It’s unclear whether state Sen. Joyce Foster broke any rules by not disclosing that 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 had 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 in.
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.
Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, said Foster should have at least disclosed her connection to the issue.
“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.”
Foster’s amendment received bipartisan support in the Senate, with Sen. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs, calling it “a great amendment.”
Foster criticized a program called Teaching Humane Existence, which emphasized there is “no known cure” for sex offenders.
King sponsored an amendment that removed the “no known cure” language in state law.
King did not know at the time Foster’s brother-in-law had been in the THE program, but he said the bill was still good policy.
“I don’t think it jeopardized public safety,” he said.
It’s not clear whether Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, will veto or sign the bill.
