Senate committee narrows lobbying-disclosure bill, strikes 'advocacy day' registration and advances measure 5–0

The Senate State Affairs Committee amended and advanced a bill to tighten Colorado’s lobbying disclosure rules, removing a disputed "advocacy day" participant-registration requirement and adding other clarifications before sending the measure to Appropriations on a 5–0 vote.

Sponsors said Senate Bill 147 creates a nonprofit advocate designation, requires volunteer lobbyists to attest they are unpaid, and would require some state legislative-liaison activity to be reported. "Lobbying is lobbying and that activity should be reported," a sponsor said in committee remarks.

Opponents and some independent agencies warned the bill, as introduced, risked overreach. A representative of the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners said the advocacy-day participant language "is an affront to the First Amendment" because it would require groups to preregister citizen advocacy events and disclose participant counts and topics. Sponsors and the committee moved to strike that section in amendment L02.

Representatives from the Office of the Child's Representative and the Office of the State Public Defender urged changes to preserve the statutory independence of judicial-branch entities and to allow independent agencies to designate liaisons and to report a "monitoring" position when appropriate. The sponsors said a multi-page technical amendment addressing those concerns is expected on second reading.

Lacey Hayes of the Colorado Lobbyists Association and Jack Murphy of the Colorado Nonprofit Association testified in support, saying the changes clarify and modernize an outdated statute and that a nonprofit advocate designation reduces confusion for mission-driven organizations. Kathleen Curry, a professional lobbyist, urged closing gaps so covered officials and rulemaking boards know who is attempting to influence decisions.

Terry Scanlan, legislative liaison for Colorado courts, urged caution. He told the committee public registration of courts' positions could create a perception of politicization and undermine confidence in impartiality: "If we're publicly disclosing that we support or oppose something, those litigants may believe that the judge in their case… is impartial," he warned.

The committee adopted multiple amendments — striking the advocacy-day participant registration (L02), adding a two-year ban on former officeholders serving as legislative liaisons in some roles (L03), and a statutory clean-up amendment (L04) — and advanced the bill to Appropriations with a favorable recommendation. The committee recorded a 5–0 vote.