DENVER – Ethics Watch, a non-partisan, non-profit legal watchdog organization, today called on Governor Bill Ritter and District Attorney Mitch Morrissey to initiate a full investigation of the Colorado Senate Minority Office (Minority Office) for using a gift of private partisan funds for official state functions and for using state time and property for political activities.

At issue is a series of activities that appear to violate Colorado laws. The website, www.ColoradoSenateNews.com, has been touted by minority leadership as “the official communications arm of the Senate Minority Office,” and is maintained by Minority Office staff members whose salaries are paid by the state of Colorado. Despite its “official” status, the site was paid for at least in part by the Senate Majority Fund, a political committee with the primary purpose of advancing a partisan agenda. State law makes it a misdemeanor for legislators to accept any gift of any money, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of defraying any expenses related to their official duties, such as communications.

Also at issue are partisan telephone calls made on Wednesday, April 11th by a staff member of the Minority Office to Ethics Watch and its parent organization, the Washington, DC-based Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). The information obtained from these calls was used by the Minority Office to publish a partisan article attacking Ethics Watch and CREW via state-issued e-mail addresses and the Minority Office’s site. Engaging in political activities using state time and property amounts to official misconduct and is a misdemeanor subject to fines up to $1000.