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The times, they are a changin’: Denver lobbyists, elected officials to face new disclosure requirements

Mike McKibbin (Colorado Statesman)- Annual and monthly disclosure reports by elected officials, city employees and lobbyists registered with the City and County of Denver would see several changes under proposed regulations from the city clerk and recorder.

The City Council’s Finance and Governance committee took a first look at the proposed changes from Clerk and Recorder Debra Johnson at its Oct. 4 meeting and asked for several revisions Johnson will present in November.

Click here to read the full story in the Colorado Statesman.

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Tribune opinion: It’s unfortunate schools got caught up in campaign issues

Editorial Board (Greeley Tribune)- We have a hard time placing a lot of blame on area schools and school districts for their potential violations of Colorado’s Fair Campaign Practices Act.

Ultimately the districts are responsible for their actions so, yes, some of the blame does land at the feet of those districts. That said, it appears they did every reasonable thing within their power to avoid such a misstep and when they found out a mistake had been made, then moved quickly to rectify it.

Click here to read the full story in the Greeley Tribune.

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Ethics Watch Supports Proposed Transparency Reforms in Denver

This week, Ethics Watch Senior Counsel Peg Perl presented public comment at the Denver City Council Finance and Governance Committee in favor of two transparency bills sponsored by Denver Clerk and Recorder Debra Johnson. Colorado Common Cause also spoke in support and both groups were included in stakeholders consulted by the Clerk during the development of the bills.

The first bill would transition financial and gift disclosures filed by Denver City Officials into a more efficient electronic filing system, require annual financial reports to be filed every January for the prior year (instead of August), and require City Officials to file gift reports quarterly, like state officials. Quarterly gift reports would be proactively published on the Clerk’s website for public viewing each quarter, and annual financial reports would remain public records subject to disclosure upon request. The reform bill would also eliminate a provision requiring the Clerk to keep a log of public requests for viewing of these reports and to notify a City Official whenever a citizen viewed their reports.

The second bill streamlines and enhances transparency for lobbyist reports filed by those who lobby Denver City Officials. The reforms would move lobbyist reporting from a paper system to electronic filing and the Clerk would post on the City website both lobbyist registrations and bimonthly lobbyist reports. The bill also clarifies the details required to be reported by a lobbyist with regard to the clients they serve and gifts provided to City Officials for purposes of lobbying.

After numerous questions, but general support from City Council members on the committee, the Clerk will be making revisions to the bill. Video of this week’s committee meeting is available for viewing here (public comment begins around the 38 minute mark). The committee stated that it intends to take action on the revised bills in November. Ethics Watch believes these reforms would increase transparency in Denver City Government and enhance citizen trust in their local leaders.

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Mysterious dark-money fliers target highly contested Colorado House and Senate races

Corey Hutchins (Colorado Independent)- Anonymous fliers are targeting candidates in the suburban battlegrounds of hotly contested Colorado House and Senate races — a tactic political observers say is a new and troubling development in state campaigns, but not necessarily an illegal one.

The fliers lack the “paid for” disclosures typically seen on election season political leaflets and carry no information about who is behind them.

Click here to read the full story in the Colorado Independent.

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Hard-to-trace ‘gray money’ raises the stakes in big Colorado races

Marianne Goodland (Colorado Independent)- With the election only a month away and mail ballots due out in less than two weeks, “gray money” groups are pouring millions of dollars into Colorado’s most contentious state House and Senate races.

Four Republican committees have raised $3.5 million in the last two years, and spent more than $700,000 between September 15 and September 30, mostly on advertising. Three Democratic groups raised $6.6 million in the past two years, and between September 15 and September 30 spent $1.6 million, much of it on advertising.

Click here to read the full story in the Colorado Independent.

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Greeley-Evans School District 6, other northern Colorado districts may have flouted campaign finance laws

Tyler Silvy (Greeley Tribune)- A lack of balance in communication about multi-million dollar ballot initiatives has put many northern Colorado school districts in apparent violation of Colorado’s Fair Campaign Practices Act.

The act, among other things, requires government entities to include arguments for and against proposals if those entities have used taxpayer dollars to create communications about the proposals.

Click here to read the full story in the Greeley Tribune.

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Tribune opinion: It’s important for schools to post minutes

Greeley Tribune Editorial Board (Greeley Tribune)- There’s a 2-year-old state law that requires Colorado school districts to post meeting minutes within 10 days of the minutes being approved.

Colorado Ethics Watch, a left-leaning research and advocacy nonprofit, has done some research to see how Colorado’s schools are doing with the relatively new mandate. The results weren’t great for the state with less than 60 percent of the districts in compliance.

Click here to read the full story in the Greeley Tribune.

Click here to read the full report by Colorado Ethics Watch.

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Report 1 In 4 Colorado School Districts Violate Transparency Law

Mike Lamp (Colorado Public Radio)- Colorado Ethics Watch wants more of the state’s school districts to post minutes of their board meetings online – as a state law requires.

In a new report, the watchdog group looked at more than 170 districts through the first half of this year. It estimates about a quarter of Colorado districts are in violation of a 2014 school transparency law that says districts have to post meeting minutes if they have a website.

Click here to read the full story in Colorado Public Radio.

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Many Colorado School Districts Violate Transparency Law

Jonathan Baker (High Plains Public Radio)- Almost half of Colorado school districts are not complying with a state transparency law, reports The Colorado Independent.

The watchdog group Colorado Ethics Watch has found that 43 percent of Colorado’s school districts are not complying with a law requiring school boards to post minutes of their meetings in a timely manner.

Click here to read the full story in High Plains Public Radio.

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One in four Colorado school districts are violating state transparency law

Kelsey Ray (Colorado Independent)- Only 57 percent of Colorado school districts fully comply with a state transparency law, independent watchdog group Colorado Ethics Watch has found.

The group examined the websites of 177 Colorado school boards between January and July 2016 to see how many were posting minutes of their school board meetings in a timely manner, as is required by law. That law, which went into effect in June 2014, says school boards must post the minutes within 10 days of approving them.

Click here to read the full story in the Colorado Independent.

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