Author: Ramsey Scott
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In 2016, big splash bills went nowhere, quiet compromise ruled the day
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It came to seem like a routine signal this legislative session: If lawmakers held a press conference touting the introduction of an important bill, one they placed at the top of their priority list, that bill would very likely never make it to the governor’s desk. The result was a legislative session marked by a…
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Maybe next year: Senate Republicans shoot down long-time-coming hospital fee bill
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Democratic legislators and Gov. John Hickenlooper placed reclassifying the state’s hospital provider fee as an enterprise fund at the top of their priorities list when the 2016 legislative session opened in January. Yet, despite a major push launched inside and outside the Capitol, the plan failed. In a move that surprised no one who followed…
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In wake of BP severance tax ruling, time-crunched lawmakers roll out two new bills (updated)
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The April 25 Colorado Supreme Court decision that found British Petroleum overpaid the state millions in severance taxes sparked whirlwind activity at the Capitol in the final days of the legislative session. Analysts fear the ruling might put the state on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds to oil and…
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Construction defect reform stalls amid affordable housing fixes (updated)
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After months of speculation about what the Legislature would do to address concerns about construction defects, the answer is in: nothing. The closest lawmakers could get to anything resembling a bipartisan bill dealing with the contentious issue was the creation of a study group. But even that proposal was killed in a House committee. House…
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Presidential primary gets new life with revised Senate bill
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An 11th-hour bill to revive a presidential primary in Colorado is advancing at turbo speed through the Senate after similar legislation idled all week in the House. The Senate bill, SB 16-216, sponsored by Assistant Senate Majority Leader Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, was introduced late Friday morning and passed unanimously Friday afternoon out of the Senate…
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Trans bond bill sails through Senate votes, fate uncertain in House
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A Republican bill to let voters decide if the state should use bonds to fund more than $3 billion for transportation projects passed two Senate committees and a late vote Thursday night on the Senate floor. But given the resistance to the idea already stated by House Democratic leadership, it could be D.O.A. if it…
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Hickenlooper says ‘deep, deep frustration’ behind Trump, Sanders support
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Gov. John Hickenlooper weighed in on the state of presidential politics in the wake of Donald Trump outlasting the field of Republican candidates to become the presumptive nominee this week. Hickenlooper, a Democrat, said the success of Trump, along with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary, was a reflection of the uneasiness…
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Donna Lynne wins legislative confirmation as Colorado’s new lieutenant governor
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Health care executive Donna Lynne will be Colorado’s new lieutenant governor. Lynne was approved by the Senate on a 35-0 vote Wednesday night after winning unanimous approval by the five members of the Senate State Affairs committee earlier in the afternoon. Gov. John Hickenlooper announced Lynne as his choice to replace outgoing Lt. Gov.…
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Presidential primary bill delayed while sponsors hold talks
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A bill that would switch Colorado back to a presidential primary system has been in a holding pattern in the House as outside groups opposed to the measure hold talks with sponsors of the bill. HB 1454, sponsored in the House by Reps. Tim Dore, R-Elizabeth, and Dominick Moreno, D-Denver, has been repeatedly laid over…
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Legislative leaders sound skeptical on provider fee switch, trans bond funding
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The budget is signed, but that doesn’t mean fighting over revenue has ended in the Legislature. During a budget singing in Gov. John Hickenlooper’s office Tuesday, Senate Pres. Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, and Speaker of the House Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, D-Gunbarrel, indicated that the potential of a hospital provider fee reclassification and a transportation bond…
