Lobbyists seeking to influence the City and County of Denver will now face new hurdles after the Denver City Council voted unanimously Monday to amend the city code by adding disclosure regulations and a 12-month “cooling off” period for former elected and cabinet members.

The amendment, sponsored by Denver City Councilmembers Jamie Torres, Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez and Shontel Lewis, overhauls and tightens two major elements for lobbying the city and becomes effective Jan. 1, 2027.

The first requires lobbyists to file bi-monthly activity reports, disclosing the clients they represent, how much they were paid by each, and the officials lobbied.

In short, the measure aims to require lobbyists to publicly disclose who is paying them to influence city decisions, make it easier for the public to see which issues, policies, and legislation lobbyists are trying to influence, and require disclosure of organized campaigns designed to influence public opinion on city issues.

The second prevents former elected officials and members of the mayor’s cabinet from becoming lobbyists for 12 months after leaving office.

“This (legislation) will increase transparency regarding the work that so often goes on behind the scenes when important legislation is being run and debated here in Denver,” Lewis said. “This bill will more closely align us to state standards for lobbying and will also place reasonable guardrails on ensuring that folks with access to information or to power who work in the city will not take advantage of that knowledge the minute they leave working for the city.”

Over the past year, several high-profile lobbying activities around flavored tobacco, street camera surveillance, and other policy areas prompted concerns from bill sponsors about adequate transparency and the need for improved lobbyist disclosure requirements.

When the flavored tobacco ban came before the City Council twice, Torres said lobbyists from both sides were active at City Hall. None of it was reported. It was only when the issue reached the ballot, where campaign finance rules require disclosure, that the public could see millions of dollars being spent to influence the outcome.

Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, waded into the fight over Denver’s flavored tobacco ban, which was the subject of a 2025 ballot measure, seeking its repeal.

Bloomberg contributed $1.5 million to Denver Kids vs Big Tobacco, according to Denver Searchlight, the city’s online database for campaign and finance disclosure.

Bloomberg, known for being anti-tobacco, has sought to advance policies that discourage tobacco use and tobacco-related products through his organization, Bloomberg Philanthropies.

A similar transparency gap emerged with Flock Safety, the license plate reader company. Torres said there were significant meeting requests from representatives on both sides of the Flock policy debate, with no public record. 

“The residents of Denver, media, and public in general deserve a clear and easy way to understand how decisions are made and who is influencing them at City Hall,” Denver Clerk & Recorder Paul López said in a statement after the measure was adopted.

Under current city rules, lobbyists only have to report direct gifts, money or things of value given to officials. Because most lobbying does not involve an explicit financial exchange, the vast majority of lobbying reports filed with the city show no activity.

Denver Gazette news partner 9News contributed to this story. To read more, visit this link.