My regular reader (hi Jeff!) will recall I have often spoken about my respect and admiration for those in government who do the work, out of the spotlight, that makes government work for people. I’ve also oft spoken about my old boss, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, as one of those workhorses – elected officials who grind away, day after day, to do the people’s business. I was reminded of both those notions in reading a couple of different stories found on Colorado Politics this week.

It was almost nine years ago when I fled my home in western Colorado Springs as the Waldo Canyon Fire crested the hill behind my home. Happily, the incredibly brave and dedicated wildfire fighters saved the day. Though many homes burned, and a couple of lives were tragically lost, the cost would have been much higher had these brave souls not stood between our community and a raging fire. That is why I’m glad to see Sen. Bennet continuing his work to provide these firefighters with the money and healthcare they deserve. Joined by another of Colorado’s terrific workhorses, U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, Bennet has again introduced legislation to boost wages and secure better health care benefits for firefighters deployed more than 50 miles from their own homes.

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Back when the Waldo Canyon Fire hit, these folks didn’t even have any health care, as they were “temporary” workers, active only during the fire season. Bennet and others worked on that, and I’m glad to see their efforts continue. Until you’ve seen a wall of fire coming at you, you may not fully appreciate the bravery and skill of wildland firefighters. I certainly do, and I hope the Bennet bill passes quickly.

Along the lines of bills passing, another CoPo story reported on 23 more bills signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis, bringing the total to 179. And a review of these new laws shows the range and scale of what gets passed by a legislature these days. Back when I was teaching political science at the U.S. Air Force Academy, I used to teach how the congress passes a variety of types of bills, from massive spending measures to tiny “private” bills. The latter you may well not have heard of, but sometimes there will be a person or persons in a particular situation wherein a change of federal law is the only solution to the problem they face. These private bills create new law, applicable to only one person, or a small group of people, to remedy a wrong. Private bills are rare in the U.S. Congress these days but can still pop up to fix a wrong dealing with, say, a foreign-born spouse of a U.S. service member being allowed to stay in the U.S. if the service member died unexpectedly. But we saw some similar bills in this Colorado legislative session.

I was reminded of these private bills as I reviewed the nearly two dozen freshly signed laws, wondering just how many people some of them actually impact. Some, like Senate Bill 93, make important changes related to consumer protection from unfair medical bills and will impact many people. Similarly, Senate Bill 4 will potentially impact schools across the state, as it will allow more people to be hired as mental health professionals in schools, which is a good thing given what we’ve seen in some schools lately. Lastly, Senate Bill 144 will allow those suffering from chronic pain to be prescribed certain controlled substances, which is also a good thing. These bills are broad in their reach and may well help lots of folks.

Other new laws, however, seem oddly narrow and I can’t help but wonder about how they came into force, fixing problems I frankly didn’t know existed.

Senate Bill 202, for example, requires school districts and colleges and universities to allow graduating students to wear Native American traditional regalia at graduation ceremonies. I’m totally fine with this, although I wonder how often it is an issue. I presume a school district or college somewhere banned the wear of such regalia, starting a disagreement that has now ended up as new law.

Similarly, Senate Bill 69 requires an individual to be at least 14 years old to operate a motorboat. Seems reasonable, but how often has this been an issue? Are there lots of 13-year-olds out there driving irresponsibly? Perhaps, so I’m OK with this one too.

Another new law that, upon reading it makes sense, still seems to me at least that it shouldn’t be needed, but apparently it is, is House Bill 1167. This new law extends Good Samaritan immunity to those rendering aid or reporting overdose events. I would have thought that such a law would not be needed, but I’m not a lawyer, and I’m guessing that someone got sued, or otherwise threatened, after rendering aid.

Oh, and the state’s Noxious Weed Advisory Committee has been renewed for another term by Senate Bill 185. A good thing as well.

We are pretty far down in the weeds, folks, and that’s by design. Here is where you find the actual tedious, never-ending, detailed and difficult work that our legislators take on. Sure, there are some that prefer to leap in front of camera than do hard work (I’m thinking of Ted Cruz here), but in Colorado we are fortunate to have quite a few workhorses, churning away at the mountains of work they face every session.

And so, with another legislative session in the books, the good people of Colorado have a stack of new laws to digest as they slowly enter into force over the coming months. A solid session overall with new legislation spanning a wide range of issues and activities.

So, congrats to our electeds – thanks for the hard work! And keep an eye out for noxious weeds.

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.