Lawmakers look at filling holes in state disclosure law

By Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 28, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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Would you like to know if a state legislator suddenly turned up rich after taking office?

Or if a legislator owns stock in a company that benefited from a special-interest tax break?

You won't find even a hint of that on many of the financial disclosures filed by Colorado's top elected officials.

A state law dating to the Watergate era requires officials to report sources of income, debts, real estate, directorships, business done with the state and certain assets. It's meant to expose potential conflicts of interest.

But there isn't language in the law requiring them to report the value of those items. Almost no one volunteers the information.

Nor does Colorado demand identification of the type of work done by officials' business interests. Nor does it ask what clients they represent, and might be aiding in the legislature.

The Rocky Mountain News reviewed the 2008 disclosure forms from about 100 elected officials and found the law is interpreted by filers in wildly differing ways.

The Secretary of State's Office collects and stores the disclosure reports, said spokesman Rich Coolidge. If someone wilfully files an incorrect report, it's up to local prosecutors to file charges, he said.

Such limitations prompted the Center for Public Integrity in Washington, D.C., to give Colorado a grade of D for its disclosure law in 2004.

The center also took issue with Colorado's failure to post the disclosures online.

Easy access online is critical so citizens can check the reports for potential conflicts, said Peggy Kerns, a former Colorado legislator who directs the Ethics Center at the National Council of State Legislatures in Denver.

Now, Colorado's disclosure reports are rarely reviewed by the public, and they are the only secretary of state documents not available online, Coolidge said. He quoted Secretary of State Mike Coffman as saying that would require new computer programming and funding.

Coffman and Rep. Rob Witwer, of Evergreen, both Republicans, said it might be time to consider an update of the law.

"As long as it's relevant to public service, the public should know who they're voting for and what their motivations might be," said Witwer, who earlier carried a tough gift-disclosure bill.

Coffman noted that the federal disclosure he filed to run for Congress was stronger than the state's, but not difficult.

But Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, is happy with the law.

"We're a citizen legislature. Everybody here has to be able to earn a living some way. So we vote with conflicts almost every day," McElhany said. For example, teachers vote on education funding, he said.

It's left up to each legislator to decide when he would have too much of a personal financial interest and should not vote, he said.

McElhany and Attorney General John Suthers were the only officials to report individual stock holdings on this year's form. McElhany's included a list of energy companies, from Exxon Mobil to Navajo Refining Co.

But without numbers, no one would know if a legislator held, for example, $1 million in health insurance stocks while voting to require health insurance for all Coloradans.

Seventeen states and the federal government require amounts to be disclosed, typically within a range, however, not exact figures.

Colorado also requires only certain assets to be reported: each "business, insurance policy or trust" valued at more than $5,000. Officials need not list stocks, bonds, investment funds or bank accounts as assets, even though these are more common than trust funds.

The law does ask for sources of income, and McElhany said that's why he reported his stocks.

Many of the Colorado reports reviewed by the Rocky are brief. They report paychecks and pensions under income, but nothing from savings or investments.

Rep. Ray Rose, R-Montrose, explained his spare report was accurate.

"Quite frankly, most of us don't have any large assets," said the retired US West manager. "We're just common, workaday people."

Some officials, including Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver, voluntarily reported assets in investment companies like Fidelity, even though he was not required to do so. But like others, Romanoff did not say what industries his mutual funds are invested in.

If the investment produces income, including capital gains, the disclosure form requires it be reported. Romanoff said he had no capital gains.

The speaker reported little income, just his part-time legislative salary and college-level teaching. Romanoff explained it by noting that the only one he has to feed besides himself has four paws.

Income reports

Examples of state elected officials' financial disclosures:

* Rep. Terrance Carroll, D-Denver: The only legislator found to have voluntarily disclosed his salary - $135,000 from the law firm Greenberg Traurig.

* Rep. Don Marostica, R-Loveland: Provided the most detailed report reviewed, listing 16 companies, six life insurance policies, and six trusts, but only two of his "various" pieces of real estate.

* House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker: Reported significant ownership in nine companies and eight properties, from a commercial site in Limon to a Beaver Creek condo.

* Gov. Bill Ritter: So conscientious his first year that he listed his kids' baby-sitting and lawn-mowing jobs.

imsea@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5438

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