Concerning the reporting of money handled by legislative caucuses, and, in connection therewith, requiring each legislative caucus to report money accepted, received, and expended to the legislative council staff and requiring the legislativ...
SB 26-168 would require legislative caucuses in Colorado to file quarterly financial reports with Legislative Council staff if they are groups of two or more legislators organized around a common interest, ideology, issue, identity, or other shared purpose and they accept, receive, or spend money other than their own personal funds. The reports would cover receipts and expenditures for each quarter, include donor names and addresses, amounts, and dates for money received, and be filed on a set schedule each year. Caucuses that have no financial activity in a reporting period would still have to file a no-activity report.
The bill also requires caucuses to provide and keep current contact information, including an official name, mailing address, email address, and a designated legislator authorized to communicate on the caucus’s behalf. Legislative Council staff would be required to post the reports on a publicly accessible page on the General Assembly website, while redacting donor addresses before publication. Anyone giving an item to a caucus would have to provide a written statement of the item’s dollar value at the time it is given.
If enacted, the bill would add a new section to Colorado law governing legislative administration and transparency, creating a formal reporting regime for legislative caucuses that handle money or items. It would affect caucuses that are not statutory committees or committees governed by campaign finance law, and it would impose new filing, disclosure, and recordkeeping obligations on those groups as well as administrative duties on Legislative Council staff to receive, process, redact, and publish the reports.
The available context shows little recorded debate or vote detail, but the bill’s purpose is framed as a transparency measure. Its introduction suggests support for public disclosure of caucus finances, while the fact that it was postponed indefinitely in the Senate Committee on State, Veterans, & Military Affairs indicates the proposal did not advance and may have faced resistance or insufficient support. No committee transcript is available to show detailed arguments for or against the bill.
The main point of contention is likely the scope of the disclosure requirement: the bill defines “legislative caucus” broadly to include any two or more legislators organized around a shared interest, ideology, issue, identity, or other reason, which could sweep in informal groups as well as more structured caucuses. Potential concerns would include privacy, administrative burden, and whether donor and item disclosures should apply to internal legislative groups that are not formal committees. Supporters would likely emphasize transparency and public accountability for money flowing through legislative caucuses.