About Us

The COPP is charged to protect and ensure the integrity and transparency of campaigns, politics, and government in Montana. The office monitors and enforces Montana’s campaign finance laws, the ethical standards for legislators, public officers, and state employees, and investigates complaints. The COPP is an independent and nonpartisan office.

For more detail, the COPP oversees:

• 1. Campaign practices and campaign finance disclosure,
• 2. Lobbyists’ disclosure,
• 3. Business interest disclosure of statewide and state district candidates, elected state officials, and state department directors,
• 4. Ethical standards of conduct for legislators, public officers, and state employees, and
• 5. Investigates legitimate complaints that arise concerning any of the foregoing.

The COPP serves the people of Montana. Our office is committed to promoting confidence, transparency, and accountability in Montana’s democratic process by making sure Montanans can follow the money that finances and influences local elections. This is possible because Montana law requires local and statewide candidates and committees to disclose their campaign finance data to be accessible for the public. We then enter this information into the public CERS database. This means that anyone in Montana can look and see who finances a candidate’s campaign or ballot issue, how lobbyists spend money during the legislative session, how a candidate spends and donates campaign money, and more!

The COPP office provides educational outreach for members of the public, candidates, committees, lobbyists, public employees, and elected officials. It is a priority of the COPP office that campaign finance be an accessible subject for voters, candidates, committees, lobbyists, and all Montanans.