Campaign finance requirements for Utah ballot measures
 in Utah |
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Groups and individuals involved in ballot measure campaigns in Utah must adhere to the state's campaign finance laws. These laws regulate the amounts and sources of money given or received for political purposes; in addition, campaign finance laws stipulate disclosure requirements for political contributions and expenditures.
Proponents of more stringent regulations and disclosure requirements, such as the Brennan Center for Justice, claim that current laws do not go far enough to mitigate corruption and the influence of undisclosed special interests. Others, such as the Institute for Free Speech, argue that strict disclosure requirements and contribution limits impinge upon the rights to privacy and free expression.[1][2]
| In Utah, a group involved in a ballot measure campaign is considered a political issues committee. A political issues committee can accept unlimited contributions from any lawful source. |
The laws and regulations that apply to ballot measure campaigns may differ from those that apply to candidates for political office. To learn more about campaign finance requirements for candidates, see this article.
Utah ballot measures
- See also: Ballot measure
A ballot measure is any question or issue that appears on an election ballot to be approved or rejected by voters. In 26 states, plus Washington, D.C., citizens may use the initiative and referendum process, which permits citizens to petition to place measures on the ballot and usually involves a signature collection process of some kind. Even in states without initiative and referendum processes, however, ballot measures exist. In all states, citizens may be asked to approve legislatively referred constitutional amendments, state statutes, bond issues or tax proposals.
In Utah, ballot measures come in four forms: legislatively referred state statute, initiated state statute, legislatively referred constitutional amendment, and Veto referendum.
Organizational requirements
Utah law defines a political issues committee (PIC) as any group whose purpose is to "solicit or receive donations from any other person, group, or entity to assist in placing a ballot proposition on the ballot, assist in keeping a ballot proposition off the ballot, or to advocate that a voter refrain from voting or vote for or vote against any ballot proposition," and to make expenditures towards ballot propositions. A PIC must submit a statement of organization by January 10 of every year until it files a statement of dissolution. If the PIC forms after January 10, it must file a statement of organization within seven days of raising or spending $750.[3][4][5]
Contribution limits
Utah does not have a law restricting the amount of money a PIC may spend or receive. However, PICs may not spend a contribution if the contribution totals more than $50 in cash from an unknown source.[6]
Reporting requirements
A PIC that spends or receives at least $750 in a calendar year must file financial disclosure reports. After reaching this $750 threshold, the PIC must also report each contribution received within 30 days of receipt. For all contributions exceeding $50 in the aggregate, the name and address of the contributor must be reported. For all expenditures exceeding $50, the committee must report the name and address of the recipient. During an election year, a PIC must file the following reports:[6]
- Pre-convention report:: Due seven days before a party convention, this report includes expenditures and contributions as of five days before the due date.
- Pre-primary report: Due seven days before the primary election, this report includes expenditures and contributions occurring since the previous report as of five days before the due date.
- September 30 report: Due September 30 of every year, this report includes expenditures and contributions occurring the previous report as of September 25.
- Pre-general election report: Due seven days before the general election, this report includes expenditures and contributions occurring since the previous report as of five days before the due date.
- Year-end report: Due January 10 of every year, this report includes expenditures and contributions occurring since the previous report as of December 31.
Year-specific reporting dates
2021
The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Utah in 2021.
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Utah, 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Reporting period | Filing deadline |
| September 30, 2021 | January 1, 2021 – September 25, 2021 | September 30, 2021 |
| General report | September 26, 2021 – October 21, 2021 | October 26, 2021 |
| Year-end report | October 22, 2021 – December 31, 2021 | January 10, 2022 |
| 31-day report | Contribution or expenditure | 30 days after receipt or expenditure |
| Source: State of Utah Financial Disclosures, "State of Utah 2021 Financial Disclosure Dates," accessed July 14, 2021 | ||
2015
The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Utah in 2015.
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Utah, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Reporting period | Filing deadline |
| September 30 | January 1-September 25 | September 30, 2015 |
| General report | September 26-October 22 | October 27, 2015 |
| Year-end report | October 23-December 31 | January 11, 2016 |
| 30-day report | Contribution or expenditure | 31 days after receipt or expenditure |
| Source: State of Utah Financial Disclosures, "State of Utah 2015 Financial Disclosure Dates," accessed December 7, 2015 | ||
State agencies
- See also: Campaign finance agencies in Utah
In Utah, there is one primary agency involved in campaign finance regulation.
Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office, Elections Division
- Suite 220
- Salt Lake City, UT 84114
- Telephone: (801) 538-1041
- Fax: (801) 538-1133
- Email: elections@utah.gov
Campaign finance legislation
The following is a list of recent campaign finance bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Utah state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.
Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.
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Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Utah campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Campaign finance requirements in Utah
- Campaign finance agencies in Utah
- List of Utah ballot measures
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Institute for Free Speech, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ Utah State Legislature, "Section 101 Definitions," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Utah Lieutenant Governor, "PIC Financial Disclosures," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Utah Code, "Section 20A-11-801," accessed December 14, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Utah State Legislature, "Section 802 Political issues committees -- Financial reporting", accessed December 7, 2015
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