An appeals court says Secretary of State Scott Gessler overstepped his authority by raising a financial disclosure threshold for political groups and that the change violated state law.

The Colorado Court of Appeals issued the ruling Thursday, affirming a lower court's decision.

At issue was a change from Gessler's office to raise the financial disclosure threshold for political groups from $200 to $5,000.

Opponents argue that raising the threshold would make it easier for political groups to avoid disclosing financial interests for ballot initiatives.

Gessler maintained that his aim was to bring state campaign-finance laws in line with a federal appeals court ruling. A Gessler spokesman says the state is leaving itself open to expensive constitutional challenges, but that the secretary has not decided whether to appeal the latest decision.

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