The Colorado Sun: Six positions in Gov. Jared Polis’ office this fiscal year are funded by grants from non-governmental organizations, including one funded by the grandson of Walmart’s founder, another that has received large sums from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and a third led by the widow of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, Laurene Powell Jobs.

The grants total at least $1.3 million and cover several years’ of salary for people advising Gov. Jared Polis and Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera on key policy issues for the administration. Five of the positions are full time while a sixth is part time and ended earlier in 2021. The 2021-22 fiscal year runs from July 1 until June 30, 2022.

State lawmakers do not have oversight of the funds, which the governor’s office can accept under state law. The grant-funded positions have stoked concerns about transparency and accountability and prompted conservatives to put Amendment 78 on the November ballot, which was unsuccessful but would have required state lawmaker approval for the kind of funds being used to pay for positions in the governor’s office.

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