With days to go and a still-packed agenda, Democrats at Colorado’s Capitol are talking about the possibility of a special session to take up business that doesn’t get done before the General Assembly’s Friday deadline.

Majority Democrats blame Senate Republicans for stalling progress on legislation with various slowdown tactics that continued Monday. Republicans have said they are responding to Democratic overreach on controversial legislation.

By 4 p.m. Monday, two bills had passed the Senate during the day, versus dozens in the House.

At this rate, say Democratic leaders, many of the 128-plus bills left on the Senate calendar could die when the General Assembly adjourns, as required by law, by midnight Friday.

When Gov. Jared Polis mentioned the possibility of a special session a couple of weeks ago, it was speculative, said House Speaker KC Becker, a Democrat from Boulder.

Now, “there’s a good possibility of it,” she told Colorado Politics Monday. 

Senate President Leroy Garcia, D-Pueblo, told Colorado Politics that he has been talking to Gov. Jared Polis about a special session, topics to be announced.

Democrat Polis has the authority to call lawmakers back for a special session, and must dictate what issues would be covered in that special session.

That call could include anything that dies on the calendar on Friday.

Asked about the possibility of Polis calling a special session late Monday, a spokesperson for the governor said: “Colorado voters expect lawmakers to do their jobs. There is still plenty of time for the legislature to accomplish what they came here to do.”

Colorado’s Constitution also allows the legislature to call a special session itself, but that would require a two-thirds vote in each chamber, meaning some Republican votes would be needed.

Under Senate rules, each member to speak for up to 20 minutes on any bill up for a final vote.

“It’s difficult when you’re seeing hours and hours of debate, and [then] bills pass 35-0,” Garcia said. “It’s uncustomary to spend six or seven hours on third-reading debates. On seconds, that’s fair. On thirds, you usually say why you’re a ‘no vote’ and move on. This is unprecedented.”

“We should be able to accomplish what we need to in 120 day-legislative session, but that’s more of a philosophical perspective” at this point, Garcia said.

Senate Minority Leader Chris Holbert, a Republican from Parker, could not be reached for comment on the matter Monday. Holbert told Colorado Politics last week that there’s a different dynamic with a split legislature than exists now with Democrats in charge in both chambers.

“We have one-party control, and we don’t control what’s introduced or what’s on the calendar,” he said. “When we have a second or third reading calendar with 30 bills, we’re going to talk about this. We’re not having bills read at length. We’re debating.”

“The tide has come in,” Holbert added. “We’re getting hit with a tsunami of bills from the House, but we’re way behind, even with fewer bills introduced this year. We’re not responsible for that.”

Among the bills awaiting action in the Senate are several sponsored by Becker, including a bill on climate change. 

“We’ll just see where we end up on Friday, but there’s a pretty decent chance there could be a special session,” the speaker said.

Even bills with Republican sponsors in the Senate are caught up in the slowdown.

“They are just slowing down the process,” Becker said. “It’s not debating bills; it’s slowing down, and there’s not much that can be done.”

House Republicans have engaged in slowdown tactics, but not to the degree that such tactics are being used in the Senate. Becker attributed that to two factors: the close margin the majority holds in the Senate as opposed to the House’s wide 41-24 difference, and the relationship she and her majority leader, Rep. Alec Garnett of Denver, have with their minority counterparts in the House.

“When I was majority leader, I constantly checked in” with House Republican leader Patrick Neville of Castle Rock, a practice continued by Garnett, Becker said, and that has meant keeping the minority party apprised, informed and, most of all, included.

Neville told Colorado Politics Monday that he hadn’t heard about discussions on a special session.

The Senate “has 120 days like they always have, and if they can’t get it done in 120 days, that’s pathetic,” Neville said.

The Senate needs to make choices, he added. “In the House, we’re not debating things or using procedural moves because the House is actually prioritizing bills ahead of other pet projects. I don’t see the same happening on the Senate.”