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New secretary of state vows no partisan campaign rule changes

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DENVER – New Secretary of State Mike Coffman said he would not approve changes to campaign-finance rules that give any political party an edge over another.During a legislative budget hearing Thursday, the former state Treasurer said he believed his predecessor, fellow Republican Gigi Dennis, should not have issued new rules in August, months before the general election.”I was troubled by it,” Coffman told the Joint Budget Committee. “I think they were partisan in nature, and it’s my goal to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”He also said any campaign-finance rules or rule changes would be made well before the election they affect.In August, Dennis approved rules that required unions and other membership groups to get annual written permission from each member before dues could be transferred to a political committee for campaign purposes.The following month, the Colorado Court of Appeals agreed with a trial judge that Dennis overstepped her authority in approving rules that likely violated the plaintiff’s constitutional rights, and that the plaintiffs probably would win if the case went to trial.Coffman said while he supported the rule, it had no basis in state law. He said rules should implement state laws rather than create new ones.”A Republican-controlled Legislature had voted the issue down twice,” Coffman said.


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