A state House committee Monday nearly unanimously approved a Senate bill that would restrict local and state governments from forcing employees to sign non-disclosure agreements when they leave their jobs.
The measure, Senate Bill 23-053, needs only pass a vote of the entire House before heading back to the Senate for approval of some minor changes, and then to the governor's desk.
The House State, Civic, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee voted, 10-1, to pass the bill following a short hearing in which the lone opponent — the Colorado Municipal League — expressed concern that government employees are being treated differently than private ones, particularly since NDAs, as they are more commonly know, are common practice in the private sector.
"Local governments are entitled to protect the confidentiality of sensitive information and to protect the privacy of employees," said Jaclyn Terwey, a legislative and policy advocate at the Colorado Municipal League. "Appropriate confidentiality can serve the public interest ... by keeping private interests from profiting off the public's business."
The lone dissent came from Rep. Ken DeGraaf, R-Colorado Springs, who said he hopes to see additional changes before offering his endorsement.
The bill languished in the Senate for weeks after a committee in that chamber unanimously passed it, in part because Gov. Jared Polis' office wanted to see some changes. The extent of those changes was unclear but it was enough to slow a vote by the full Senate. The governor's office previously told The Denver Gazette it has had no NDAs with its employees during Polis' tenure.
Bill co-sponsor Rep. Steven Woodrow, D-Denver, said the bill is about government transparency.
"Why would the government require its employees in separation agreements require an NDA when the information is to be public?" he asked. "Because it's really just a chilling effect."
The bill's creator, Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton, had unsuccessfully tried to pass similar legislation two years ago, found no co-sponsors and never made it out of a single committee.
This time, however, Kirkmeyer received bi-partisan support on the measure.
The agreements are often pressed on the employees during settlement negotiations, and, according to attorneys who represent them, they ensure the public can never know what's at the root of the reason for a taxpayer-funded payout that can easily top $100,000.
A Denver Gazette investigation last November revealed how the state had paid more than $4 million to employees who signed more than 80 NDAs in just the last three years.
Kirkmeyer credited the investigation for helping prompt the support she found this go-around.
