527 Didn

The Colorado Leadership Fund (CLF) is off the hook on allegations that the conservative 527 organization violated state contribution limits, and its political committee has amended campaign finance reports.

The problem arose when it was revealed by Secretary of State records that the CLF’s political action committee (PAC) had received $136,031 from the CLF itself.

Under law, there is a $500 dollar contribution limit.Colorado Citizen’s For Ethics In Government (CCEG), the watchdog group that filed a complaint regarding the matter, stated in a press release yesterday what happened:

The Colorado Leadership Fund Political Action Committee (CLF-PAC) has agreed to amend its campaign finance reports in response to a complaint filed by Citizens for Ethics in Government (CCEG) with the Colorado Secretary of State on September 27, 2006 for what appeared to be a scheme to avoid contribution limits.

In response to CCEG’s complaint, CLF-PAC revealed to CCEG that it had filed incomplete campaign finance reports with the Colorado Secretary of State.

According to CCEG, the money accepted by the CLF-PAC comprised membership dues, which is one instance where the $500 restriction is void. However, problems were also found with the committee’s finances and the PAC agreed to amend the reports.

Erin Rosa was born in Spain and raised in Colorado Springs. She is a freelance writer currently living in Denver. Rosa's work has been featured in a variety of news outlets including the Huffington Post, Democracy Now!, and the Rocky Mountain Chronicle, an alternative-weekly in Northern Colorado where she worked as a columnist covering the state legislature. Rosa has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists for her reporting on lobbying and woman's health issues. She was also tapped with a rare honorable mention award by the Newspaper Guild-CWA's David S. Barr Award in 2008--only the second such honor conferred in its nine-year history--for her investigative series covering the federal government's Supermax prison in the state. Rosa covers the labor community, corrections, immigration and government transparency matters. She can be reached at erosa@www.coloradoindependent.com.