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Committee Hears Bill to Narrow and Simplify Candidate D‑1 Disclosure Forms
Summary
Senate Bill 492 would narrow what candidates must disclose on D‑1 forms (raising ownership thresholds to 10% for private businesses and excluding mutual fund details) and adjust filing deadlines; sponsor said the changes are a cleanup to help the COPP and secretary of state ensure accurate filings.
Senator Greg Hertz, sponsor of Senate Bill 492, told the House State Administration Committee that the bill would simplify the D‑1 financial disclosure form required when candidates file to run for office. "It's probably the things the public don't — even know," Hertz said, describing the measure as an "inside baseball bill" intended to make the forms "a little more easy, a little more sensible, and make sure we're all filling them out correctly."
Under the bill as described by Hertz, candidates would only have to list business interests in which they hold more than a 10% ownership stake, rather than every security; publicly traded holdings would be flagged only at ownership above 1% and mutual funds would not need to be disclosed because their composition changes frequently. Real property reporting would be limited to non‑residential holdings above a 10% ownership threshold. Hertz also discussed a filing‑deadline provision; he initially proposed lengthening one deadline from five to 10 days but said he would accept returning that provision to five days following input from other offices.
Kim Trujillo, identified as a compliance specialist supervisor with the Commission on Political Practices (COPP), appeared as the informational witness and told the committee that "general" property descriptions are presently accepted in filings but that COPP staff would seek further specificity if a filing was ambiguous. When asked whether a listing such as "a cabin in this town" would suffice, Trujillo said staff would follow up and ask for a more specific general vicinity when needed.
Hertz characterized the bill as a cleanup measure intended to reduce filing burden and make enforcement and public review more reliable: "I think that limits some of the reporting that everybody needs to do," he said, adding that the changes are aimed at capturing conflicts that matter to the public. No proponents or opponents appeared in person or online during the hearing, and Hertz said the measure produced "very similar results" in the Senate. The chair closed the hearing on SB 492 without taking testimony beyond the informational witness.
Status: The committee closed the hearing on Senate Bill 492; no formal executive action on this bill is recorded in the transcript.
