DENVER The Legislature passed its first bill of the year Monday morning, a fix to campaign finance law sponsored in part by Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango.
Senate Bill 14 saves political candidates, including legislators themselves, from a requirement to file campaign finance reports every two weeks starting this week.
Typically, they have to report every three months, with more frequent reports in the weeks leading up to an election. But the Legislature changed the date of the primary election last year without updating the finance reporting schedule.
SB 14 passed the House 64-1 Monday, with Rep. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, voting no.
Im the only one that supports transparency, Pace called from the back of the chamber, as other legislators chuckled and clapped sarcastically.
Pace is running for Congress against U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez.
The bill also took fire from the Republican side. After it passed, Sen. Greg Brophy noted in a Twitter post that the only bill the Legislature has passed would cut red tape for politicians. Hard at work for the ppl of Colo, he wrote, using the abbreviations common to Twitter.
Brophy voted for the bill last Wednesday when the Senate passed it unanimously.
The House also passed a symbolic resolution that Roberts sponsored.
Senate Joint Resolution 2 calls for the Legislature and governor to stop taking money out of water infrastructure accounts to balance the state budget.
The House passed it unanimously Monday, and the Senate passed it 33-2 last week.
However, legislators are on track to ignore their own advice. Next years state budget calls for an extra $33.9 million transfer out of the water account.