Council asks staff to draft ordinance attributing LLC political contributions to owners, effective 2026

The Longmont City Council asked staff to prepare an ordinance that would require political committees to collect written ownership disclosures when accepting contributions from limited liability companies and to attribute those contributions to the LLC’s owners. The change would align Longmont’s practice with guidance from the Colorado Secretary of State and the Federal Election Commission on attributing collective entity contributions to persons.

Dawn Quintana, the staff presenter, told councilors the Longmont Fair Campaign Practices Act currently treats an LLC as a "person" that may make a contribution up to the per‑person limit; the proposed change would require an affidavit disclosing ownership shares and attribution to named owners. "The contribution limit for 2025 is $310 per person," Quintana said while outlining the existing code and the reason for an ownership affidavit.

Councilor McCoy moved to bring back the draft ordinance (as presented), with a clarified requirement that the LLC disclosure be filed with the city clerk; Councilor Popkin seconded. The council set an effective date of Jan. 1, 2026, to avoid changing rules in the middle of an ongoing 2025 election cycle. Councilors discussed enforcement mechanics and the appropriate civil fine; staff said the draft included a $100 fine for failure to provide the disclosure and a seven‑day cure period but reminded council that the code’s maximum civil fine is higher.

The motion to direct staff to bring back an ordinance passed; staff will return with draft code language and implementation details, including whether committees or the clerk should retain the affidavits and how to verify accuracy.