Editor’s note: This article was originally written by Jennifer Gilroy and posted on January 17, 2013.  This version has been edited and updated for this publication.

Bravo!! You’ve just realized that the invitation you received today to participate in a legislative conference in Las Vegas, or a business luncheon in your district, or a tour of the southwestern Colorado river basins may actually present an ethics issue that you need to consider before immediately accepting. You are momentarily pleased with yourself for recognizing the ethics issue, but then trepidation sets in as you begin to ponder the many sources of ethics laws in Colorado. There’s something about gifts over $75, refusing all gifts from lobbyists, conflicts of interest, and undue influence. The sources of ethics laws in Colorado seem so complicated and confusing and, frankly, you’re really not sure if you understand them well enough to evaluate your situation accurately. Where can you turn for guidance when you are faced with an ethics dilemma?

The following are five resources you can use to evaluate the ethical challenges that you may face from time to time while serving as a member of the Colorado General Assembly.

1. Consult Various Resources Available Online. 

• The OLLS Ethics Information Webpage.
  The Office of Legislative Legal Services has a webpage directly accessible from the General Assembly’s webpage. The menu on the left includes a tab entitled “Ethics Information.” Clicking on this tab will allow you to access a number of resources that might help you assess your ethics situation, including the following resources:
  • Ethics Tutorial. The OLLS has created an on-line tutorial with 25 common ethics dilemmas. You may take the entire tutorial at your leisure in the privacy of your own home or office or you may review the table of contents and simply read the questions and answers that pertain to your specific situation. Topics in the tutorial range from conflicts of interest to gifts to use of state resources to post-legislative employment and more.
  • Memorandum on Ethics Laws and Rules for Members of the General Assembly. If you want a quick-and-dirty review of the law on rules of conduct, ethics principles, and statutorily mandated disclosure of gifts and honoraria, take a few minutes to review this relatively brief, six-page memorandum that presents the sources of ethics laws from the state constitution to the legislative rules of the House and Senate.
• Advisory Opinions from the Board of Ethics for the General Assembly. The majority and minority leaders in each chamber appoint a legislator to serve on this four-member, statutorily created board of ethics for the General Assembly. This ethics board issues advisory opinions upon the submission of a written request by a legislator. There are three conflict-of-interest-related opinions that the board has issued. If you are grappling with a conflict-of-interest situation, these opinions and other documents may offer you some helpful guidance.
• The Independent Ethics Commission Website. The Independent Ethics Commission, created by Article XXIX of the state constitution (often referred to as “Amendment 41”), also issues advisory opinions, letter rulings, and position statements. You can access the commission’s opinions by year from their website by opening Opinions in the drop down menu.

2. Talk to an Attorney at the OLLS

A staff attorney at the OLLS is always available to guide you through the law and the opinions of the Independent Ethics Commission and Ethics Board and to assist you in assessing the right course of action.

3. Go to Leadership

The leadership (or other senior member) of your caucus may offer you insight, experience, and guidance that the OLLS cannot. Don’t hesitate to discuss your situation with someone in your caucus whom you respect and who has more experience with these types of situations.

4. Seek an Advisory Opinion from the Ethics Board of the General Assembly

As mentioned, you may wish to seek an advisory opinion from four of your colleagues that comprise the board of ethics for the General Assembly. We recommend this approach in advance of contemplated conduct.

5. Seek an Advisory Opinion from the Independent Ethics Commission

The commission will issue an opinion regarding an ethics issue arising under Article XXIX or any other standard of conduct or reporting requirement set out in law. However, keep the following in mind:

• The commission meets only once each month and requests for advisory opinions must be submitted at least 10 days in advance of that meeting.
• The commission is subject to open records laws, so you should not expect that your request will be kept confidential or anonymous.
• The OLLS can assist you with a request for an advisory opinion, but we cannot provide you with legal counsel if a complaint against you is filed with the commission.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally written by Bob Lackner and published on April 27, 2017. This version has been updated where appropriate.

As with many legislatures, the Colorado General Assembly prides itself on being a “citizen legislature,” which means it is comprised of citizens who take leave from their normal jobs and other duties every January to come to the State Capitol for 120 days to legislate for the people of the state. Not only is it presumed that legislators will continue to serve as teachers, farmers, ranchers, realtors, attorneys, and the like while serving in office, but this ability to bring the perspective, skill sets, and knowledge derived from working in these other fields to the job of being a legislator is seen as advantageous to representative democracy and desirable in a person who wants to serve as a legislator.

The necessity of serving “competing masters,” however, means a certain amount of tension between legislators’ private lives and public responsibilities is built into the DNA of our citizen legislature. The law does not require that a member of the Colorado General Assembly sell all assets, renounce all worldly employment, and commit to a monastic existence when serving in the legislature (although it may seem that way to many legislators).  But the law does expect and require that when a legislator’s independence and objectivity may be compromised, the legislator will put the public interest first.

The term “conflict of interest” generally means a legislator has a personal interest in some aspect of official action (most often a vote on a bill) sufficient to influence the objective exercise of the legislator’s public responsibilities. Stated differently, the legislator’s personal interest pulls the legislator in one direction while the public interest pulls the legislator in another direction. In this context, as codified in statute and legislative rule, “personal interest” generally refers to a financial interest in a bill or other measure. The legislator’s obligations as a public servant are supposed to trump any personal or financial interest in a public matter.

How does a legislator know if the legislator a conflict of interest? The key to answering this question is to determine whether the situation at hand is likely to interfere or appear to interfere with the independent judgment the legislator. One test is the so-called trust test. Specifically, would the public trust the legislator’s judgment if they knew the legislator was in this situation?

The Code of Ethics (24-18-101 to 113, C.R.S.) within the statutory standards of conduct—and specifically the ethical principles for members of the General Assembly—provide three criteria for a legislator to consider in determining whether a personal or private interest creates a conflict in a matter before the General Assembly:

1. Whether the interest impedes the legislator’s independence of judgment;
2. The effect of the legislator’s participation on public confidence in the integrity of the General Assembly; and
3. Whether the legislator’s participation is likely to have a significant effect on the outcome of the vote.

The ethical principles also declare that a conflict of interest situation does not arise from legislation that affects the entire membership of a class. This exception is very important and regularly applied in assessing potential conflict of interest situations. This so-called “class exception” allows teachers to vote on education bills, attorneys to vote on tort reform bills, farmers and ranchers to vote on water bills, and so forth. There is no magic number to determine whether a class is present.

Members of the General Assembly are also subject to Joint Rule 42. Similar to the class exception, this rule requires the legislator to decide whether the passage of a bill will benefit the legislator personally in a way not shared by others in the legislator’s profession, occupation, industry, or region. If it will, then the legislator probably has a personal or private interest in the matter necessitating disclosure and abstention.

What if a legislator has a personal or private (i.e., financial) interest in legislation? Under the state constitution and the House and Senate rules (HR 21 (c) and SR 17 (c), respectively), the legislator must disclose the fact and abstain from voting on the bill. What should a legislator do if the legislator has a conflict? A legislator who is concerned about a conflict of interest situation or about being too close for comfort should follow one or more of the following courses of action:

1. Disclose the nature of the personal interest in the bill and abstain from voting. If there is a real conflict—i.e., a personal or private interest in the bill—under the law, the legislator is absolutely required to disclose the conflict and abstain from voting on the matter. But remember, constituents send legislators to the legislature to represent their interests and vote, especially on tough questions. Don’t allow abstention to become a way to evade tough votes.
2. Talk the matter over with more experienced colleagues, especially in party legislative leadership. Sometimes it takes a third person’s perspective to really understand a difficult ethical situation.
3. Be conscious of the appearance of impropriety. Legislators need to be conscious of how their actions will affect their personal reputations and the reputation of the General Assembly.
4. Seek the advice of legal counsel, whether from the OLLS or a privately retained attorney.
5. Consider seeking an advisory opinion from the Board of Ethics of the General Assembly.
6. Consider reducing involvement on a particular matter. Although a legislator may vote on a bill, there may be appearance concerns with being a prime sponsor of the bill or otherwise serving as the “public face” of the bill.
7. Finally, be prepared to defend a decision. More often than not, the public will respect an ethical decision honestly and thoughtfully arrived at if the legislator can clearly and credibly explain the basis for the decision.*

The Office of Legislative Legal Services regularly consults with members of the General Assembly on how to avoid conflict of interest situations. If you are a legislator, we are happy to help you work through any conflict of interest situation in which you may be involved, especially before it becomes a problem. Please come see us!

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*Item 7 in the list of recommended actions was originally published in the July/August 2004 State Legislatures Magazine in an article entitled “How to deal with Conflicts of Interest”, by Peggy Kerns.

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