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.

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, 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.

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.

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.

Today, Ethics Watch Director Luis Toro submitted comments to the House State and Veterans Affairs Committee on House Bill 10-1370, which would strengthen disclosure requirements regarding ballot initiative campaigns.

Yesterday, the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission (IEC) unanimously found no violation of Colorado ethics laws by the manager of the Boxelder Stormwater Authority in Larimer County, who was alleged to have misused his former position as a Larimer County employee to become the sole candidate for the Authority's manager position.  While the procedures were an improvement over the IEC's first hearing, on Ethics Watch's complaint againt former Secretary of State Mike Coffman, the IEC should make more changes to the complaint process.

Today, Secretary of State Bernie Buescher announced the adoption of revised campaign finance rules.  Included in the rules is new Rule 4.25, which prohibits committees from reporting lump sum payments to credit card companies instead of reporting expenditures made by credit card, and which clarifies reporting requirements regarding reimbursement payments to candidates or third parties.  Ethics Watch supported the rule change.

Today, Ethics Watch submitted to Secretary of State Bernie Buescher comments in support of a proposed campaign finance rule that would require campaigns to provide detailed disclosures of expenditures that were paid for by the candidate, third parties or by credit card and later reimbursed by the campaign. Secretary Buescher's proposed rule would end the practice of reporting only the reimbursement or credit card payment and not the underlying expenditure that was being reimbursed. If adopted, the new rule will increase transparency of campaign spending.

John Tomasic (The Colorado Independent) - Colorado Springs Gazette writer Eileen Welsome reported yesterday that non-resident professional petition circulators worked in Colorado last year to land three tax-slashing initiatives on the November ballot. Welsome tracked the circulators to controversial anti-government figure Doug Bruce. She wrote that they stayed in a house owned by Bruce and that they had worked for similar initiatives in Missouri, Oklahoma and Nebraska. As Colorado Ethics Watch Director Luis Toro told the Colorado Independent, the revelations “bode pretty well” for the plaintiff fighting the initiatives who have brought a lawsuit alleging the proponents violated state disclosure laws by failing to report donors.

We won’t be silenced.

The Colorado Attorney Regulation Counsel summarily dismissed former Sen. Andy McElhany’s complaint against Chantell Taylor, former director of Colorado Ethics Watch, last week. The attorney regulation counsel required no response from Ms. Taylor to make that determination.  

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in a 5-4 vote, that corporations have a First Amendment right to spend money on commercials to support or oppose candidates for public office. Ethics Watch Director Luis Toro said, "Today’s decision is a disaster for those who oppose excessive corporate influence on our elections. It would be naïve, however, for anyone involved in elections to interpret this ruling as the end of campaign finance regulation in Colorado. Eight Supreme Court justices agreed that corporations can be required to disclose their spending and include a disclaimer stating who is responsible for a campaign ad. Strong enforcement of these requirements is more important now than ever. At Ethics Watch, we remain committed to protecting Coloradans' right to know who is spending money to influence elections and to defending the system from the corrupting influence of special interests."

Ethics Watch today released its list of the Top Five Ethics Scandals of 2009 based on a busy year of watching, researching and litigating in many of these circumstances.

One of the benefits of creating the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission (IEC) as an independent commission, not subject to control by the governor or the legislature, is that the IEC is not bound by the governor's hiring freeze order. Today, the IEC welcomed its second full-time staff member, and his arrival is cause for hope that the IEC will be able to more effectively investigate complaints in the future.