John Tomasic (The Colorado Independent) -- After four hours of testimony and deliberation in the old Supreme Court chambers of the state Capitol, First Assistant Attorney General Laura Udis decided to reverse her proposed payday lending rules and effectively reinsert consumer protections which she said are more in line with the spirit of the law passed last legislative session.

At today's meeting of the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission (IEC), Colorado Ethics Watch applauded the IEC for its recent discussions on changes to the Rules of Procedure and urged the IEC to continue its efforts.

The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reported last Friday that Attorney General John Suthers has received over $10,000 in campaign contributions from the payday loan industry, even as Suthers drafts regulations to implement the new payday loan law that went into effect last week.  Ethics Watch calls on Suthers to return these contributions in order to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

The Office of Administrative Courts is setting the hearing date for Ethics Watch's campaign finance complaint against Clear the Bench Colorado for September 15.

Today, Ethics Watch asked Secretary of State Bernie Buescher to look into campaign finance reports that appear to show non-itemized contributions of greater than $20.00.  Because under existing law it is permissible to enter multiple small contributions from an event as a lump sum into the TRACER database, the public cannot tell whether a large non-itemized contribution is a lawful aggregation of small contributions or a larger contribution that should be itemized.

Today, Ethics Watch filed a supplemental complaint against Clear the Bench Colorado based on the fact that Clear the Bench has continued to operate without registering as a political committee even after three Supreme Court justices filed affidavits declaring their intent to stand as candidates in the November 2010 general election.  Administrative Law Judge Robert Spencer authorized Ethics Watch to file this complaint after Clear the Bench successfully argued that Ethics Watch's complaint was premature because the justices had not filed candidate affidavits as of the date of the original complaint.

Today, Administrative Law Judge Robert Spencer dismissed Ethics Watch’s complaint against Clear the Bench Colorado as premature, but opened the door for a supplemental complaint based on the fact that three of the justices targeted by Clear the Bench have declared that they will be candidates for retention.

Colorado Ethics Watch has asked the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel to investigate reports that former Congressman Scott McInnis, a licensed Colorado attorney, earned $300,000 from a private foundation for original writings on water issues but delivered to the foundation reports that were partially written by a non-lawyer assistant and allegedly contained plagiarized material.

Today, the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission issued an advisory opinion that state employees may not accept travel expenses for a cultural exchange trip to Turkey from a nonprofit that receives more than 5% of its funds from for-profit sources.  In 2009, Ethics Watch won a legal challenge to an opinion that permitted legislators to accept travel expenses for a similar trip.

The Fort Collins Coloradoan has reported that Fort Collins City Manager Darin Atteberry reviewed Ethics Watch's call for an investigation of a possible campaign finance violation by a group seeking to recall City Council member Lisa Poppaw, and has decided that an investigation is warranted. 

Today, Ethics Watch asked Fort Collins City Clerk Wanda Krajicek to investigate whether a group seeking to recall a member of the Fort Collins City Council has been accepting contributions without registering as an issue committee as required by the Fort Collins Municipal Code.  Evidence obtained by Ethics Watch suggests that the group is offering money to petition circulators, but did not register as an issue committee before accepting contributions to pay those circulators.

In a first-of-its-kind review of legislature votes on ethical issues, Ethics Watch today released Ethics & Transparency: 2010 Legislation in Review, revealing how the Colorado legislature stands on issues critical to a more ethical, transparent and accountable state government.

Yesterday, the State Auditor released a performance audit of Pinnacol Assurance, the state-chartered workers' compensation insurance authority.  Among other things, the audit revealed that the Pinnacol Board approved golden parachutes for senior management in the event the state legislature changed Pinnacol's legal status and that the board routinely approved "maximum level bonuses" for top employees.  Together with revelations that the Pinnacol board was treated to expensive gifts that would be illegal if accepted by a legislator or state employee, the audit shows the need to reform the ethics rules that apply to Pinnacol's board.

KMGH-TV's recent expose of a lavish Pebble Beach golf trip taken by three members of the board that oversees Pinnacol Assurance, the state workers' compensation insurance fund earned bipartisan outrage.  The likelihood that Pinnacol itself paid for the trip - which can't be confirmed because Pinnacol filed suit in Denver District Court to block an Open Records Act request from KMGH - raises questions about Colorado's ethics laws.

Yesterday the Colorado General Assembly passed House Bill 10-1370 and Senate Bill 10-203, both of which increase voter awareness of who is spending money to influence elections. Ethics Watch calls on Governor Ritter to sign both of these bills into law.

Today, Colorado Ethics Watch filed a campaign finance complaint with the Colorado Secretary of State against Clear the Bench Colorado, alleging violations of Colorado campaign law by this group that is advocating for the defeat of four Colorado Supreme Court justices who will stand for retention in November 2010.

Ethics Watch calls on the General Assembly to act swiftly on Senate Bill 10-203, the bill introduced by Senator Morgan Carroll (D-Aurora) and Representatives Paul Weissman (D-Louisville) and Karen Middleton (D-Aurora) to patch holes left in Colorado campaign finance law by the United States Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC.

Ethics Watch filed today a petition with the Colorado Supreme Court, asking it to review the Court of Appeals’ March 18 decision holding that under Colorado’s Amendment 27, spending on political ads cannot be regulated as “expenditures” unless the ads contain both “magic words” such as “vote for” and some “express exhortation” to vote for or against a candidate.

On Monday, the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission issued an advisory opinion to Attorney General John Suthers, advising him that he would not violate the gift ban if he accepted an invitation to appear in public service announcements along with Olympic athlete Dara Torres.  Even if Department of Law personnel did not give the IEC legal advice on the request, the incident reinforces Ethics Watch’s view that the IEC should have its own independent attorney.

On March 22, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers announced that Colorado would join the lawsuit against the federal Affordable Care Act.  The Attorney General's response to an open records request from Ethics Watch shows that Suthers entered the litigation on behalf of the state with little planning about how much it would cost or how to pay for it, leaving us to wonder what this effort will cost Colorado when all is said and done.