STATE BILL COLORADO

Rep. Christine Scanlan, D-Dillon, will step down from her House District 56 seat to take the top legislative lobbyist job in the administration of Gov.-Elect John Hickenlooper. Here’s how news organizations covered the story.

Summit Daily News: Christine Scanlan, who recently won reelection to State House District 56, has been tapped by Governor-elect John Hickenlooper to serve on his leadership team. Scanlan, a Democrat from Summit County, will serve as Hickenlooper’s director of legislative affairs and strategic initiatives. “He called me out of the blue and said ‘I want you on my senior team,’” Scanlan said Tuesday after the announcement. “It’s exciting and overwhelming.”

Associated Press: A Summit County lawmaker is giving up her seat in the state House to work for Gov.-elect John Hickenlooper.

KDVR: Scanlan, who successfully ushered the contentious teacher tenure reform bill through the House last May, was often mentioned as a potential running mate for Hickenlooper and even a possible Speaker of the House if Democrats had held their majority there. Now, she’ll be serving as Hickenlooper’s legislative lobbyist when the 2011 legislative session starts in January.

The Denver Post: Hickenlooper’s spokesman said the appointment does not violate Amendment 41, a voter-approved ethics measure that prohibits lawmakers from lobbying right after leaving office. “The state’s lobbyist oversight law exempts members of the governor’s Cabinet and his personal staff from the requirement to register as a lobbyist, because such employees are not considered professional lobbyists under the law,” Eric Brown said.

The Colorado Independent: Josh Lautenberg, a Vail realtor and the son of U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., is in the running to replace state Rep. Christine Scanlan, D-Dillon, who is stepping down to take a senior leadership position on governor-elect John Hickenlooper’s staff. Josh Lautenberg, a co-owner of Vail’s Sonnenalp Real Estate and a part-time Vail ski instructor, said he got a taste for politics at an early age. Frank Lautenberg, at age 86, is the oldest serving U.S. Senator.