Author: Ramsey Scott
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Lawmakers look to put more service dogs to work helping vets (video)
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A pilot program aimed at teaching military veterans how to train service dogs to help them cope with issues like post traumatic stress disorder is one step closer to becoming a reality. The program proposed in HB 1112 by Rep. Lois Landgraf, R-Fountain, would spend $130,000 from the state’s Veterans Trust Fund. The bill passed…
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LGBT Coloradans make their case to lawmakers, up close and personal
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One Colorado wants state lawmakers to know that their constituents include LGBT people and that members of the LGBT community vote. Monday was One Colorado lobby day at the Capitol. Almost 300 volunteers from the organization, representing 33 Senate districts and 57 House districts, walked the halls, watched floor debate and met with lawmakers on…
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Hullinghorst not waiting on Cadman to tackle hot-button hospital fee plan
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Colorado Speaker of the House Dickey Lee Hullinghorst will not delay efforts to move the state’s hospital provider fee into an enterprise fund. She wants to get started now while working to get the Republican-controlled state Senate on board. Hullinghorst, D-Gunbarrel, said during a news conference Tuesday that the recent opinion from Republican Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, coupled…
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Buck property rights bill generates same result as 2015
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“This is totally about property rights,” state Rep. Perry Buck, R-Windsor, said about her House Bill 1181. But the bill is also about the right to drill for oil and gas in Colorado’s urban and suburban Front Range or to be financially compensated if you are prevented from drilling. That’s why the one paragraph bill…
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VIDEO: Workforce development package gets bipartisan lift
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[vimeo 156622574 w=700 h=394]Colorado lawmakers rolled out a package of 10 bills focused on state workforce development Wednesday at the Capitol, touting cooperation among industry representatives, Republicans and Democrats to better prepare young Coloradans to thrive in what they called a changing economy that offers new kinds of careers. The bills extend a similar drive…
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Helping or hurting: Navarro bill would spotlight executive pay at failing schools
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Swing district state Rep. Clarice Navarro, R-Pueblo, is sponsoring an education bill that aims to spotlight administrator pay at schools and in school districts that are struggling to meet minimum state performance standards. House Bill 1162 is set to be heard by the House Education Committee Monday. It would require school boards to give advance…
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‘CHiPs’ and ‘Chaps’: Klingenschmitt motorcycle bill crashes in first House hearing
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The large framed photo of 1970s television star Erik Estrada as Frank “Ponch” Poncherello, the dashing motorcycle-riding patrolman in the NBC hit “CHiPs,” failed to persuade. So did state Rep. Gordon “Dr. Chaps” Klingenschmittt, R-Colorado Springs, sponsor of a bill that would have allowed motorcyclists to ride between cars when traffic slows to a crawl.…
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Hospital provider fee debate set to intensify
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The political tension around the state budget that has flared intermittently this legislative session will grow hot and steady at the end of March. House Democratic leaders said Tuesday that they plan in March to team debate on the budget “long bill” with a push to to avoid more than $350 million in cuts by…
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VIDEO: Capitol emotions stirred by GOP personhood, fetal homicide bills
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It had been coming for weeks to the Capitol, no different this legislative session than past legislative sessions, and Thursday was the day. Pro-choice and Pro-life lawmakers faced off in House committees over two bills aimed at protecting the unborn. The bill sponsors and their supporters produced passionate arguments. Opponents did the same. And nearly four…
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VIDEO: Tim Leonard on his appointment to the legislature, Constitutional issues
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Rep. Tim Leonard, R-Evergreen, the newest member of the Legislature, is playing catching up. Tapped last month to replace former Rep. Jon Keyser, R-Morrison, who resigned to run for the U.S. Senate, Leonard told The Colorado Statesman he is focusing on reining in spending and pressing the case at the Capitol for lawmaking that strictly…
