13 February 2009
Colorado Senate News
Senators gave a thumbs-up today to a GOP effort to assure that there are real consequences for public officials who trade on their jobs and wind up with a conflict of interest.
Senate Bill 35 , by Republican Sen. Scott Renfroe , of Greeley, creates a new class 1 misdemeanor for public officials who, within six months of leaving their posts, enter into contracts or are employed by those with contracts that are related to their former government duties. That means a potential six to 18 months in jail, a fine of $500 to $5,000, or both. At present, there’s no penalty for violating the six-month cooling-off period.
“We ‘re finally giving Colorado’s prosecutors the tools they need to do what we originally asked of them,” Renfroe said after colleagues unanimously approved his bill on a voice vote.“The law says the DAs are supposed to prosecute,” he said.
“The problem is there isn’t any penalty to prosecute them with.”The bill targets long-standing concerns by ethics watchdogs that the oft-criticized revolving door of public service enables bureaucrats to grab lucrative jobs or other arrangements using their influence working for the government.
“The goal here is to ensure government employees aren’t using their public service to serve themselves,” Renfroe said.
