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DENVER - The Colorado House of Representatives held its annual Hummers review this afternoon, with House Republicans razzing House Democrats on some of their favorite issues.

GOP goofs on Dems

Republicans played Democrats, parodying some of the Dem’s more interesting affectations.  Rep. Jim Kerr, R-Littleton, at 6’ playing Rep. Dennis Apuan, D-Colorado Springs, 5’2” was perhaps unfair, but Rep. Marsha Looper, R-Colorado Springs, playing Rep. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, was on the money.

Looper adopts Curry hair do

Looper gelled her hair into Curry’s distinctive blond, pointy, rancher style and wagged her legs to the sounds of “All That Jazz,” catching what the GOP sees as Curry’s girlish style.

Summers razzle dazzles as Governor Ritter

Representative Ken Summers, R-Lakewood, played Governor Bill Ritter in top hat and cane, dancing down a red-carpeted aisle with Representative David Balmer, R-Centennial, playing Representative Joe Rice, D-Centennial, bowing and scraping to the Governor, at one point kissing the Governor’s behind.  Summers sang Chicago’s “Razzledazzle” capably, by himself, implying that the Governor is more style than substance.

May shows off big butt

Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, played Speaker Terrance Carroll as Mama Carroll, a take-off on Chicago’s “Reciprocity.”  May wiggled his sizable rear end, made jokes about the size of Carroll’s gavel, and called the House to a standing ovation.

Representative Don Marostica, R-Loveland, who worked long and hard with Representative Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, on the state’s budget, argued that the budget should be redone to be more “gay.” 

Breast feeding a House norm

And Representative Carole Murray, R-Douglas, sang with little babies hanging all over her body about the importance of breast feeding, with Representative Karen Middleton, D-Aurora, enjoying the joke.  But it’s unclear whether Representative Buffie McFadyen, D-Pueblo, thought it was funny when her baby was offered up as the required “first born” to receive stimulus dollars from the Obama administration.

With the Hummers wrapped up, the House conducted some final business and adjourned.

DENVER – A conference committee this afternoon changed the language of HB-1094 to restrict text messaging while operating a motor vehicle but would allow a person to still dial a number while driving.

The committee approved the changes unanimously.

The bill is a stripped down version of what Rep. Clair Levy, D-Boulder, wanted. The original bill was to restrict talking or texting on a cell phone while driving. Now, it restricts anyone under 18 from operating a motor vehicle while texting or talking. Anyone over 18 can still talk on a cell phone while driving.

It also allows, under the definition of manually entering data into a cell phone, the dialing of phone numbers. Levy and Rep. Randy Fischer, D-Larimer wanted that included as a restriction, but didn’t believe it would pass in the general assembly.

“When you prohibit dialing, you effectively prohibit talking,” Levy said. “I would like to do that, but I don’ think that will pass.”

Fischer came up with the bill after the case involving a driver talking on a cell phone and running down 9-year-old Erica Forney in Fort Collins last year while she was on her way to school.

Fisher was emotional during the hearing and apologized to the family of Erica Forney.

“We tried our best,” he said. “I’m bitterly disappointed it has come down to this, but I understand the political realities.”

Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Douglas County, said the language in the bill was too narrowly confined to targeting cell phones and that is why it needed to be changed.

“Fiddling with the radio dial, kids in the back seat distracting you – we come back to the same situation and we’re right back where we started,” he said. “My hope is we allow more discretion to drivers.”

Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Larimer, said he was “barely hanging on to 18 votes” in the senate and that any tougher languages would kill the bill.

Lawmakers are scrambling to get a version of this bill passed by the end of the day today as the general assembly is set to adjourn for the session.

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

DENVER – The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed SB-247, which, if signed by the governor, would result in $127 million being put into the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund.

The bill passed 43-22.

Sponsored by Rep. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, the bill didn’t draw any discussion on the floor and managed to pass easily at all its stops in conference committees and the Senate.

To draw the federal dollars, the bill does expand the reasons as to why people can draw unemployment – including leaving a job because a spouse was relocated or in instances of quitting due to abuse.

The money is a one-time draw and Pace said the annual expenses incurred by putting the added expansion of benefits would be a little more than $8 million. But the House and the committees were swayed by the $127 million in an economic downturn that has seen the state’s budget get squeezed

Unemployment in Colorado is at a 20-year high – topping at 7.5 percent as of March.

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

DENVER - Students and faculties of Colorado’s public higher ed institutions will likely see a single finalist for chancellor or president rather than the minimum of three candidates set by HB09-1369, which was laid over and killed today. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Paul Weissmann, D-Loveland, and Sen. Brandon Schaffer, D-Longmont, was late to the game, being introduced four days before the end of the session.

Schaffer laid over HB09-1369, killing bill

The Senate Education committee heard the request to lay over 1369 from Schaffer.  It was apparently not a popular bill, as most members of the committee expressed their gratitude that he killed the bill.

Top notch leadership prospects come with privacy attached

Senate President Peter Groff, D-Denver, said that hiring boards need flexibility to protect the confidentiality of applicants.  “Long term it can have an adverse impact on Colorado if people don’t have some confidentiality.“

Senator Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, has served on hiring committees for superintendents and the Colorado Board of Education.  “We need to work in spirit of privacy, to support each institution to have the ability to make the best decisions for themselves and their communities.“

Faculty and students will only see final candidate

The purpose of the bill was to bring the community into the hiring process by requiring three finalists who would provide a presentation to students and faculty.  Senator Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, did not find that argument compelling.  “Thank you for PIing the bill,“ he said to Schaffer.  “That’s great.  You’re just not going to get top notch talent.“

Senator Bob Bacon, D-Ft Collins, who was undecided on the bill, commented that the tenor of the bill gives some direction to governing boards on issues concerning the legislature related to hiring practices.

The bill’s hiring guidance follows the typical practice when bringing in new faculty - find three candidates, ask them to present to faculty and students, make a final selection.

It’s possible to talk a dead bill to death

Sponsor Schaffer’s final comment captured the reputation of the Senate Education committee at the Capitol:  “The Education committee has not disappointed me. I heard you can talk a bill to death, and you have, even when it’s already dead.“

DENVER - The Senate voted today to ok cell phone use except for text messaging or under 18 years use.

Senators, who frequently use their cell phones while driving to conduct business, state that they use their phones responsibly. Senator Mike Kopp, R-Jefferson County, says that Coloradans can be educated to be responsible cell phone users, and that there’s not enough evidence yet that cell phone usage kills.

Shelley Forney, whose nine year old daughter was killed by a driver using a cell phone, would disagree.  But when Steve King, R-Colorado Springs, asked her in a committee hearing if hands free phone use would have prevented the accident, Forney couldn’t respond.

Based on “limited evidence” that cell phone use kills, the Senate voted to remove phone use from the bill.  The bill now moves to the House.

State universities and colleges will have to announce at least three finalists for high level leadership positions with HB09-1369 sponsored by Representative Paul Weissmann, D-Loveland.  The bill passed the House and is on the way to the Senate.

The bill is a reaction to the common practice in higher education to bring a single finalist for chancellor or president to their college communities.  Rep. Weissmann believes that colleges and universities should have a broader range of choices, despite finalists’ preference that they not be identified unless they are the final finalist.

The bill now moves to the Senate.

DENVER - The Senate took a pass on voting on the death penalty bill today, HB09-1274, eviscerating the bill with an amendment to sever the death penalty portion of the bill from the cold case section.  The amended bill provides grants for localities for money for cold cases.

Morse amendment takes death penalty out of death penalty bill

The amendment sponsored by Senator John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, sends the bill back to the House, without the portion of the bill to rescind capital punishment.  With a day or so left in the session, there will be no time for public hearings for citizens to follow up on the bill.  

Death penalty nations - China, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia

Senator Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, sponsored the bill in the Senate, stating that Colorado is part of an elite club of nations, including China, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, that still uses the death penalty.  Ninety-five nations do not have the death penalty.

Bill supporters on cold case “used” by death penalty activists says Schultheis

Senator Dave Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, said that the people supporting the bill who thought that money would be sent to cold cases were being “used.“ “Why do we have to use these individuals (unsolved murder case victims) in a cruel manner creating false hope.“

Mitchell:  Where’s the governor on the bill

Senator Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, called out Governor Bill Ritter on the bill.  “Where does the governor stand on this bill,“ Mitchell questioned.  “What kind of leadership is this?“

Senator Bob Bacon, D-Ft Collins, asked “what are our core values?  I want my nation’s soul to say ‘we’re not going there’ to capital punishment.  I want to leave the company of China and Saudi Arabia and Iraq and Iran on the death penalty.“

Religious leaders oppose death penalty

Rabbi Steven Foster and Archbishop Charles Chaput both stated their opposition to the death penalty, said Senator Joyce Foster, D-Denver.  Senator Chris Romer, D-Denver, offered a plea to get rid of the death penalty, citing his father’s difficult decision to execute Gary Gilmore, the only individual executed in the state for 40 years.  “It’s time to vote on this bill,“ said Romer, asking that the death penalty portion remain intact.

The Morse amendment was voted on with a voice vote; the bill as amended passed the Senate and moves on to the House.  The Senate turned to the cell phone bill, HB09-1094. 

DENVER – The fight over HB-1180 got heated this morning, but was finally passed with a Senate amendment that eliminates the need for bearers of concealed weapons permits to go through more background checks when purchasing subsequent firearms.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Steve King, R-Mesa, was introduced in January and he grew concerned as the debate raged on the House Floor that it could be killed a day before the last day of the session.

That’s because Majority Leader Paul Weissmann, D-Boulder, offered a substitute motion on the floor seeking to send the bill back to committee for more study.

“Make no mistake, we’re voting on the bill here,” King said.

Bill fails in bid to be sent back to committee

Weissmann, however, took umbrage at the suggestion he was sending it back to committee to essentially let the bill die because the House would be out of session and there wouldn’t be time to bring it back to the floor for a vote.

“I have shown overwhelming fairness that things don’t die on the calendar,” Weissmann said. “I don’t let things die on the calendar for no reason.”

Weissmann’s motion to move it to committee failed, however, 29-36.

It was the third reading and final passage for HB-1180 and it went through several last minute attempts to change the Senate language added to it. All of those motions failed.

The bill passed 38-27 – complete with the Senate amendment.

Changes would begin in 2010

King said that felons don’t care about laws anyway and that this wasn’t likely to impact them, either.

“We got it right and all we’re asking for is the ability to put this in place for the good guys,” King said. “They (opponents of the bill) sort of make fun of the fact that felons don’t care. They don’t. They laugh and say ‘I don’t need a stinking permit.’ This is for the honest citizens.”

The bill would require sheriff’s departments around the state to put into place a tamper-resistant permit for those carrying concealed weapons. But once the person had a permit, they could buy guns at gun shows or stores without having to go through the background check again. They would simply need to show two forms of identification – the permit and a valid driver’s license.

The bill would require the new rules to be in place by Jan. 1, 2010.

Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, said a lot could happen between getting a concealed weapons permit and purchasing a second, third or fourth gun. He said in that time, a person could be convicted of spousal assault or another felony and that the person could still go and buy a gun and the seller and the Colorado Criminal Bureau of Investigation would never know that a felon had just purchased the gun

“This is really creating a huge loophole for people who have committed crimes and need another gun,” Pommer said.

Debate gets testy

The debate also devolved when Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, said there had never been a case of forged concealed weapons permit uncovered in the state. That brought Rep. Sara Gagliardi, D-Jefferson County to the podium to ask where he got that information and to show her proof that was the case.

“You can’t prove a negative,” Gardner responded testily.

Gardner said he got the information from King, but Gagliardi said Gardner never answered her question about where the information came from. That brought Reps. Frank McNulty and Amy Stephens – also Republicans - to Gardner’s defense.

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

Pinnacol Assurance, the workman’s comp company of last resort, will undergo a financial and performance audit overseen by the state during the May-December interim based on SB09-281 sponsored by Senator Brandon Schaffer, D-Longmont.

The bill creates an interim committee with expanded membership to include more citizens and a person with specific knowledge of insurance issues. The state auditor, with input from the committee, will determine the audit’s scope.  

Senator Sean Mitchell, R-Broomfield, objected to the audit, saying it is a “strip search” of a major company in Colorado.  

This bill was originally part of a deal to bring $500 million from Pinnacol over to the state budget to close a $300 million budget gap.  SB09-273, the bill to grab the $500 million, was defeated earlier in the session, but SB09-271 hung on.  It passed both chambers in the General Assembly today.

People with concealed weapon permits can buy guns on a fast track with HB09-1180.  The bill allows persons with concealed weapon permits to buy guns without undergoing a background check.

Representative Claire Levy, D-Boulder and a self-proclaimed “good shot” with a rifle, asked for an amendment to ensure that all counties would use a permit that can’t be counterfeited.  She also wanted a concealed weapon permit database in place that would perform a check on whether permit holders had committed a crime during the five year period of the permit.  

Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, supported Levy’s amendment, saying that anytime he’s bought a gun, he’s only had to wait a brief time for the gun check to occur.

Gwen Green, D-Golden, also wanted the amendment to pass because when she bought a gun, she took some training on how to use the weapon, but her family told her to take it back because she was a danger to herself with the weapon.

Legislators must have been persuaded by Representative Steve King, R-Colorado Springs, bill sponsor, who said he was “tired of talking to dead people,“ people who might have been protected by a gun.  Representative Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, added that this is a “good, safe bill” and “it’s one more step for freedom.“  The bill passed on a 38-27 vote.

DENVER – The legislature is poised to grab $127 million of federal dollars to help fund the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund as the House Appropriations Committee voted today 7-3 to send SB-247 to the House of Representatives Monday.

The bill, presented by Rep. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, cleared the House of Business Affairs and Labor Committee by a 7-4 vote and the vote at Appropriations went even smoother.

Chair Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, barely had time to roll up his sleeves and take roll before the committee passed the bill – which will add job training for the unemployed while expanding the reasons why people can file for unemployment insurance.

The cost, Pace said, would add an additional $8 million price tag to the state, but the $127 million would easily cover that added expense. He said there was no way to get the federal money unless the state complied with the federal guidelines.

Colorado’s unemployment rate currently rests at a 20-year high at 7.5 percent.

Rep. Bob Gardner, R-El Paso County joined Republican Reps. Jerry Sonnenberg and Glen Vaad in opposing the measure.

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

DENVER – The House today passed, on second reading SB-282, setting up the possibility of merging Denver Public Schools teachers and hourly workers with the rest of the state’s teachers in the same retirement pension system.

Supporters argued keeping DPS employees out of the Public Employees Retirement Association was hampering the district’s ability to draw teachers from other districts and also keeping other districts from bringing in DPS educators because they couldn’t carry their retirement benefits over from one system to the other.

Under PERA umbrella

The bill would create a fifth division within PERA for DPS employees – including hourly workers in the district. Rep. Andy Kerr, D-Jefferson County, said the portability would be beneficial for teachers everywhere.

“I think it goes right to the heart of the idea,” Kerr said on the House floor. “DPS is the only school district that is not part of PERA at all and there is a tremendous amount of inequity to the teachers, education professionals and students throughout the state because there isn’t this portability of being able to start your teaching career in DPS and the move to a different district or start your career in a different district and move to DPS and have portability with your pension.”

But Rep. Cindy Acre, R-Arapahoe County, said the bill was discriminatory toward other districts because it sets up its own part of PERA.

Clearing hurdles

The bill has enjoyed fairly clean trip through committees on both the House and Senate side. It passed through the House Finance Committee by a 10-1 vote and out of the Senate Finance Committee by a 6-1 vote.

It passed in the State Senate on April 23 by a 33-0 vote.

PERA has been beset with financial problems due to a difficult market and a rising number of pension recipients coupled with fewer contributors into the system. The fund has about $30 billion in it, but in the early part of the year, had dropped by about 10 percent.

DPS has more than 13,000 students and about a third of them are teachers. It is also the second largest school district in the state with more than 73,000 students.

Rep. Daniel Kagan, D-Englewood, said that was precisely the reason to bring DPS under the PERA umbrella.

“By bringing in hourly workers, we are bringing up the ratio of workers to retirees, which helps the funding (of PERA),” Kagan said.

Rep. Kent Lambert, R-El Paso County, argued the bill just “kicks down the road” an existing problem and doesn’t tackle the issue of spending too much for beneficiaries while not taking in enough contributions.

“We should have acted on PERA this year,” Lambert said. “By waiting another nine to 12 months. You’re going to create more of a crisis for PERA.”

But even though Kerr agreed with some of Lambert’s concerns, he said this bill “isn’t the vehicle to deal with that”

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

DENVER - Representative Dianne Primavera, D-Broomfield, is about 5’1” and Representative Larry Liston, R-Colo Spgs, is about 6’5”.  When the two of them debated SB09-244 to help autistic kids with improved health care at the podium at the front of the House chamber, it was a bit of Mutt and Jeff, high and low. 

When Representative John Kefalas, D-Ft Collins, who is about 5’4” stepped to the podium, he stood on a stool lifter, when Representative Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, about 6’2” towered next to him to make his points. Then Representative Don Marositca, R-Loveland, 6’1”, squatted at the podium to ask a question.  

Finally, House speaker Terrance Carroll, D-Denver, 5’8”, strode over, said he was confident in his height, and restored order.