HB 2788 Summary

• Establishes registration and reporting requirements for corporations, limited liability companies, and labor organizations making independent expenditures to influence elections, with thresholds of $5,000 for statewide races, $2,500 for legislative races, and $1,000 for local races per election cycle.

• Requires detailed notifications to filing officers within one day of reaching expenditure thresholds, including entity information, expenditure amounts, candidate names, and communication descriptions.

• Mandates disclosure statements on all literature and advertisements stating "paid for by" the entity name and that the expenditure is not authorized by any candidate or campaign committee.

• Imposes civil penalties up to three times the total expenditure amount for failing to register, notify, or disclose as required, enforceable by the attorney general, county attorney, or city/town attorney.

• Amends sections 16-919 and 16-920 to clarify that independent expenditures by corporations and labor organizations are permitted under the new registration and disclosure framework established in section 16-914.02.