Gov. Bill Ritter will sign legislation to place the state's checkbook online, though he'll do so without the same public ceremony that marked the signing of an executive order intended to head off the very legislation he'll now enact into law.
Marostica, standing, and RitterFTS File Photo
In Ritter's January state of the state speech he touted his transparency agenda saying he sought to make "government more modern and transparent by putting more services online." In April, Ritter followed up with an executive order that would place state spending records online, but critics were quick to criticize the policy as lacking teeth. He held a press conference House Spearker Terrance Carroll, D-Denver, Secretary of State Bernie Buescher and State Treasurer Cary Kennedy, both Democrats, and Attorney General John Suthers, a Republican. Front and center at the press conference was state Rep. Don Marostica, R-Loveland, who had introduced spending transparency legislation, but later pulled his bill after Ritter stepped into the fray.
The executive order was seen at the time as an attempt to stave off Republicans' legislative efforts, already gaining momentum, to pass a more permanent and comprehensive measure. Rep. B.J. Nikkel, a Loveland Republican, sponsored House Bill 1288, which would publish spending records online in a more detailed way than Ritter proposed. "I think there is a big difference between my bill and what the governor is talking about doing," Nikkel told Face The State at the time. She says Ritter's office has notified her the bill will be signed Thursday, though without any public ceremony.
"I'm very excited that Gov. Ritter decided he would indeed sign the bill," Nikkel said. We're pleased as well with Ritter's decision, though we could have done without his earlier attempts to blunt lawmakers' efforts.