On May 18, 2009, Colorado Ethics Watch filed a complaint with Denver District Court against the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission (IEC), asking the court to void an April 17 advisory opinion allowing a lawmaker to take a trip to Turkey. In November, the Court dismissed a portion of Ethics Watch’s case, agreeing with the IEC that the advisory opinion was not subject to judicial review because it did not adjudicate any person’s rights.

That ruling allowed Ethics Watch to proceed on a separate claim that the advisory opinion was adopted in a closed-door meeting in violation of Colorado’s Sunshine Law. The IEC elected not to contest that claim, paving the way for today’s ruling. The IEC’s minutes reflect that the nine-page advisory opinion was written and deliberated in secret and then approved in a five-minute public meeting in violation of the Open Meetings Law’s requirement that all policy discussions take place in public.

“This ruling closes an unfortunate chapter in the history of the IEC,” said Luis Toro, Senior Counsel for Colorado Ethics Watch. “We look forward to a new era of proactive and transparent ethics enforcement by the IEC in 2010.”

Advisory Opinion 09-04, issued on April 17, 2009, approved a legislator’s request to accept an invitation to join a trip to Turkey. According to the request, travel expenses for the legislator and her spouse, except for airfare, would be paid for by one or more nonprofit organizations. In its Advisory Opinion, the IEC ruled that payment for the Turkey trip would be deemed a “gift to the Colorado government” and not a gift to the legislator subject to the gift ban. This May, the Denver District Court ruled in favor of Ethics Watch on a claim against the IEC for violation of the Open Records Act. Later in the year, the court ruled in favor of the Colorado Independent in a case for violation of the Sunshine Law. Shortly after Ethics Watch and the Colorado Independent filed their lawsuits, the IEC changed its policy regarding public meetings.