Duties of clerk and recorder; enforcement and penalties.
Denver Revised Municipal Code § 15-45
in effectSec. 15-45. - Duties of clerk and recorder; enforcement and penalties.
(a) Duties of the clerk and recorder. The clerk and recorder shall provide forms and instructional materials for reports required to be filed pursuant to this article and shall preserve and maintain such reports throughout the applicable election cycle.
(b) Requests for information. Any person subject to the requirements of this article shall obtain and furnish to the clerk and recorder any information relating to campaign expenditures or contributions and other proof of compliance with this article.
(c) Enforcement. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (g), a violation of this article, shall be a noncriminal violation. The clerk and recorder, or an administrative hearing officer in rendering a final decision, is authorized to assess civil penalties as provided in this section.
(d) Late and deficient reports.
(1) The clerk and recorder may issue an administrative citation pursuant to article XII, chapter 2 only for the failure to file a report or receipt required by this article or cure a deficient report or receipt ("reporting violation"). The procedures for enforcement, penalty, and appeals of such an administrative citation shall be as specified in this section.
(2) Prior to issuing an administrative citation for a deficient report, the clerk and recorder shall notify the treasurer of a committee by mail, telephone, or email with respect to any deficiencies found. The notice shall include a description of each deficiency and instructions on how to cure. Deficient reports filed for a general municipal election or run-off election must be cured within ten (10) days of notice, and deficient reports filed for a special election shall be cured within two (2) days of notice.
(3) Any person who has been issued an administrative citation for a reporting violation may request that the clerk and recorder waive or reduce the fine. Such request shall be filed within ten (10) days of the due date of the fine. In determining whether to waive or reduce any such fine, the clerk and recorder may consider the requestor's history of delinquency, outstanding penalties, and any other information provided by the requestor. The clerk and recorder shall issue a written final decision granting or denying the request within five (5) business days.
(4) Any person who has been issued an administrative citation for a reporting violation may seek review of the citation by filing a petition with the clerk and recorder no later than thirty (30) days after receipt of the citation. Compliance with the provisions of this subsection shall be a jurisdictional prerequisite to appeal any administrative citation and failure to comply shall bar any such appeal. The filing of a petition shall stay the enforcement of any penalty assessed pursuant to this section until a final determination is made. Upon receipt of a petition, the clerk and recorder shall appoint a hearing officer to render a final determination on the appeal, pursuant to the procedures identified in section 15-44. The clerk and recorder shall bear the burden to establish, by a preponderance of evidence, that a violation of this article was committed by the person who received an administrative citation.
(e) Complaints filed by the clerk and recorder. For any violation of this article other than a reporting violation, the clerk and recorder may issue a notice of violation by mail to the last known address of the person alleged to have violated this article. Such notice shall contain the identity of the person alleged to have committed a violation, the date of the violation, the facts giving rise to the violation, and the provisions of this article alleged to have been violated. Any person who has received a notice of an alleged violation shall have ten (10) days from the mailing date of the notice to cure the violation. If the person fails to cure the violation, the clerk and recorder shall file a complaint pursuant to section 15-44, unless the person alleged to have violated this article is a candidate for the office of clerk and recorder.
(f) Civil penalty.
(1) The penalty for a reporting violation shall be fifty dollars ($50.00) per day but shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) per violation.
(2) The only penalty for a violation of section 15-43 may be an order to reimburse the city for the amount of money spent in violation of that section.
(3) The penalty for a violation of this article, other than a reporting violation or a violation of 15-43, shall be within the discretion of a hearing officer, but shall not exceed nine hundred ninety-nine dollars ($999.00) per violation. Unless distinct and separate violations can be otherwise established, each day an offense and violation continues shall constitute a separate offense and violation.
(g) Criminal penalty. It shall be unlawful to violate a provision of this article with the intent to hinder or prevent the identification of a true donor or with the intent to circumvent the limits on contributions or contributions in-kind identified herein. Any such violation shall be subject to the penalties authorized under this article, in addition to the penalties authorized in section 1-13.
(h) Impact on election and candidacy. Except as otherwise provided in section 8.2.15 of the Charter, failure to comply with the provisions of this article shall have no effect on the validity of any election, issue, or bonds issued pursuant to law.
(Ord. No. 1676-24, § 1, 2-18-25)
Source: City and County of Denver, Revised Municipal Code and Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/co/denver/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITIIREMUCO_CH15EL_ARTIIICAFI_DIV1GECAFIRE_S15-45DUCLREENPEFetched: 10/27/2026