The day after Ethics Watch filed a complaint with the Colorado Secretary of State against the Senate Majority Fund LLC (SMF), a political organization registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Colorado Secretary of State as a 527, for failure to report thousands of dollars in campaign spending, SMJ adjusted its reports to disclose nearly $100,000 in spending on political ads and mailings.

State law requires a political organization like the SMF to report any spending that exceeds $20 in any one reporting period. According to documents obtained by Ethics Watch, in June 2008 SMF purchased more than $70,000 of television air time for ads supporting state senate candidate Libby Szabo. The ad began airing on several Comcast channels on June 25 and is still running. Reports filed by SMF had not disclosed the spending until after Ethics Watch filed its complaint. Now, SMF has reported spending $74,987.00 on the Szabo ad and additionally reported spending $21,307 for "production and postage."

Chantell Taylor, director of Ethics Watch, released the following statement in response: "Thanks to our complaint, the Senate Majority Fund has been forced to disclose nearly $100,000 in spending on political activities. Unfortunately, this is not the first time the Senate Majority Fund, a 527 political organization, has hidden its spending; it has filed numerous adjustments this year for spending that should have been reported months earlier. Senate Majority Fund must be held accountable for scoffing at its obligations to Colorado voters - that is why Ethics Watch will pursue the maximum penalties in this case, which should amount to $1,250."