FEBRUARY 26TH, 2008 | Polis for Congress
Colo. Supreme Court waits for commission
Associated Press
DENVER— Ethics rules aimed at curtailing influential gifts for lawmakers and other state officials will likely be back in force after the state Supreme Court ruled Monday that a lower court did not have the authority to delay them.
A Denver district court had ruled in May the rules went “beyond what was anticipated or intended” and blocked the law from taking effect with an injunction.
But the Supreme Court tossed out that ruling and lifted the injunction, saying the lower court did not have jurisdiction.
The decision means the ethics rules, called the toughest in the country by the National Conference of State Legislatures, would be back in play after a two week window for opponents to appeal.
The rules are part of Amendment 41, a constitutional amendment approved by voters in November 2006. They ban lawmakers from accepting gifts from lobbyists or gifts of more than $50 from anyone. They also ban gifts worth more than $50 to state employees or their families.
A group of not-for-profit agencies and individuals had challenged the rules on the grounds they restricted the flow of information and had a chilling effect on people who wanted to talk to policy makers.
Their attorneys said they were discussing their next step with their clients.
“The overwhelming majority of Coloradoans made it clear that they support a strong ethics reform,” said Jared Polis, a Democratic candidate for the 2nd CD seat and a Boulder Internet entrepreneur. “Today’s ruling upholds this will of the people and begins to erode the power that special interests and lobbyists have on government.
“This is just the latest step in our ongoing effort to diminish the power of corporations, lobbyists and other special interests and I thank Common Cause and all Coloradoans who helped us in this fight to begin to restore ethics in government,” Polis said in a prepared statement.
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