Lobbying Under Amendment 41

So how has Amendment 41 affected lobbying at the capitol?

January was the first month under the new law, which restricts lobbyists from giving gifts to public officials.

And according to recent government filings, lobbyists who have a history of giving are saving their money. From August to December, lobbying firm Axiom Strategies, Inc spent approximately $440 lobbying lawmakers at the capitol, with expenses totaling over $50 for each month. But during the month of January, Axiom didn’t spend anything.

Same goes for lobbyist Steven Durham. Since July, Durham has spent $1,126 lobbying legislators, with expenses totaling over $50 each month. But despite making almost $60,000 in January, Durham didn’t spend any of it on lawmakers.

It’s a similar scenario for other lobbyists who routinely give small gifts to politicians during the course of the session.

Amendment 41 may be forcing lobbyists to wait for the right time to spend their capped expenses, and January just wasn’t a good month for it.

Erin Rosa was born in Spain and raised in Colorado Springs. She is a freelance writer currently living in Denver. Rosa's work has been featured in a variety of news outlets including the Huffington Post, Democracy Now!, and the Rocky Mountain Chronicle, an alternative-weekly in Northern Colorado where she worked as a columnist covering the state legislature. Rosa has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists for her reporting on lobbying and woman's health issues. She was also tapped with a rare honorable mention award by the Newspaper Guild-CWA's David S. Barr Award in 2008--only the second such honor conferred in its nine-year history--for her investigative series covering the federal government's Supermax prison in the state. Rosa covers the labor community, corrections, immigration and government transparency matters. She can be reached at erosa@www.coloradoindependent.com.

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