bob rankin
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Bill to renew civil rights agency on its way but funding hurdles remain
The House Judiciary Committee this week signed off on a bill to reauthorize the state’s civil rights agency for another nine years, but chances the bill gets through the General Assembly in its current form are slim. And chances that the agency’s funding will be included the annual state budget when it is introduced on…
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Lawmakers rush on rural broadband waiver bill but it may be for naught
The second bill to whip through the Colorado General Assembly – on rural broadband – cleared the House Wednesday and is headed to the Senate. But the effort by lawmakers to get the bill to the governor post-haste may not produce the desired results. House Bill 1116 would task the state’s rural broadband deployment board…
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Colorado to seek federal funds for rural broadband
The Joint Budget Committee is looking for a way to provide a big boost to Colorado’s investment in rural broadband, and a bill to do just that cleared the House Finance Committee Monday. House Bill 1116 would allow the state to go after $250 million from the federal “Connect America” broadband grant program, although the state…
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Majority House Dems unleash their first five bills…
Sure, there were all the opening-day rituals under the Dome on Wednesday – speeches, promises of bipartisanship and warm greetings among almost all of the 100 members, who insisted they were happy to see one another again. But then there’s the real business of the General Assembly: making laws (well, and killing legislation; plenty of…
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Colorado lawmakers deconstruct budget for S. Metro Chamber
A panel of Republican and Democratic lawmakers talked about the problems of taxing, spending and TABOR Wednesday morning for the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce. House Assistant Minority Leader Cole Wist laid out the plan GOP members are likely to run on next year: moving spending decisions away from a six-member Joint Budget Committee…
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Scott, Rankin request state data about Hickenlooper’s claim on abandoned wells
Before the state raises taxes and fees on an industry, two top legislative Republicans want to know more about the problem with abandoned oil and gas wells in Colorado. In a Aug. 22 story in the Denver Post by Christopher N. Osher, Gov. John Hickenlooper said he would ask oil and gas companies to help…
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Hamner: 2017 legislative session was a productive one for Colorado
With the 2017 session of the Colorado General Assembly behind us, I am enjoying being back in my district and having some time to reflect back on the legislative session. From Jan. 11 to May 10, my colleagues and I worked very hard to find compromise on some very important issues, and as a result,…
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Hickenlooper signs ‘Long Bill,’ applauds bipartisan collaboration on state budget
Gov. John Hickenlooper on Friday signed the upcoming year’s budget, known as the Long Appropriations Bill, praising legislators on both sides of the aisle for coming together to avert “draconian” cuts while safeguarding spending on health care and schools. Senate Bill 254 sets a $28.7 billion budget for the state for the 2017-18 fiscal year,…
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Getting to yes, just saying no: Lawmakers Everett, Hansen and Kennedy talk session votes
By one measure, state Rep. Justin Everett, a House Republican serving his third term in the Colorado General Assembly, and state Reps. Chris Hansen and Chris Kennedy, a pair of Democrats in their first terms, stand as far apart as any lawmakers at the Capitol, based on the votes they cast in the just-completed 2017…