Keim v. Douglas County School District

Citations

• 2017 CO 81
• 397 P.3d 377
• 2017 WL 2836165

Syllabus

Campaign Finance—Fair Campaign Practices Act—Campaign Contributions. The Supreme Court reviewed the Court of Appeals' conclusion that a school district did not make a prohibited campaign contribution in a school board election campaign under CRS § 1-45-117(1)(a) of Colorado's Fair Campaign Practices Act and article XXVIII, § 2(5)(a)(IV) of the Colorado Constitution. Under § 2(5)(a)(IV), a \contribution\ requires that (1) something of value (2) be given to a candidate, directly or indirectly, (3) for the purpose of promoting the candidate's nomination, retention, recall, or election. Here, the school district commissioned and paid for a report supportive of the district's reform agenda using public funds. However, because the school district did not give something, directly or indirectly, to any candidate when it publicly disseminated an email containing a link to the report, the Court concluded that the school district did not make a prohibited contribution under these Colorado campaign finance provisions. The Court therefore affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeals.