In the quest to right Colorado's listing ethical ship, enemies of reform appear on all sides.

First on the Hit Parade, Ron Tupa's SB-51: a bill to ban cash gifts to legislators.

W. Slope lawmaker amends bill in bid to spike it

A Western Slope lawmaker who is vehemently opposed to a bill that bans cash gifts for lawmakers successfully amended the measure Monday to prevent elected officials from collecting speaking fees.

Rep. Mark Larson, R-Cortez, admitted that his effort was aimed at killing Senate Bill 51...

Larson predicted that with the amendment, the bill now stands a better chance of being rejected by the Senate or vetoed by Gov. Bill Owens.

Argument: Larson says the cash gifts ban will unfairly impact rural lawmakers.

Rebuttal: Out-state lawmakers already receive twice the per diem of Front Range reps. Need more? Raise the per diem amount and keep things on the sunny side. Maybe police your fellow Republicans a little better on the per diem thing.

Let's hope Larson's poison pill gets stripped out. And don't get me wrong: for a Republican, Rep. Mark Larson is a straight-up guy. He's not on the take, he just doesn't see a problem where lots of other people do.

Second, Morgan Carroll's HB-1149: a bill to require additional disclosure from lobbyists. Headed to the full House over much weeping and wailing. Courtesy Soapblox:

If you recall, prior debate of HB 1149 was hampered by Democrat Fran Coleman. Coleman, in a play to curry favors with lobbyists to help her husband run for her own term-limited HD-1 seat and Fran's own run for SB-32...

Rep. Carroll's bill scares lobbyists. And their friends. Some of whom are, not surprisingly, benefactors. Get this bill across the finish line and spite them all.

Write your state legislators now and urge them to support HB-1149 and SB-51, and oppose any attempt to water them down or duplicitously kill them.