CCW

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…

Read More »

DENVER - Governor Bill Ritter, D, vetoed SB09-050, which would require a citizen from Teller County or Cripple Creek to be appointed to the state’s gaming board.  The bill went to the Senate today for a re-vote.  The bill, sponsored by Senator Mark Scheffel, R-Teller County, would allow citizens of those counties to get involved in their biggest industry.

The Governor vetoed the bill on conflict of interest grounds, worried, apparently, that anyone in Teller County or Cripple Creek would be tainted by their living in gaming areas.  Scheffel noted that the bill is straightforward, that the governor appoints members…

Read More »

DENVER - Little Zoe Middleton had an early lesson on the kindness of strangers when her mother, Representative Karen Middleton, D-Aurora, brought her to the Capitol on little baby goes to work with mom day.  

Rain and snow fell outside the Capitol, but little Zoe was well protected, as many legislators, mostly the women on the floor, gave her hugs and kisses, apparently feeling all warm and fuzzy on passing the state budget bill.  Zoe responded with smiles and absolutely no tears.

Mom then took Zoe out to the crowded…

Read More »

DENVER – A second reading of HB-1094 passed easily on a voice vote on the floor of the House of Representatives Monday morning, paving the way for it to be a crime in Colorado to talk on your cell phone while driving.

One of the bill’s sponsors, Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, gave an impassioned speech on the floor about the advance of technology and how lawmakers have a responsibility to protect lives as conveniences remove protections for people.

“We have come to accept convenience over safety,” she said. “(This) is a measured response to a very serious traffic…

Read More »

DENVER – House Bill 1010 essentially got sent to what is called in Hollywood parlance, “development hell.”

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Tom Massey, R-Chaffee and former Rep. Anne McGihon, D-Englewood, hoped to provide tax breaks for film companies who chose to shoot productions in Colorado. It also sought to create the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media within the Colorado Office of Economic Development.

Budget constraints

But with the state’s budget under severe constraints, the House Appropriations Committee was reluctant to shift limited gaming revenues brought in by the state to cover the cost of the…

Read More »

Representative Ed Casso, D-Adams, believes SB09-174 will “save horse racing in Colorado.”  The horses have had a tough time since Centennial and Arapahoe tracks closed in Colorado.

Unfortunately, the bill doesn’t bring back the tracks.  It does allow bettors to go for the trifectas at venues simulcasting live racing events.  Both horses and dogs are included, so revenue opportunities are better.  Casso called the bill “common sense legislation,” and we’re always looking for some horse sense at the Capitol.

The bill passed in a runaway, 12-1, and will now go to Finance.

Read More »

DENVER - Former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff stood in the west foyer of the Capitol Thursday with Gov. Bill Ritter and State Treasurer Cary Kennedy to applaud the State Board of Education’s unanimous vote to fund school building and repair projects to the tune of $98 million.  The first funds will be funneled into the San Luis Valley.

The money is part of the BEST plan - Building Excellent Schools Today - and was part of legislation crafted by State Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass in 2008. Romanoff, fresh off a trip to the Middle East, was House Speaker at the…

Read More »

DENVER - Christopher Poskey came before the Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee Tuesday with a red shirt, a black suit and a swagger that caught everyone’s attention.

“I can pretty much answer any question you might have,” Poskey, 17, said after offering lengthy testimony on a SB-182.

Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, laughed.

“Which way will the stock market go today?” he quipped.

Poskey even attempted an answer, which was drowned out by more laughs on the committee. And for those keeping score at home, the Dow Jones went up 178 points. But after the laughs, Poskey got what…

Read More »

You see them every day at the Capitol.  They wear a blue name tag and usually have a phone stuck to their ear or their thumbs are attacking their blackberries or iphones. 

They’re the lobbyists who outnumber legislators 5-1, the men and women who aren’t allowed onto the floor of either House or Senate Chambers, but who wield plenty of power at the Capitol.

Lobbyists compete to get legislators’ ear

Donnah Moody, chief lobbyist for the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, wears the blue tag.  She took some time on Monday to explain…

Read More »

Metropolitan State College will soon offer master’s programs if HB09-1295 passes through the whole legislature as smoothly as it passed the House Education committee on Monday.

Metro has one-fifth of Colorado’s undergraduate students

The committee room was packed with supporters, all in a festive mood, happy to give Metro State more leeway in helping Colorado students reach their dreams. 

Metro State president Stephen Jordan testified, saying that “Demographics are changing around the state.  One fifth of all resident undergraduates go to Metro.”

Education, social work, and accountancy programs will offer new graduate degrees

Read More »