Chapter 12 - § 12.3 • FEDERAL CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 12.3 • FEDERAL CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, also known as the McCain-Feingold amendments, was passed in the same year that Colorado voters adopted the initiative to modify the state's campaign finance limits and regulatory apparatus. Colorado's scheme was designed to mirror the new federal law in several key respects. As such, state prohibitions on nonprofits' political activities generally reflect the federal constraints on such organizations.

Among their other effects, the McCain-Feingold amendments largely eliminated so-called "soft money" donations to political parties (2 U.S.C. § 441i), regulated electioneering communications that do not expressly advocate the election or defeat of a candidate (2 U.S.C. § 434(d); federal law defines "electioneering...