DENVER—A state senator who is married to a lobbyist said Tuesday that he won’t vote on legislation his wife is supporting or opposing this year.
Sen. Ron Tupa, D-Boulder, made a similar disclosure last April, after his wife, Kara Miller Tupa, became a lobbyist for the state labor department.
By then, most of the bills backed or opposed by the department had passed or were killed. But this year there are at least eight bills in play that Tupa said he won’t vote on. Miller Tupa also now represents corporate clients.
Tupa sent a letter to fellow senators Tuesday advising them that he won’t vote on bills his wife was working for or against, under provisions of Senate rules and the state constitution. The letter followed her first monthly disclosure of the legislative session of what bills she is following, a filing required under a law he helped pass two years ago.
“It’s an unfortunate circumstance that I find myself in this position. That said, I’m doing what is the only appropriate action,” Tupa said.
Tupa has been a longtime advocate for reducing the influence of lobbyists at the Capitol. He has backed bills limiting gifts from lobbyists and has refused to accept donations from political action committees.
Before becoming a lobbyist last year, Miller Tupa worked as a legislative liaison for the labor department. Liaisons are only able to offer information to lawmakers and can’t take positions on bills, which left Tupa free to vote on all bills. Miller Tupa said she updates her husband, as well as the labor department and governor’s office, each week on which clients she is representing.
One of her clients is the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, which originally worked to oppose a bill that could have stopped its controversial purchase of two nonsectarian Denver-area hospitals.
Miller Tupa said proposed changes have allowed the Sisters of Charity to switch to a neutral position on the bill (House Bill 1203). Bill sponsor Rep. Morgan Carroll couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Under current law, the attorney general has wide discretion in reviewing hospital sales. The bill would allow him to consider whether the sale would reduce the quality, accessibility and availability of health care.
State Attorney General Suthers approved the $311 million deal to sell Good Samaritan and Lutheran medical centers to the Sisters of Charity, which owns St. Joseph’s Hospital in Denver, after finding there wouldn’t be a “material change” in the hospitals’ care. Opponents have sued to block the deal from closing because Good Samaritan and Lutheran would be barred from offering emergency contraception, abortions and other services under Catholic ethical guidelines.
