By Jeremy Duda | Arizona Capitol Times
The Citizens Clean Elections Commission could approve a new rule that would require full disclosure from many “dark money” groups that spend money on elections.
Under state law, a group is considered a political committee that is subject to disclosure requirements if it raises or spends at least $500 on electioneering and if its primary purpose is to influence elections. But the statute does not define “primary purpose” in its independent expenditure reporting rules.
The commission’s proposed rule would create a presumption that an entity’s primary purpose is to influence elections based solely on the $500 threshold, which would trigger a requirement that the group disclose all of its contributions and expenditures. A group would have the opportunity to rebut that presumption with “clear and convincing evidence.”
Related: Clean Elections holds dark money rule, but passage likely/Arizona Capitol Times
