It’s unclear whether state Sen. Joyce Foster broke any rules by not disclosing her brother-in-law was a registered sex offender when she amended a bill dealing with sex offenders, Senate President Brandon Shaffer said Tuesday.
Shaffer, D-Longmont, said that while Senate rules say members must disclose any “personal or private interest” in a bill and can’t vote on the measure, deciding what meets the definition rests solely with each senator.
“The rules on recusing oneself on a vote are up to an individual’s discretion,” he said. “The question is whether she has a personal or private interest. There is no hard and fast rule around what a personal or private interest is.”
Foster, D-Denver, on Monday revealed that, despite statements last week to the contrary, she in fact had a brother-in-law who was a registered sex offender. She later said she had not given “the full story” to The Denver Post when first asked about whether she had a relative who was a sex offender and who had been in a treatment program she’d criticized.
Foster amended House Bill 1364 on the Senate floor in the last few days of the session to allow offenders themselves to have a say in which treatment program they are placed.
She did not disclose at the time that her brother-in-law was a registered sex offender who had been through a treatment program affected by her amendment.
Foster said there was no conflict.
“This (amendment) had nothing to do with my brother-in-law,” she said. “He’s been out of treatment for three years.”
But outgoing Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, said Foster should have at least disclosed her connection to the issue through a relative.
“Joyce has a heart of gold,” Penry said, “and even though the rules don’t require it, it’s one of those things she should have laid out there.”
Court records from Wisconsin show Julian Newman, Foster’s brother-in-law, was convicted of fourth-degree sexual assault and had complied with sex offender registration requirements. He now lives in Colorado.
Foster’s amendment required that sex offenders be given a choice of at least three treatment programs. But a House-Senate conference committee rewrote that language, allowing the sex offender to make a choice between three programs recommended by a parole officer but permitting the parole officer to override the offender’s pick.
The choice option only applies to offenders who enter the system on or after July 1. Existing offenders would be allowed to seek a review of whether their treatment programs are appropriate.
Foster’s amendment received bipartisan support in the Senate, with Sen. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs, calling it “a great amendment.”
King agreed with Foster that some offenders don’t do well in some programs and should be placed in a program that better suits them.
Foster criticized a program called Teaching Humane Existence, which emphasized that there is “no known cure” for sex offenders. King sponsored an amendment that removed the “no known cure” language in state law and replaced it with wording that said “certain offenders cannot or will not respond to treatment.”
King did not know at the time Foster’s brother-in-law was a sex offender who had been in the THE program, but he said the bill was still good policy.
“I like the process that she instituted and we cleaned up with the conference committee,” King said. “I don’t think it jeopardized public safety.”
King was critical of current law, saying it had lumped in as “sex offenses” acts ranging from mooning to public urination.
It’s not clear what Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, will do with the bill. Spokesman Evan Dreyer said the office had been urged to sign it by some and veto it by others.
“He’s talking and listening to people on both sides of the issue,” Dreyer said. “He is giving it careful consideration.”
The underlying bill reauthorizes the existence of the Sex Offender Management Board for another five years as well as making some changes to laws dealing with sex offenses.
If Ritter were to veto the bill, the board would not be sunsetted for a year, giving lawmakers time to re-authorize it.
For her part, Foster said she’s through talking about the issue.
“I have nothing more to say,” she said. “I really don’t. I’m over this.”
Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.com
