In the waning days of the legislative session, Gov. Bill Owens is attempting to fill some unexpired terms on state boards with political appointees.
The nominations are a final push by Owens to leave an imprint on state boards that set policy on a range of issues from workers’ compensation to Internet access.
The effort is spurring a spat at the statehouse, where lawmakers are already feuding with the governor over how to create a new board for the Public Employees Retirement Association.
Dan Hopkins, spokesman for Owens, said the governor wants the Senate to move on the nominations for more than a dozen vacancies not scheduled to occur until this summer, and the 50 nominations for expired terms.
“It’s not an easy task to find people who are willing to serve on these boards,” Hopkins said. “The people who do deserve respect from the legislature.”
Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Jefferson County, said she is troubled by the governor’s appointments to board seats that have not yet expired.
“It’s a disturbing trend and not one I want to be part of,” Fitz-Gerald said. “I think it’s appropriate that the next governor get those appointments.”
Hopkins hinted that the governor might call lawmakers back into a special session if they do not act on the appointments before the session’s scheduled end May 10.
The boards set policy, review rules and make decisions that affect millions of dollars, thousands of state employees and millions of residents.
To win full-term appointments, board nominees must be confirmed by the Senate.
If the nominees are appointed when the legislature is not in session, then their terms are temporary and the next governor would have a chance to submit his own appointees for lawmaker review.
The move to advance nominees before terms expire is not unprecedented, said Charles Pike, director of legislative legal services, but his office does not track how often prospective nominations occur.
The pending nominations for vacancies that do not occur until this summer would put Owens nominees on the job until 2010.
Some of those nominees are top donors to Republican candidates and causes. Denver oilman Bruce Benson and Alex Cranberg, a Greenwood Village advocate of school vouchers, have been renominated to the board of Metropolitan State College of Denver.
But not all the appointees are Republicans. Some boards have specific requirements for including Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters.
Staff writer Mark P. Couch can be reached at 303-820-1794 or mcouch@denverpost.com.
