Face The State Staff Report
Democrats have once again thumbed their nose at transparency Tuesday as the House State Affairs Committee defeated a bill on a near party line vote that would have aided in the implementation of the voter-approved Amendment 54, which requires the creation of a searchable database listing the recipients of no-bid government contracts over $100,000.
To date, just five vendors have reported a combined 46 sole-source government contracts. House Bill 1165, sponsored by Rep. Kent Lambert of Colorado Springs, would have enabled funding for the database, now required under the state Constitution. All Democrats on the House State Affairs Committee except for Rep. Joe Miklosi, D-Denver, voted against the bill. It was defeated on a 6-to-5 vote.
“The vote is a vote against transparency,” Lambert said. “The people of Colorado have asked us for transparency and this is slamming the door in their face. They are only going to get more concerned about the integrity of the government.”
Rep. Jeanne Labuda, D-Denver, argued the bill was not necessary because the Department of Personnel and Administration, which is responsible for implementing Amendment 54, is already collecting the data and has not asked the legislature for any funding. DPA spokesman Doug Platt previously told Face The State that the department is waiting on further instruction from the legislature. “Depending on how the legislation comes out, we would have to analyze what our responsibility would be,” he said.
Under Amendment 54, the DPA has full authority to promulgate rules aiding its implementation. Platt, however, says the DPA already has a database and in compliance with Amendment 54. "We'll move forward prudently with rulemaking," he said, adding that Amendment 54 does not direct DPA to enforce vendors report their no-bid contracts.