In past four years, secretary of state has spent over $1 million

The secretary of state has spent more than $1 million in legal fees in the past four years battling election-related lawsuits - two to three times more than initially allocated to the agency.

The Joint Budget Committee on Wednesday directed the secretary of state to compile a report that details why the agency has overspent its legal budget since 2003.

Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction, also wants to know how much the office spent fighting a lawsuit this fall that sought to overturn campaign-finance rules enacted by Secretary of State Gigi Dennis two months before the Nov. 7 election.

"We're spending a quarter-million dollars unexpectedly every year in legal fees," said Buescher, chairman of the JBC. "When you see four years in a row that legal costs for the secretary of state are two to three times higher, then it's a problem and needs to be dug into."

The JBC inquiry comes as the secretary of state seeks an additional $160,978 to cover legal costs primarily to defend a lawsuit filed in June against the state and nine counties concerning the use of electronic voting systems to comply with federal Help America Vote Act.

Her 2006-07 legal-fee allocation was $116,903, slightly less than the nearly $122,000 she requested.

Deputy Secretary of State Bill Hobbs blamed the increase in legal costs on major cases and issues that arose shortly after the state's annual budget was set by the legislature.

"The secretary of state is certainly concerned about the cost of litigation," Hobbs said. "Based on the department's experience in recent years, the department is reasonably certain that election-related issues will continue to generate a higher need for legal services," he said.

The Colorado Attorney General's office, which is representing the secretary of state, estimates litigating what is known as the Conroy lawsuit will cost $277,881 this year.

State agencies are required to reimburse the AG for legal services provided.

The Conroy lawsuit is one of a series of cases filed in at least eight states, including California, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, to end the use of electronic voting machines.

That lawsuit and the congressional redistricting battle in 2003 are prime examples of unforeseen issues that have caused the agency's legal costs to climb, Hobbs said.

"A growing awareness and interest among the public and advocacy groups in the conduct of elections has spawned more challenges to laws, rules and regulations, impacting the department's need for legal services to defend those challenges," he said.

Buescher criticized the agency for creating what he viewed as unnecessary costs.

Democrat and union critics criticized Dennis for dragging out a legal battle weeks before the election over three new campaign finance rules.

The most controversial rule, which forced membership groups such as unions to receive permission from each member to give money to political campaigns, was invalidated by three courts, including the Colorado Supreme Court.

The attorney general's office billed $19,758 for defending the suit.