(a) shall be returned to the contributor within seventy-two (72) hours of receipt. 29 (c) The limitations imposed by subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall not 30apply to contribution of a candidate's personal funds to the candidate's own campaign, or to 1 8 1any loan which is personally guaranteed by the candidate or is secured by property owned 2by the candidate. 3 (d) No person shall make a contribution to a political committee that equals or exceeds 4fifty dollars ($50.00) in currency or coin. Any portion of a contribution in currency or coin of fifty 5dollars ($50.00) or more shall be remitted by the treasurer to the clerk and recorder no later than 6seventy-two (72) hours after receipt, for deposit by the clerk and recorder into the general fund 7of the city Fair Elections Fund of the city. 8 (e) Any portion of an anonymous contribution of fifty dollars ($50.00) or more 9received by a political committee shall be remitted by the treasurer to the clerk and recorder 10no later than seventy-two (72) hours after receipt, for deposit by the clerk and recorder into 11the general fund of the city Fair Elections Fund of the city. 12 13 Section 4. That Article VIII of Chapter 15 of the Denver Revised Municipal Code 14shall be amended by the addition of a new division to read as follows: 15 16Section 15-47. - Purpose and Findings. 17 18This Article shall be known as the Denver Fair Elections Act. Its purpose is to advance the 19findings and declarations articulated by the people of Denver in Section 15-31 of the Denver 20Municipal Code. 21 22Section 15-48. - Definitions. 23 24 (a) As used in this article, the following words and phrases shall have the following 25meanings, unless otherwise clearly indicated by the context: 26 (1) “Fund” means the Fair Elections Fund created by Sec. 15-51. 27 (2) “Match-eligible contribution” means any contribution subject to the limits in Sec. 2815-96 to a participating candidate from a Denver resident who is a natural person, not to 29exceed fifty dollars per contributor. 30 (3) “Participating candidate” means a candidate running in a general or special 31election for the office of Mayor, City Council, Clerk and Recorder, Judge, and Auditor who 32has been certified by the clerk and recorder to participate in the Fair Elections Campaign 33Funding program. 34 (4) “Qualifying contribution” means a contribution received during the qualifying 35period of at least five dollars, but not greater than the limits in Sec. 15-53, to a candidate 1 9 1running for the office of Mayor, Judge, City Council, Clerk and Recorder, and Auditor from a 2Denver resident who is a natural person. 3 (5) “Qualifying period” means the period beginning on the January 1 immediately 4following the most recent election for the specific office and ending fifty (50) days before the 5election date. The qualifying period for any special or vacancy election starts the day that 6notice has been made for the special or vacancy election and ends on the date of 7certification or fifty (50) days before the election date. 8 9Sec. 15-49. - Severability. 10 11 (a) The provisions of this article and each of its sections, paragraphs, 12subparagraphs, sentences, and clauses are severable. If any such provision is held to be 13invalid or unenforceable by any judicial or administrative tribunal, it is the intent of the people 14of Denver that all other provisions thereof shall remain in full force and effect. 15 16Sec. 15-50. - Fair Elections Fund. 17 18 (a) Establishment of Fair Elections Fund. A special, dedicated Fair Elections Fund 19is established for the purpose of: 20 (1) Providing public financing for the election campaigns of certified 21participating candidates; and 22 (2) Paying for the administrative costs of City staff related to the Fair Elections Act 23public campaign funding program. 24 (b) Appropriations to the Fair Elections Fund. 25 (1) The city shall annually appropriate $2.88 per City of Denver resident per year, 26as determined by the most recent official United States Census Bureau Population Estimate 27for the City of Denver, from the City General Fund to the Fair Elections Fund. The Mayor 28and Council's duty to appropriate funds for the public financing program shall cease upon 29the termination of the public financing program. Appropriations to the Fund shall be 30encumbered to satisfy the obligation created by subsection (a) of this section pursuant to 31Charter Sec. 7.2.3 until the maximum amount allowed in the Fair Elections Fund is reached 32pursuant to subsection (b)(3) of this section. 33 (2) Other sources of revenue in the Fund shall include: 34 a. Unspent funds distributed to any participating candidate who does not remain 35a candidate until the election for which they were distributed, or such funds that remain 1 10 1unspent by a participating candidate; 2 b. Other funds appropriated by the Mayor and City Council; 3 c. Unexpended campaign contributions from any candidate or political committee. 4 d. Any interest generated by the Fund; and 5 e. Any other sources of revenue determined as necessary by the City Council. 6 (3) The amount in the Fair Elections Fund shall not exceed $8 million. To comply 7with this limitation, revenue that would otherwise be deposited in the Fair Elections Fund 8pursuant to subsections (a) and (b} shall instead be deposited in the General Fund. 9 (4) The City Council may, by adoption of an ordinance by not less than a two-thirds 10vote of its membership, make an official declaration of fiscal emergency and suspend or 11reduce the amount of the annual appropriation specified in this subsection. 12 a. Any such ordinance suspending or reducing the annual appropriation 13shall be effective for no more than one year. 14 (c) Periodic Adjustments to Appropriations. The dollar amounts specified in subsection (b) 15of this section and the aggregate amounts in Sec. 15-55(b) shall be adjusted by an amount based 16upon the percentage change over a four-year period in the United States bureau of labor statistics 17consumer price index for Denver- Boulder-Greeley, all items, all consumers, or its successor index, 18 (d) rounded to the nearest lowest five dollars. The first adjustment shall be done in the first 19quarter of 2024 and then every four years thereafter. The clerk and recorder shall calculate such 20adjustments. 21 22Sec. 15-51. - Offices Covered. 23 24 (a) Candidates for the office of Mayor, City Council, Clerk and Recorder, Judge, and 25Auditor shall be eligible to participate in the public campaign financing program established 26by this chapter, pursuant to the restrictions, requirements, and provisions specific to these 27respective offices. 28 29Sec. 15-52. - Eligibility for Fair Elections Campaign Funding. 30 31 (a) To be eligible to be certified as a participating candidate, a candidate must: 32 (1) Before the end of the qualifying period for the election involved, file with the clerk 33and recorder an application for certification as a participating candidate, containing the identity 34of the candidate, the office that the candidate seeks, and the candidate's signature, under 35penalty of perjury, certifying that: 1 11 1 a. The candidate has complied with the restrictions of this chapter during the 2election cycle to date; 3 b. The candidate's campaign committee has filed all campaign finance reports 4required by law during the election cycle to date and that they are complete and accurate; 5and 6 c. The candidate will comply with the requirements of this Act during the 7remainder of the election cycle and, specifically, if certified a participating candidate, will 8comply with the requirements applicable to participating candidates. 9 (2) Before the close of the qualifying period, ensure that the following number of 10qualifying contributions from unique contributors have been collected by the candidate or the 11candidate’s campaign committee; 12 a. For the office of Mayor: 250. 13 b. For the office of City Council, Auditor, Judge, or Clerk and Recorder: (3) Ensure that each qualifying contribution shall be acknowledged by a receipt to 14100. 15 16the contributor, with a copy retained by the candidate for a period of two (2) years after the 17election for which he or she is a candidate. The receipt shall include the contributor's printed 18name, home address, and telephone number, if any, and the name of the candidate on whose 19behalf the contribution is made. In addition, the receipt shall indicate that the contributor 20understands that the purpose of the contribution is to help the candidate qualify for Fair 21Elections campaign funding, that the contribution up to $50 will be matched by the Fund by 22900 percent, and that the contribution is made without coercion or reimbursement. A copy of 23completed receipts for all qualifying contributions shall be submitted with the application for 24certification as a participating candidate, and any contribution for which a candidate has not 25obtained a fully completed receipt shall not be counted as a qualified contribution. This 26application shall include a signed statement from the candidate indicating that all information 27on the qualifying contribution receipts is complete and accurate to the best of the candidate's 28knowledge. 29 (4) After ballot certification, be in a race with at least one other candidate for that 30office. 32Sec. 15-53. - Requirements for Participation in the Fair Elections Program 33 34 (a) Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, participating candidates and 35candidates seeking certification may not accept contributions from natural persons above 1 12 1these limits. 2 Mayor $500 Councilmember-at-large, Judge, Clerk and Recorder, Auditor $350 District councilmember $200 3 4 (b) Participating candidates and candidates seeking certification may accept 5contributions only from natural persons or a small donor committee, as defined in section 615-32 (p), and may not accept contributions from any local, state, or federal issue, 7candidate, or political committees. A participating candidate or a candidate seeking 8certification may not accept contributions from a small donor committee in the aggregate in 9excess of ten times the contribution limit for participating candidates for the office that the 10candidate seeks. 11 (c) Participating candidates shall obtain and maintain and issue receipts for all 12match-eligible contributions retained by the candidate for a period of two (2) years after the 13election. The receipt shall include the contributor's printed name, home address, and 14telephone number, if any, and the name of the candidate on whose behalf the contribution is 15made. In addition, the receipt shall indicate that the contributor understands that the 16contribution up to $50 will be matched by the Fund by 900 percent, and that the contribution 17is made without coercion or reimbursement. 18 (d) Participating candidates and candidates seeking certification shall obtain and 19furnish to the clerk and recorder any information the clerk may request relating to campaign 20expenditures or contributions and furnish such documentation and other proof of compliance 21with this chapter as may be requested by such clerk and recorder; and 22 (e) (1) Participating candidates must agree to participate in at least two public debates 23with opponents in the general election and at least one public debate with the opponent in a 24run-off election if offered. For purposes of this section, a "debate" means the moderated 25reciprocal discussion of issues among candidates on the ballot for the same office. If there is 26only one candidate for a given office on the ballot, then no debate for that given office shall be 27held pursuant to this section. 28 (2) Each debate held pursuant to this section shall be at least one hour's duration. 29The Clerk and Recorder’s office shall select one or more sponsors for each debate required 30pursuant to this section. Organizations which are not affiliated with any political party or with any 31holder of or candidate for public office, which have not endorsed any candidate in the election 32shall be eligible to sponsor one or more of the required debates. The rules for conducting such 1 13 1debates, and the date, time and location of such debates, shall be solely the responsibility of 2the organizations selected but shall not be made final without consultation with the Clerk and 3Recorder’s office. 4 (3) Written applications by organizations to sponsor a debate shall be submitted to 5the Clerk and Recorder’s office on a form provided by the board not later than a date chosen by 6the Clerk and Recorder in any year in which a municipal election is held with the parameters 7that the debate takes place after the ballot is certified and before ballots are mailed. The written 8application shall: 9 (i) Demonstrate that the organization and any proposed co-sponsor meet the criteria 10established in this section; 11 (ii) Specify any elections and offices for which the organization seeks to sponsor 12debates; 13 (iii) Set forth proposed dates, times, durations, and locations of the debates and the 14specific and exclusive circumstances under which the dates or times may be changed, together 15with a provision for when the rescheduled debates would be held; 16 (iv) Provide a detailed description of the format and ground rules for the debates; 17 (v) Verify that the staging, promotion, and coverage of the debates shall be in 18conformance with all applicable laws; 19 (vi) Include an agreement to indemnify the city for any liability arising from the acts or 20omissions of the sponsor; and 21 (vii) Set forth plans for publicity and for broadcast and other media coverage for the 22debates. 23 (4) If a candidate fails to participate in any debate required under this section before 24an election, the candidate shall be liable for return of any public matching funds previously 25received pursuant to the certification filed by the candidate in connection with the election for 26which such debate is held, shall be ineligible to receive any further matching funds for that 27election, and may be subject to a civil penalty. Following the submission of a petition on behalf 28of the candidate and a hearing before the Clerk and Recorder's office, the sanction or sanctions 29of this section applicable to a candidate for failure to participate in any debate as required under 30this section may be waived upon a timely determination by the Clerk and Recorder's office that 31the failure to participate in the debate occurred under circumstances beyond the control of the 32candidate and of such nature that a reasonable person would find the failure justifiable or 33excusable. 34 (f) Participating candidates and candidates seeking certification must comply with 35 all requirements for candidate affidavits, organization, registration, and reporting for 1 14 1 candidate committees in Sections 15-33 and 15-35. 2 (g) Participating candidates shall not donate to their own campaigns in an 3aggregate amount greater than the limits in Section 15-53(a). However, a participating 4candidate may personally loan his or her own campaign seed money up to five thousand 5dollars ($5,000). Any money loaned must be repaid by the campaign from the account that 6does not include public monies. Any portion of the loan not repaid is deemed a contribution 7and must comply with applicable contribution limits and reporting requirements. 8 (h) Participating candidates must refund any unexpended money received from The 9Fair Elections Fund back to the Fair Elections Fund no later than sixty (60) days after the 10candidate publicly announce or notifies the clerk and recorder of their withdrawal from the race, 11or by the last day in the election cycle, whichever occurs first. 12 (i) Participating candidates must maintain and certify to the clerk and recorder two 13separate bank accounts. The candidate must use one bank account for all public monies 14received from the fund and a second account for all other campaign loans and contributions. 15 16Sec. 15-54. - Certification of Participating Candidates by clerk and recorder. 17 18 (a) No later than ten (10) business days after a candidate files with the clerk and 19recorder an application for certification as a participating candidate, the clerk and recorder 20shall notify the candidate whether or not the application is approved. 21 (b) If the clerk and recorder determines that a candidate is not certified, the 22candidate is not required to comply with provisions of this Act applicable only to participating 23candidates as of the date of the Clerk's notice. 24 (c) The clerk and recorder's determination on the application for certification is a 25final action subject to judicial review. 26 (d) A participating candidate's initial request for funds from the Fair Elections Fund 27within the application for certification as a participating candidate shall be made using a form 28prescribed by the clerk and recorder and shall be accompanied by qualifying contribution 29receipts and any other information the clerk and recorder deems necessary. The clerk and 30recorder shall verify that a candidate's qualifying contributions meet all of the requirements 31and restrictions of this Act prior to the disbursement of funds from the Fair Elections Fund to 32the candidate. 33 34Sec. 15-55. - Fair Elections Fund Payments. 35 1 15 1 (a) Participating candidates shall receive payment of funds from the Fair Elections 2Fund equal to nine-hundred percent (900 percent) of the amount of match-eligible 3contributions up to $50 received by the candidate during the election cycle with respect to a 4single election, subject to the aggregate limit on the total amount of Fair Elections Fund 5payments to a candidate specified in subsection (b). The maximum match is $50 per donor 6per candidate in an election cycle. 7 (b) The aggregate amount of Fair Elections Fund payments that may be made to a 8participating candidate during an election cycle may not exceed: 9 (1) $750,000 for a candidate running for the office of Mayor; 10 (2) $250,000 for a candidate running for the office of Councilmember-at-large, 11 Clerk and Recorder, Judge or Auditor; and 12 (3) $125,000 for a candidate running for a District councilmember. 13 (c) The clerk and recorder must authorize payments in accordance with the following 14schedule: 15 (1) The clerk must authorize payment of the eligible monies on the August 15 16immediately preceding the regularly scheduled municipal general election; 17 (2) Subsequent payments must be authorized on a monthly basis, in conjunction with 18the due date of the monthly campaign finance reports filed by candidates during the year of a 19regularly scheduled municipal general election; 20 (3) The clerk must authorize payment of any remaining eligible monies due to the 21candidate on the fourteenth day before the election. 22 (d) The clerk and recorder shall provide each participating candidate with a written 23determination specifying the basis for any non-payment of funds from the Fair Elections 24Fund. The clerk and recorder shall provide participating candidates with a process by which 25they may immediately upon receipt of such determination petition the clerk and recorder for 26reconsideration of any such non-payment and such reconsideration shall occur within five 27business days of the filing of such petition. 28 29Sec. 15-56. - Run-off Elections. 30 31Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a participating candidate in a run-off 32election held pursuant to Article VIII Part 2. Section 8.2.21 and Part 3. Section 8.3.5 of the 33City of Denver Charter shall obtain prompt payment for qualified campaign expenditures in an 34amount equal to twenty-five cents for each one dollar of public funds paid pursuant to this 35chapter to the candidate's principal committee for the preceding election. Run-off funds do not 1 16 1count against the aggregate limit in Section 15-53. 2 3Sec. 15-57. - Insufficient Funds in the Program. 4 5If the clerk and recorder determines that there are insufficient funds in the Fair Elections Fund 6to fund adequately all participating candidates, the clerk and recorder shall notify participating 7candidates that the clerk and recorder will not likely be capable of distributing to all 8participating candidates the maximum aggregate amount of Fair Elections Fund payments 9permissible under Sec. 15-53. Under such circumstances, at such time as the clerk and 10recorder is unable to fulfill a valid application for funds from the Fair Elections Fund submitted 11by a participating candidate pursuant to Sec. 15-52(a) and 15-53 the participating candidate 12may solicit for such candidate's committee and accept contributions under the limit for 13candidates not participating in the program, and is no longer subject to the requirements for 14participating candidates in Sections 15-52 and 15-53. 15 16Sec. 15-58. - Duties of the clerk and recorder - Violations-Persons Ineligible for Public 17Funds-Time Limit. 18 19 (a) The clerk and recorder shall: 20 (1) Adopt rules and regulations if necessary for the implementation of this Article VIII. 21Such rules shall be promulgated in accordance with D.R.M.C Chapter 2 Article VI. 22 (2) Prescribe forms and provide instructional materials for reports required to be filed by 23this article. 24 (3) Preserve and maintain all such submissions pursuant to this article and make them 25available for inspection and copying under the requirements of the state Public Records Act, and 26maintain an online repository of all information filed pursuant to this article which may be 27accessed by the public through the Clerk's website. 28 (4) Notify any committee or person involved if the clerk and recorder makes a 29determination of an apparent violation of this article, or if a written complaint about the committee 30or person is filed with the clerk and recorder pursuant to section 15-40 regarding compliance with 31this article. 32 (5) Audit the filings or submissions of various candidate committees as needed to 33ensure that the committees fully comply with the provisions of this article. 34 (b) Complaints and duties of the clerk and recorder regarding potential violations of this 35article shall be governed by the provisions in Sec. 15-40 and 15-41. 1 17 1 (c) Penalties for failure to comply with this Article shall be governed by the provisions 2Section 15-41. 3 4Section 15-59. - Effective date and applicability. 5 6 (a) This act takes effect only upon the withdrawal of the “Democracy for the 7People” initiative from the ballot for the special municipal election to be held at the same time 8and in conjunction with the November 6, 2018, general election and applies to all municipal 9elections beginning with the municipal election cycle beginning on January 1, 2020. 10 11 Section 5. The ballot for said election must contain the following title and submission 12clause: 13 REFERRED QUESTION 14 15 “Shall the voters of the City and County of Denver adopt an amendment to the Denver Revised 16Municipal Code banning corporations and other entities from donating directly to candidates, 17lowering contribution limits, and adopting a new Article VIII to Chapter 15 of the Denver Revised 18Municipal Code creating the Fair Elections Fund within the City’s general fund, capped at 8 million 19dollars per four-year election cycle, as appropriated by City Council and the Mayor, to match 20donations of 50 dollars or less at a ratio of 9 to 1 to candidates who voluntarily agree to raise 21money in lower amounts and do not take contributions from political committees?” 22 23 Section 6. Each elector voting at the election and wishing to vote for or against the 24amendment must indicate the elector’s choice by indicating “YES” or “NO” on the ballot. 25 26 Section 7. The officials of the City and County of Denver charged with duties relating to the 27election must, before the election, issue such calls, make such certifications and publications, give 28such notices, make such appointments, and do all such other acts and things in connection with 29the submission of this code amendment to the registered electors of the City and County of 30Denver at the election required by the Constitution and laws of the State of Colorado and the 31Charter and ordinances of the City and County of Denver. 32 33 Section 8. The ballots cast at such election must be canvassed and the results 34ascertained, determined, and certified in accordance with the requirements of the Constitution and 35laws of the State of Colorado and the Charter and ordinances of the City and County of Denver. 1 18 1 2COMMITTEE APPROVAL DATE: ____________, 2018. 3MAYOR-COUNCIL DATE: __________________, 2018. 4PASSED BY THE COUNCIL __________________________________________________ 2018 5__________________________________________ - PRESIDENT 6APPROVED: _______________________________ - MAYOR ______________________ 2018 7ATTEST: __________________________________ - CLERK AND RECORDER, 8 EX-OFFICIO CLERK OF THE 9 CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER 10 11NOTICE PUBLISHED IN THE DAILY JOURNAL _____________ 2018; ________________2018 12 13PREPARED BY: _________________________________; DATE: _________________ 14 15Pursuant to section 13-12, D.R.M.C., this proposed ordinance has been reviewed by the office of 16the City Attorney. We find no irregularity as to form, and have no legal objection to the proposed 17ordinance. The proposed ordinance _____ is/_____is not submitted to the City Council for 18approval pursuant to § 3.2.6 of the Charter. 19 20Kristin M. Bronson 21City Attorney 22 23BY: _____________________, ________City Attorney 24DATE: __________________ 25 26 27 1 19