Ritter to run with GOP transparency agenda

Face The State Staff Report

With the 2009 legislative session jumping into full swing, Gov. Bill Ritter is scheduled to deliver his State of the State speech today where it is expected he will introduce his plan for a more transparent government by proposing to make the state budget available online. The plan is just the latest in a string of instances where the Democrat has utilized Republican ideas to suggest changes to state law.

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Government transparency has been a priority for Republican lawmakers in recent sessions. Face the State has obtained a copy of draft legislation (PDF) that Sen. Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, and Rep. Don Marostica, R-Loveland, were planning to introduce this session to make the itemized state budget available online, but which Ritter may enforce by executive order instead.

Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer confirmed to Face the State the Governor will introduce a plan for transparency by making the state budget available online and indicated Ritter has been working with Kopp and Marostica on their legislation.

In a recent television interview on Independent Thinking with Independence Institute President Jon Caldara, Kopp pointed out this has already been done in 15 other states.

"Of the fifteen states that have passed this legislation, I think six of them did it within existing revenues," said Kopp. "While there will be a cost, the point of the matter is that once we have full transparency in how we are spending money then we can tie it together dollar for dollar and have real accountability."

"I've maintained for several weeks now that even though Don Marostica and I have been working on this for several months, we would support the governor in doing it by executive order," Kopp said.

This isn't the first time Ritter has run with a GOP idea. In Feb. 2007, Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, made it his priority to raise high school graduation standards across the state. One month later, Ritter absorbed this idea and worked with Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, to develop the "Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids," after which Ritter was praised for his leadership in setting higher standards in Colorado.

Also in 2007, Kopp and former state Rep. Rob Witwer, R-Genessee, teamed up to draft legislation that created an emergency response plan in the event of a wildfire. In December, Ritter signed an executive order implementing the Colorado Wildfire Preparedness Plan.

In April 2008, Penry developed a unique idea to fund higher education by tapping into oil and gas revenues. Ritter turned to Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, to sponsor legislation that if successful, would have used mineral revenues to fund higher education.

Most recently, Ritter capitalized on Kopp's "Rainy Day Fund" idea and claimed it as his own. Kopp had been pushing this savings account for some time when Ritter recently scooped up the idea and said it was time to "...make investments in our economy and our future."