Gov. John Hickenlooper responded positively to two Denver area districts’ plea for help when he called a special legislative session for the week of Oct. 2.

He evidently did not feel the same urgency to include in the special session the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo’s compelling plea for higher nurses’ pay to help reduce staff shortages.

We don’t at all suggest that the Denver Regional Transportation District and Scientific and Cultural Facilities District don’t have legitimate reasons for fixing a mistake made during the regular legislative session last May. The mistake was to remove the two well-funded Denver area districts from the state’s marijuana tax base. The unintended consequence was to reduce RTD’s take from pot taxes by $7.1 million and the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District’s take by $710,000 a year.

By the same token, the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo has the Colorado Department of Human Services’ support to raise pay for 187 qualified Nurse 1, 2 and 3 positions an average of 18 to 23 percent.

Read more at The Pueblo Chieftain