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Orem council debates donor disclosure for 501(c)(4) groups; staff recommends state-level approach
Summary
City attorney presented research on state campaign‑finance disclosure laws that in some cases reach 501(c)(4) groups; council members debated whether to add a simple checkbox to local candidate forms to disclose whether candidates benefited from 501(c)(4) activity and directed staff to place the item on the next council agenda for a possible vote.
City staff and the city attorney briefed the council on legal approaches other states have taken to require donor disclosure in certain circumstances that catch 501(c)(4) organizations — groups sometimes labeled "dark money" in public discussions. The city attorney said he had identified at least seven states with campaign‑finance rules that can require disclosure when certain expenditure or timing thresholds are met and noted recent court rulings in the Tenth Circuit bearing on the issue.
The attorney summarized common features of those state rules: expenditures that qualify are typically electioneering communications aimed at the general public within a defined pre‑election window; thresholds for triggering disclosure vary (the attorney cited donor thresholds…
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