According to Julia Martinez’s Affairs of the State column in the Denver Post, Democratic Sen. Suzanne Williams is considering legislation to change the Columbus Day holiday in Colorado. Since Colorado was the first state to observe the holiday in 1905, we can be the first to abandon it - even though it is a Federal […]

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Denver Post: denver & the west
Union bill ticks off business
Time is on Ritter’s side
By Jeri Clausing, Post Capitol Bureau Chief, Denver Post
Article Last Updated:01/27/2007 10:08:59 PM MST
Everyone knew it was going to happen. They just didn’t expect it to happen this fast.
And in politics, timing is everything.
Just two weeks after Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter took […]

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The right of individual workers in Colorado to choose whether they want union representation is under attack. “HB 1072: Empowering Union Leaders, Not Workers,” a new issue backgrounder by policy analyst Ben DeGrow, Education Policy Analyst, Independence Institute, explains how a basic worker protection in the 60-year-old Colorado Labor Peace Act is being undermined by […]

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DenverPost.com
The Colorado Senate today gave initial approval to a bill that would require hospitals to educate rape victims about the availability of emergency contraception.
The bill would exempt health-care workers with religious conflicts from having to talk about the issue, but it would require that hospitals - even Catholic institutions - find someone on staff to […]

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After hitting a legislative roadblock, Sen. Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, is vowing to press on with his bid to honor Coloradans killed in the War on Terror. Senate Bill 86 stalled 2-2 last week in the Senate’s State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.
Democrat Senators Peter Groff and Sue Windels voted against the proposal, while GOP Senators […]

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Senate Democrats shot down bids by Republicans last week to head off illegal immigration in voting and health care.
Senate Bill 65, authored by Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, failed on a 3-2 party-line vote in the State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.
Harvey’s intent was to ensure citizens their right to vote by requiring proper identification, […]

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A Democrat bill that targets charter schools passed out of the Senate Education Committee Thursday over strong Republican opposition.
Senate Bill 61, authored by Sen. Sue Windels, D-Arvada, effectively undermines the state’s chartering authority, Republicans charged. The measure also limits the type of students schools are allowed to enroll, shutting out many of the kinds of […]

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An update to Colorado’s Good Samaritan law—making it easier for off-duty health care workers to offer emergency assistance at school sporting events—was approved by the Senate on second reading Monday.
Republican Senator Shawn Mitchell’s bill will make clear that the law covers doctors and other health care professionals in such circumstances in order to ward off […]

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Votes on two bills Monday in separate Senate committees suggest the General Assembly is moving away from support for the right to arms, observers said.
Senate Bill 69, authored by Sen. Scott Renfroe, R-Greeley, would have shut down the statewide handgun permits database, which sunsets July 1. The bill died on a 3-2 party-line tally in […]

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DENVER – State Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, is scheduled to introduce legislation Monday that relieves men, who are proven not to be the father through DNA testing, from continuing to pay child support.
Senate Bill 56 is scheduled for consideration in Monday’s Judiciary Committee meeting.
“This legislation sounds like common sense,” said Mitchell. “We need to have […]

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By Mark Hillman
During my eight years at the State Capitol, I found that, for people who have a life, one of the more difficult aspects of following news about the Legislature is making sense out of the peculiar vernacular of the Capitol.
Legislators and lobbyists speak in strange tongues about “fiscal notes” and “legislative declarations” or […]

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Ex-foe’s presence worries
The 2006 election may be history. But the bad blood from one particularly nasty campaign is not.
Rep. Ray Rose, R-Montrose, asked security personnel at the Capitol this week to keep an eye on his former Democratic opponent, Brian Ahern of Telluride. Ahern was turning up at the Capitol building in the same places […]

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A fitting tribute to military
Several dozen veterans and active military members in uniform packed the House floor Wednesday for military appreciation day.
“We live in the land of the free because of the brave,” Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, said in one of several rousing speeches.
There was plenty of humor too.

[…]

Filed under: Family Issues, Sen. May, Health Care, Sen. State, Veterans & Military Affairs Comm., Sen. Appropriations Comm., Sen. Health & Human Svcs. Comm., Under The Dome | No Comments »

Sen. Mitchell to lead fight on floor against Senate Bill 46
DENVER –Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, and Sen. Dave Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, made the following remarks in response to the Democrats’ proposal to undermine the Electoral College:
“For politicians to push this idea — after voters strongly rejected it in […]

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DENVER – State Sen. Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, offered the following remarks in response to the Democrats’ news conference today on energy policy:
“Coloradans of course would welcome new sources of reliable, renewable energy. The big question is how much will it cost consumers? That’s the point […]

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