Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is strongly pushing back against a proposal that would treat legislative staff in his administration like any other lobbyist.
The primary job of those workers, called legislative liaisons, is to try to sway lawmakers and change legislation. They’re essentially lobbyists for the state government and the Polis administration, but they aren’t required to follow the same disclosure rules that govern most other lobbyists.
State lawmakers are advancing a bipartisan bill to change that, in a move that has appeared to ruffle feathers within Polis’ administration.
This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at cpr.org.
“Staff members in the governor’s office are not registered lobbyists, and it would be absurd to have them treated the same way,” said Eric Maruyama, a spokesperson for the governor. “This is a clear attempt to limit the Governor’s Office’s ability to meaningfully participate in the legislative process, and to curb the governor’s decision-making authority.”
The measure’s sponsors seemed to acknowledge as much at a committee hearing for Senate Bill 146 earlier this week.
“We’ve just experienced a unique set of years in Colorado history where we’ve seen an unprecedented level of involvement from the executive branch into the legislature,” said Rep. Meg Froelich, an Englewood Democrat who is one of the bill’s main sponsors. “This is a chance to turn the page and to bring in new people who are going to abide by a more transparent set of rules.”
Currently, lobbyists are required to register a stance on any bills they’re trying to influence with the Secretary of State’s Office, which makes that information publicly available. Legislative liaisons doing the same type of work for state agencies or the governor’s office don’t have those disclosure requirements to indicate their position on a bill.
Senate Bill 146, which seeks to eliminate that exception, passed unanimously in the House State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Committee on Monday. It already passed the Senate earlier this month on a 30 to 4 vote. Backers said the measure is necessary to restore transparency to the legislative process.
They argue that without the rules, the governor’s administration can often withhold its positions on any given bill until the last minute, which precludes good faith conversations about executive branch concerns and can torpedo strong bills that have already gone through lengthy stakeholder processes.
“In our state, we very much see what the first floor wants often is what the first floor gets,” said Republican Rep. Dusty Johnson, referring to the governor’s office, which sits on the first floor of the State Capitol. “So we’re asking for that transparency just to make sure we have an even playing field on the separation of branches.
“(The bill) would hold the executive branch, the agencies and departments to have to report just like a lobbyist,” added Johnson, of Fort Morgan, who is also sponsoring the bill. “It just holds them to the same standard because they are meddling a lot in legislation.”
Labor unions and the lobbying industry testified in support of the bill.
”There is no functional difference between legislative liaisons and the lobbyists,” said Lacey Hayes, executive director of the Colorado Lobbyist Association. “Lobbying activity by any person or entity should be reported, especially when public dollars are being spent in an effort to amend, support, oppose, or even monitor a bill.”
Some nonprofit organizations and state agencies are registered in opposition to the bill, but did not testify at the committee hearing to explain their opposition.
The governor stopped short of an outright threat to veto the bill should it arrive at his doorstep. But his opening bid to sponsors spelled out steep conditions to gain his support.
“The governor would be open to this legislation if legislators — a co-equal branch that also makes decisions on legislation — held themselves to the same standards as defined in the bill,” Maruyama said.
The bill would also create two-year revolving door restrictions for legislative liaisons, similar to those already on the books for private lobbyists. They would prevent former lawmakers from jumping directly into using their influence on behalf of the governor’s administration when they leave office.
This story was produced by the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, with support from news outlets throughout the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.