Colorado’s new ethics law is keeping lobbyists from chatting with lawmakers during the only free time they’ve got – meal time, a longtime lobbyist said Tuesday.
Dan Williams, a lobbyist for beer distributors and mortgage brokers, testified during the second day of a civil trial challenging the ethics law that legislators are fearful of talking to him outside the Capitol.
“Amendment 41 has chilled the desire of the legislators to be seen with a lobbyist, regardless of who paid,” he said. “They don’t want to be the poster child for either a newspaper story or a complaint.”
Amendment 41 bans lawmakers from taking anything from lobbyists and prohibits government workers and their families from receiving gifts worth more than $50, except on special occasions.
A group of elected officials, government workers and nonprofit groups is suing the state over Amendment 41, claiming it invades private lives and violates the First Amendment.
They are seeking an injunction and asking Denver District Judge Christina Habas to rule the law unconstitutional.
“I think it’s unconstitutional,” Williams said. “And the only way we can correct that is to sit here and go through this exercise.”
Elected officials testified that the ethics law is preventing them from getting information from lobbyists and restricting their ability to talk to them.
“That ruins my trust, and that ruins my business,” Williams testified.
Under a new state law that sets up a five-member ethics panel, there is no consequence for someone who files a frivolous complaint.
Backers of the ethics law say it applies only when there is a “breach of public trust for private gain.”
Staff writer Jennifer Brown can be reached at 303-954-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com.
