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DENVER - Freshman Rep. Jim Kerr admits he knows very little about the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, even though he was recruited by Gov. Bill Owens to sponsor a proposed fix to the controversial law - one of the most important bills of the legislative session.
Rep. Josh Penry didn't write the centerpiece water legislation that bears his name; it was written by former House Speaker Russ George, a Harvard-trained lawyer who now heads the state Department of Natural Resources.
Rep. Betty Boyd said she relied on a coalition that stands to benefit financially to decide how to spend $172 million in new tobacco tax money each year.
And Rep. Jim Sullivan didn't write the language in his bill outlining the need for a 210-mile toll road on Colorado's eastern plains. It was written by El en Dumm, a consultant for the man behind the estimated $2 billion project.
Legislators estimate at least half of the major bills moving through the Capitol this year were written by lobbyists and political consultants on behalf of corporations, state agencies or big constituencies like organized labor. If this comes as a surprise, it shouldn't: Experts say term limits and a lack of staff force lawmakers to rely heavily on special interest groups and that it's difficult to track down who's behind the bills.
Jerry Kopel, a former state representative, said Colorado lawmakers have been relying on lobbyists since at least 1958, when he became a bill drafter in the Attorney General's Office. He said few people outside the Capitol realize the power that has been placed in the hands of groups that include homebuilders, liquor outlets, telephone companies, educators, hospitals, casinos and even sports teams.
"The public has no idea how much influence special interest lobbyists have in their legislatures," said Bernie Horn, policy director for the state legislature-oriented Center for Policy Alternatives in Washington. "The legislators are outresourced. They can't keep up with the enormous amount of time and money that special interest groups put into the process."
According to the center, 41 states have part-time legislatures; in 22 of those states, legislators have no paid staff. Nineteen legislatures meet less than 80 days a year, and six convene every other year.
Horn said most states require bills to list sponsors, but finding out which special interest groups are behind it can be difficult.
"I think it's a rare state that creates an accountable database where you can obtain that information, or do it in a way that is useful at all during the session," Horn said.
Pete Maysmith, executive director of Colorado Common Cause, said the system has potential for abuse by organizations that have more power and resources than lawmakers - abuses he said are hard to prove because of the state's lax record-keeping.
Rep. Josh Penry didn't write the centerpiece water legislation that bears his name; it was written by former House Speaker Russ George, a Harvard-trained lawyer who now heads the state Department of Natural Resources.
Rep. Betty Boyd said she relied on a coalition that stands to benefit financially to decide how to spend $172 million in new tobacco tax money each year.
And Rep. Jim Sullivan didn't write the language in his bill outlining the need for a 210-mile toll road on Colorado's eastern plains. It was written by El en Dumm, a consultant for the man behind the estimated $2 billion project.
Legislators estimate at least half of the major bills moving through the Capitol this year were written by lobbyists and political consultants on behalf of corporations, state agencies or big constituencies like organized labor. If this comes as a surprise, it shouldn't: Experts say term limits and a lack of staff force lawmakers to rely heavily on special interest groups and that it's difficult to track down who's behind the bills.
Jerry Kopel, a former state representative, said Colorado lawmakers have been relying on lobbyists since at least 1958, when he became a bill drafter in the Attorney General's Office. He said few people outside the Capitol realize the power that has been placed in the hands of groups that include homebuilders, liquor outlets, telephone companies, educators, hospitals, casinos and even sports teams.
"The public has no idea how much influence special interest lobbyists have in their legislatures," said Bernie Horn, policy director for the state legislature-oriented Center for Policy Alternatives in Washington. "The legislators are outresourced. They can't keep up with the enormous amount of time and money that special interest groups put into the process."
According to the center, 41 states have part-time legislatures; in 22 of those states, legislators have no paid staff. Nineteen legislatures meet less than 80 days a year, and six convene every other year.
Horn said most states require bills to list sponsors, but finding out which special interest groups are behind it can be difficult.
"I think it's a rare state that creates an accountable database where you can obtain that information, or do it in a way that is useful at all during the session," Horn said.
Pete Maysmith, executive director of Colorado Common Cause, said the system has potential for abuse by organizations that have more power and resources than lawmakers - abuses he said are hard to prove because of the state's lax record-keeping.
Maysmith said a database maintained by the Secretary of State's Office is insufficient to show who is really behind most of the legislation at the Capitol because it does not always link the lobbyists, law firms and political consultants to bills they are paid to promote.
Dana Williams, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Donetta Davidson, said the law requires lobbyists to report the legislation they worked on and that Davidson is following the law. Maysmith disagreed.
"It's too hard to follow the money," he said.
Boyd, a three-term Democratic lawmaker from Lakewood, said she relied on the coalition that helped pass an initiative last fall to raise tobacco taxes to tell her how to spend the revenue because they have the expertise to determine which programs need funding.
"They are the ones with their fingers on the pulse of the health care community," she said.
Barbara O'Brien of the Colorado Children's Campaign said the coalition's members deserve a say on how programs get funded. Among those who contributed are hospital associations, tobacco cessation programs and children's health programs.
O'Brien said steps were taken to make sure the measure would provide money to existing programs and require a bidding process for new programs.
"We made sure no one group had a leg up. We were very careful to make sure no one abused this opportunity," O'Brien said.
Kerr said he was surprised when Owens' staff asked him to reserve a bill title for the governor's plan to fix TABOR, the 1992 constitutional amendment that limits state government's ability to tax and spend. He said most lawmakers are not lawyers and have to rely on lobbyists - in this case lobbyists working for Owens - to get bills drafted.
Kopel, the former lawmaker, said Colorado has restrictions in place to prevent abuse, including a law banning political contributions while the Legislature is in session and a glass wall that separates lobbyists from lawmakers when they are deliberating bills on the floor. He said things have improved from his days as a state representative in the 1960s, when lobbyists used to sit on the sides of the House and Senate and signal with a thumbs up or thumbs down the fate of a bill.
"It was like the days of Julius Caesar," Kopel said. "I'm glad we banned that."
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On the Net:
State Lobbyist report: http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/lobbyist.htm
Center for Policy Analysis: http://www.cfpa.org
NCSL: http://www.ncsl.org/programs/ethics/lawsforlobbyists.htm
Dana Williams, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Donetta Davidson, said the law requires lobbyists to report the legislation they worked on and that Davidson is following the law. Maysmith disagreed.
"It's too hard to follow the money," he said.
Boyd, a three-term Democratic lawmaker from Lakewood, said she relied on the coalition that helped pass an initiative last fall to raise tobacco taxes to tell her how to spend the revenue because they have the expertise to determine which programs need funding.
"They are the ones with their fingers on the pulse of the health care community," she said.
Barbara O'Brien of the Colorado Children's Campaign said the coalition's members deserve a say on how programs get funded. Among those who contributed are hospital associations, tobacco cessation programs and children's health programs.
O'Brien said steps were taken to make sure the measure would provide money to existing programs and require a bidding process for new programs.
"We made sure no one group had a leg up. We were very careful to make sure no one abused this opportunity," O'Brien said.
Kerr said he was surprised when Owens' staff asked him to reserve a bill title for the governor's plan to fix TABOR, the 1992 constitutional amendment that limits state government's ability to tax and spend. He said most lawmakers are not lawyers and have to rely on lobbyists - in this case lobbyists working for Owens - to get bills drafted.
Kopel, the former lawmaker, said Colorado has restrictions in place to prevent abuse, including a law banning political contributions while the Legislature is in session and a glass wall that separates lobbyists from lawmakers when they are deliberating bills on the floor. He said things have improved from his days as a state representative in the 1960s, when lobbyists used to sit on the sides of the House and Senate and signal with a thumbs up or thumbs down the fate of a bill.
"It was like the days of Julius Caesar," Kopel said. "I'm glad we banned that."
---
On the Net:
State Lobbyist report: http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/lobbyist.htm
Center for Policy Analysis: http://www.cfpa.org
NCSL: http://www.ncsl.org/programs/ethics/lawsforlobbyists.htm
