Hailed a month ago as a major legislative compromise, the deal to clarify Amendment 41 is now on shaky ground because politicians are dragging their feet.
Rather than waiting for lawmakers to act in the best interest of Coloradans, a citizens’ group on Thursday decided to move forward on its own by asking voters to again weigh in on the ethics reform law.
The Article XXIX Coalition, funded by Jared Polis – the same person who backed Amendment 41 – filed an initiative for November that aims to clarify ambiguous portions of the poorly worded law approved by 62 percent of voters last fall.
We’d much rather see the legislature follow through not only on its promises to implement the law but on its moral obligation to do so. Polis’ group feels the same way but faced a deadline of today for filing a proposed ballot measure.
“We are concerned that some members of the legislative leadership did not come to that agreement in good faith, and therefore any progress has stalled,” coalition attorney Mark Grueskin said in a news release.
Because Amendment 41 was so loosely worded, thousands of civil servants, including janitors and office workers, are worried they can no longer accept gifts, or even inheritances, of more than $50 from their spouses or friends, and that their children might not be able to receive scholarships. If lawmakers don’t pass Senate Bill 210 in the next three weeks, they will have failed all of those people.
The bill, which would set up an ethics panel to hear alleged violations of the law, was held up for weeks after the Senate failed to pass its companion measure – a resolution seeking guidance from the state Supreme Court on how to implement the law. It was hardly a surprise to find Senate leaders dragging their heels, since they have resisted making changes from the very beginning.
The companion measure was finally approved in a Senate committee this week. While we don’t think the interrogatories should hang up SB 210, the Supreme Court has hardly any time to respond.
The quickest the Supreme Court has ever responded to an interrogatory was four weeks. Three weeks remain in the session.
An overwhelming majority of Colorado voters last fall approved Amendment 41, wanting to ban lobbyist gifts to lawmakers and policymakers. They approved the measure because lawmakers wouldn’t. Previous ethics-reform measures haven’t made it out of the legislature.
There’s still time for lawmakers to act. Otherwise, citizens will again have to the do their job for them.
