The Colorado House of Representatives quickly approved four of its own bills and three of the Senate’s on Thursday, speeding along multiple measures to correct and adjust laws previously passed before lawmakers head home for a month starting Friday.

In the morning, the House by wide margins gave final approval to two pieces of legislation, House Bill 1001 to allow remote participation for political parties’ central committee and vacancy committee meetings, and House Bill 1004, establishing a process for electronically executing a will.

House Bill 1002, which would reduce state revenue by restoring business tax deductions, passed by a vote of 44-20, with Rep. Adrienne Benavidez of Denver being the lone Democrat to vote against and four Republicans voting in support. House Bill 1003 gives the legislature the ability to conduct departmental accountability hearings, known as SMART Act meetings, remotely during a public health emergency, as well as allows lawmakers to participate electronically in other proceedings.

That legislation passed on a party-line vote of 41-23. First-term Rep. Ron Hanks, R-Penrose, was marked as excused and did not cast any votes.

House members then gave preliminary approval to three items that originated in the Senate on Wednesday. Senate Bill 1 modifies legislation previously passed in the extraordinary session of late 2020 by extending the time for the state and local governments to distribute COVID-19 relief money to businesses and also by removing exclusively race-based criteria and broadening eligibility for $4 million of the aid.

Senate Bill 2 will extend by 120 days a moratorium on extraordinary debt collection measures, which are defined as garnishment or other methods of pursuing a court-approved collection. The bill will cost the state approximately $1.1 million, according to a financial analysis, based on an estimated drop in legal filings and garnishments.

Supporters testified in the Finance Committee about the need to protect federal relief payments to individuals from seizure, and the potential for a flood of court filings at a time of economic uncertainty without the extension. A survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 25% of people who received the previous federal payments of $1,200 intended to use the money to pay down debt.

The bill passed out of the committee by a vote of 9-2, with Reps. Stephanie Luck, R-Penrose, and Shane Sandridge, R-Colorado Springs, in opposition.

Finally, the House approved Senate Bill 3, which reinstates the Occupational Therapy Practice Act. The law regulating occupational therapists inadvertently expired in the last legislative session, and the Senate killed an attempted fix during the special session last year.

“Occupational therapy helps you be independent,” Rep. David Ortiz, D-Littleton, who uses a wheelchair due to an injury from his service in the U.S. Army, told the Finance Committee. “You don’t go from being a hard-charging aviator that runs five-minute miles, flying helicopters, to then not being able to sit up in bed even on your own power, to then becoming an advocate and lobbyist for veterans and a representative without strong support from your occupational therapist.”

Proceedings on Thursday differed substantially from the prior day, when House Republicans stretched a debate about rules to roughly five hours before committees could take up legislation. The House will take recorded votes on the Senate legislation on Friday, as well as consider any Senate amendments to its original bills. 

In other business, Rep. Richard Holtorf, R-Akron, announced that he was helping to organize a tour of rural Colorado with a goal of closing the “urban-rural divide,” something he speaks about frequently. Holtorf consulted with the chair of the agriculture committee, Rep. Jeni James Arndt, D-Fort Collins, before making the announcement about the late winter or early spring event.

“I have been told I need to work on my demeanor and my bipartisanship, and I’m listening,” he observed.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify the minority business aid in Senate Bill 1.