COLORADO INDEPENDENT ETHICS COMMISSION
ANNUAL REPORT 2008

The Colorado Independent Ethics Commission ("IEC" or "Commission") was created by a voter-initiated constitutional amendment in November 2006.  The IEC is charged with the implementation of Article XXIX of the Colorado Constitution. The purpose of the IEC is to give advice and guidance on ethics issues arising under Article XXIX of the Colorado Constitution and any other standards of conduct or reporting requirements as provided by law, and to hear complaints, issue findings and assess penalties and sanctions where appropriate. The members of the IEC are appointed by the Governor of Colorado, the Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the IEC itself. IEC members serve without compensation but are reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in carrying out their duties.  The current members of the Commission are Nancy E. Friedman of Evergreen, chairperson; Matt Smith of Grand Junction, vice-chairperson; Sally H. Hopper of Golden; Larry R. Lasha of Florence; and Roy V. Wood of Denver.

The Commission held its first meeting on December 11, 2007.  By July 1, 2008, the IEC had selected the fifth member (Mr. Lasha), drafted procedural rules, and hired an Executive Director (Jane T. Feldman).   The procedural rules were finalized after a public hearing on July 7, 2008, and went into effect September 1, 2008.

Requests for Advisory Opinion:
The Commission received 71 requests for advisory opinion and/or letter ruling in the first year.  Many of these requests were duplicative, and cover the same or similar issues.  The Commission therefore decided to issue Position Statements in order to address those issues which are of general or common interest to more than one requestor.  See, IEC Procedural Rule 6, 8 CCR 1510 (2008).

On October 6, 2008, the Commission issued its first Position Statement, 08-01, which addressed seven separate issues of concern: whether Article XXIX prohibited the awarding of scholarships to covered employees and their families, the propriety of accepting honoraria, of receiving insurance proceeds, of winning prizes, raffles, lotteries or silent auctions, and of inheriting property or other things of value.  The Commission determined that acceptance of all of these "things of value" were acceptable, subject to specific criteria and limitations which were described in the Position Statement.  The IEC also defined the term "special occasion" in Article XXIX (3)(3)(g).

Position Statement 08-02 was issued on November 21, 2008 and addressed circumstances under which a public official or employee may accept a gift of travel on behalf of the State or local government.  The Position Statement set out five criteria which must be met before an otherwise prohibited gift of travel may be considered permissible. 

On December 2, 2008, the Commission issued Position Statement 08-03, which defined "special discounts" in Article XXIX(3)(2) and addressed the circumstances under which public officials and employees may accept consumer discounts.  The Commission will issue additional Position Statements in the upcoming months to address other issues.

Complaints:

Four complaints were filed with the Commission in 2008: 

Complaint 08-01: In re: Mike Coffman was determined to be non-frivolous, and is scheduled for a public hearing on March 6, 2009.

Complaint 08-02 was dismissed as frivolous, and also because the alleged misconduct occurred more than 12 months prior to the filing of the complaint, pursuant to Colorado Constitution Article XXIX, Section 5(2)(3)(a) and (b), and IEC Rule 7.D. 2 and 4.

Complaint 08-03 was dismissed on grounds of lack of jurisdiction pursuant to IEC Rule 7.D.1, because it alleged misconduct by a member of the judicial branch.

Complaint 08-04 was dismissed pursuant to IEC Rule 7.D.3, because the alleged violation, if true, did not constitute a violation of Colorado Constitution Article XXIX, or any other standard of conduct or reporting requirement under the jurisdiction of the IEC.

Pending Litigation:

1. The Commission intervened in the case of Developmental Pathways v. Ritter, 07CV1353 (Denver District Court).  This case, which concerns the constitutionality of Article XXIX, is pending.  A status conference is scheduled for March 13, 2009.

2. The Commission filed an application in Denver District Court to protect the confidentiality of requests for advisory opinion on grounds that to release that information would cause a chilling effect on people seeking advice from the Commission.  This case was consolidated with another case in which the IEC was sued under the Colorado Open Records Act for not providing this information.  This case is pending.  No hearing date has been set.

Other Activities:

1. The Commission issued an advisory relating to the acceptance of gifts by public employees and officials during the Democratic National Convention and posted that information on its web site. 
2. Commission staff received 63 informal requests for information, including requests from the press.
3. The Commission received and responded to five requests for information pursuant to the Colorado Open Records Act.
 
Budget:

The Commission was appropriated $ 219, 996 in FY08, $121,986 of which was designated for legal services by the Colorado Department of Law.  Because the Commission did not meet until December 2007, and therefore did not incur costs for half of the fiscal year, the budget was reduced to $135,800 for FY08-09, including $44,609 for legal services.  In September 2008, the Commission submitted a request for an emergency supplemental to the Joint Budget Committee ("JBC") for an increase in operating expenses, legal services, for appointment of conflicts counsel for a particular complaint, for additional staff and for reclassification of the Executive Director position for a total increase of $148,437.  Although these requests were granted by the JBC, the IEC decided to voluntarily comply with the Governor's hiring freeze, and the staffing changes have not been made to date.  The Commission plans on effecting these changes prior to the end of FY09.