That didn’t take long.

Less than an hour into the Colorado General Assembly’s special session on property taxes, Senate Democratic and Republican leaders fought over whether the public gets enough access to the legislation being offered in the next three days.

Shortly after the bills were introduced and sent off to committee, Senate President Steve Fenberg, Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, and their leadership colleagues went off to the side of the Senate – and out of the public view – to argue about the schedule.

Lundeen said the public needs more time to look over the dozen bills that lawmakers will review in the next three days. So far, seven bills have been introduced in the House and five in the Senate, including the main legislation meant to provide property tax relief, Senate Bill 23B-101.

Lundeen advocated for a delay in the special session, one that could drag it out past the Democrats’ plan to adjourn on Sunday. That didn’t sit well with Democrats, who pointed out that Republicans were informed about the schedule earlier in the week.

Fenberg also pointed out that six bills were pre-released on Thursday, with permission of their sponsors, including the main bill.

The business of legislating, when done openly, is done in committee, Lundeen argued. Waiting until Sunday will give members of the public access to the legislation and satisfy their desire to participate, he said.

That would drag out the session past the Sunday adjournment, said Fernberg, who accused the Republicans that that always has been their plan.

The process for a special session works similarly to how legislators conduct business in the final days of a regular session. It takes three days for a bill to get through both chambers.

On Day One, the bill is introduced in its original chamber. A committee passes it, and it heads to the floor for a second reading. By law, the third reading vote in the originating chamber must take place after midnight on Day Two. Then the bill heads off to the other chamber, the process is repeated, and, on Day Three, the final vote is held in the second chamber. 

That’s the process Democrats intend to utilize in this special session.

“We have some concerns about public access,” Lundeen noted. 

Fenberg countered that raising the issue at 10 a.m. on Friday, the first day of the session, is little more than an effort to delay things.

“Going back on the things we discussed openly and in the spirit of collaboration is a slap in the face,” he said, noting the parties’ leaders already discussed the schedule, which was clear to everybody. 

“And, at 10 a.m., with the press present, you say, ‘Hold on. I’m speaking for the people. … They need to be there.’ That is performative and that’s not how we do things here,” he said. 

Senate Assistant Minority Leader Bob Gardner then pointed out that Fenberg had called Republican proposals “not real” in a press conference Thursday. 

Fenberg responded by noting that both sides have drawn hard lines in the sand: Republicans do not want to see TABOR surplus revenue used to provide property tax relief, and Democrats’ proposals are using existing general fund money set aside for that purpose. Republicans want to use the state reserve, which Democrats won’t accept.

“We are where we are,” Fenberg said.

Next up is committee hearings on the bills.