The split over Colorado’s new ethics law deepened Wednesday as a Senate panel passed a bill that would implement Amendment 41 without clarifying its “unintended consequences.”
The State Affairs Committee voted 5-0 in favor of a bill that sets up an ethics panel to hear Amendment 41 complaints but does nothing to exempt situations such as scholarships for the children of government employees or donations to state workers who have lost a family member.
A bill passed last week by a House committee attempts to clarify that the law was intended mainly to prevent elected officials from “violating public trust through private gain.”
Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany of Colorado Springs and Sen. Peter Groff, D-Denver, sponsors of Senate Bill 210, argue the legislature has no right to tamper with a constitutional amendment approved by voters.
“We’re saying there’s a huge mess here and let’s fix it constitutionally,” McElhany said. “The House is saying there’s a mess and let’s fix it as soon as possible – to hell with the constitution.”
The House bill has a companion resolution to ask for a Colorado Supreme Court ruling on whether it’s constitutional for the legislature to clarify the voter-approved amendment.
The legislation, House Bill 1304, is likely to face tough opposition in the Senate. Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Jefferson County, said the House version is “gutting Amendment 41.”
The Senate panel sparred Wednesday with one of the amendment’s proponents, Colorado Common Cause executive director Jenny Flanagan.
Lawmakers urged her to tell entrepreneur Jared Polis, the main financial backer of the Amendment 41 campaign, to put a measure on the ballot so voters can clarify the ethics law.
Amendment 41 prohibits lawmakers from taking anything from lobbyists and bans government workers and their families from receiving gifts worth more than $50, except on special occasions.
Senate Bill 210 replaced Groff and McElhany’s Senate Bill 188 because they wanted to change its title.
Staff writer Jennifer Brown can be reached at 303-954-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com.
