COLORADO SECRETARY OF STATE
8 CCR 1505-14
RULES CONCERNING CONFLICT OF INTEREST disclosures

Preliminary Draft of Proposed Rules

September 29, 2008

Disclaimer:  This draft is not yet final.  The proposed changes to be considered at the public rulemaking hearing may be different than the proposed changes in this draft.  This draft is submitted to the Department of Regulatory Agencies for the purpose of complying with section 24-4-103(2.5), C.R.S., which requires that a draft be submitted to the Department at the time that a notice of proposed rulemaking is filed with the Secretary of State.

A final copy of the proposed rule changes will be available to the public no later than October 24, 2008, and a copy will be posted on the Department of State’s web site, in compliance with the requirement of section 24-4-103(4)(a), C.R.S., that “[a]ny proposed rule or revised proposed rule by an agency which is to be considered at the public hearing . . . shall be made available to any person at least five days prior to said hearing.”

Proposed additions to the current rules are reflected in small caps or underlined.  Proposed deletions from current rules are shown in stricken type.   Annotations may be included.

New Rule 1 would be adopted as follows:
Rule 1.  Electronic Filing
1.1	Beginning January 1, 2009, all disclosures filed with the Secretary of State pursuant to section 24-18-110, C.R.S., shall be filed electronically.  Disclosures presented for manual filing shall not be accepted. 
1.2	In accordance with section 24-21-111, C.R.S., reports are not required to be filed electronically if the Secretary of State has granted an exception to the electronic filing requirement after written application based on hardship or other good cause shown.  All applications for an exception shall include a brief statement of the hardship or good cause for which the exception is sought.  Applications must be received by the Secretary of State at least fifteen (15) calendar days prior to filing the first disclosure unless the exception is based on emergency circumstances, in which case the nature of the emergency shall be described in the application.  The Secretary of State shall review and respond in writing to all applications for an exception within three (3) business days.
1.3	For the purposes of this rule, “electronic filing” is defined as the filing of disclosures pursuant to section 24-18-110, C.R.S., utilizing the internet system created and maintained by the secretary of state for such purpose.  Submission of disclosures by facsimile or email shall not be considered “electronic filing.” 
New rule 2 would be adopted as follows:
Rule 2.  Fees
2.1	In accordance with section 24-21-104 (3)(b), C.R.S., beginning January 1, 2009, the fee for filing a disclosure shall be five dollars ($5.00).  Fees shall be paid at the time of filing such disclosure and shall be submitted utilizing the electronic filing system maintained by the Secretary of State.