Colorado voters in 2006 ensconced expectations about lawmakers’ ethics into the state constitution, banning them from accepting gifts and jumping immediately from public office into a lobbying role and creating an Independent Ethics Commission to look into any violations of the rule and administer penalties if malfeasance was found. The commission, though, has proven to lack the authority and resources to adequately fulfill the watchdog function it was assigned, and a state audit released Tuesday found that the body is not equipped with the policies, information, record-keeping practices and staffing necessary to help those seeking to bring ethics complaints, or to properly consider them. That does not bode well for a body whose function is to “advance an ethical culture and increase awareness of ethical issues in state and local government by hearing ethics complaints against state and local government officials and employees, issuing ethics advice, and providing training,” according to the commission’s handbook.
The audit’s findings suggest the board is doing anything but its assigned task, though largely the problem seems to be one of disorganization and inadequate – or non-existent – policies, procedures and staffing needed to help complainants navigate the process, investigate complaints and document the discussions and decisions the commission issues. The result is an administrative mess: Of the 57 complaints filed between 2012 and 2015, 50 were dismissed as frivolous – though there is little to no transparency around how the commission reached that finding. In fact, Amendment 41’s language specifically allows those findings to remain confidential, but given the large number of frivolous findings, there is reason to wonder at the commission’s efficacy and thoroughness.
The circumstances for the commission and those seeking redress through it are surely not helped by the fact that the five-member board is woefully understaffed – there is just one employee and no investigative capacity – and underfunded. That, coupled with the limited scope of penalties the commission can assess – almost to irrelevance – and combined with the incomplete and unclear instructions on how to file an ethics complaint, makes for a perfect storm of ineffectual oversight.
That surely does not represent the intent behind Amendment 41, and the Legislature is considering a bill to bolster the Independent Ethics Commission’s efficacy. It would require that the commission establish the guidelines and procedures needed to provide clarity and consistency to complainants and the commission itself. The bill would also require the commission to hire an attorney and to investigate complaints thoroughly – a burden that now falls on those bringing charges. These and other provisions would add teeth and necessary structure to the Independent Ethics Commission, and help shore up the board’s areas of weakness. The discussion is an important one for the Legislature to entertain, and investing in the state’s ethics – and oversight thereof – is in lawmakers’ and residents’ fundamental interests.
