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Ballot measure fails in committee

Caldara testifies about 'ransom' offered in trade

By Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 28, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.

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Ransom. Bribery. Extortion.

All three are fighting words - and all three were used Tuesday during a spirited debate on a bill that would make it a misdemeanor to withdraw a ballot measure in exchange for money or anything of value.

Two Republican lawmakers introduced the bill in response to the 2008 campaign, in which proponents of union-backed measures agreed to withdraw their proposals in exchange for $3 million from business interests.

"I think the public recognizes bribery when they see it," said Rep. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs.

HB 1069, by Rep. Amy Stephens of Colorado Springs and Sen. Mike Kopp, died 6-5 on a mostly party-line vote in the State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee.

Opponents said they feared the proposal would not survive a constitutional challenge, though Stephens stressed her bill was not about unions and businesses.

Among those who testified on behalf of the bill were Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck and Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute.

Caldara said he was offered an $800,000 "ransom" last year if he withdrew his ballot proposal, which would have prevented government employers from deducting membership dues from their workers.

"What an idiot I was not to take the money," he said, to laughter.

Caldara said he feared an electoral cottage industry would spring up, in which people would put onerous issues on the ballot in hopes of making money to take them off.