irene aguilar Archives

The time for overdue sex offender sentence and treatment reform is probably never

Mar 3, 2017

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State Sen. Irene Aguilar, a Denver Democrat, sat at the hearing table alone Feb. 22 and told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that she was “very nervous” to present her bills. Rightly so. The direct beneficiaries of her proposals don’t have many defenders at the Capitol – or anywhere else for that matter. Aguilar…

Colorado alcohol debate still bubbling despite new law

Mar 1, 2017

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Kristen Wyatt

Colorado isn’t done arguing about where alcohol should be sold. A bill moving through the state Senate would allow more Walmarts and other big-box stores to sell liquor, not just beer and wine. It’s a spirited debate less than a year after Colorado made its biggest alcohol change since the end of Prohibition by allowing…

Supermarket booze talks in legislature opens big-box stores to attacks

Feb 27, 2017

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Peter Marcus

A debate over a measure framed as a “cleanup” of full-strength alcohol sales in supermarkets devolved Monday into a referendum on big-box versus small retailers. Democrats were at odds with each other over whether the measure from Sen. Angela Williams, D-Denver, would result in “wiping out” small liquor stores. “What are we doing to our…

Aguilar sex offender bills win few converts in Senate committee

Feb 24, 2017

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John Tomasic

Sen. Irene Aguilar, a Denver Democrat and medical doctor, said she was “very nervous” going into Wednesday’s hearing. Rightly so. She had two bills to present and the direct beneficiaries of her bills don’t have many defenders at the Capitol – or anywhere else for that matter. Aguilar introduced Senate Bill 87 with a case…

Groups push back against health care repeal, as state looks for solutions

Feb 23, 2017

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Peter Marcus

Activists again took to the steps of the Colorado Capitol on Thursday to demand that Congress and state lawmakers think twice about repealing components of federal health care law. The rally – one of several so far this year – came as part of a lobby day at the Capitol involving health care consumers, business owners and…

#Coleg Week 7: Concerning weed clubs, PERA, ballot selfies and more

Feb 21, 2017

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John Tomasic

Happy post-Presidents Day. Lawmakers today embark on their seventh week of the session. Ten weeks to go. Tuesday SB 63, the bipartisan marijuana club license bill, sponsored by Sen. Vicki Marble, R-Fort Collins, and Rep. Jovan Melton, D-Aurora, is back. Sponsors say they’ve been working to address opponent concerns. The basic question: What kind of…

Aguilar: The free market will not protect rural hospitals

Feb 19, 2017

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Sen. Irene Aguilar

In response to Sen. Owen Hill’s Feb. 7 opinion column in The Colorado Statesman, I certainly agree with Sen. Hill that we need to protect Colorado Hospitals – particularly those in rural and underserved areas. However, he is mistaken in thinking that repealing Obamacare (“RomenyCare,” Affordable Care Act, ACA) and replacing it with the “Free…

Effort to eliminate the death penalty in Colorado fails in emotional hearing

Feb 16, 2017

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Peter Marcus

An effort to eliminate the death penalty in Colorado was rejected by a legislative committee Wednesday night after an emotional hearing. The effort from Senate Democratic Leader Lucia Guzman failed on a party-line vote, with Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee opposing the proposal. The hearing included tearjerking testimony from people who lost loved ones…

Sen. Rhonda Fields asks to sit out of death penalty repeal hearing

Feb 15, 2017

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Peter Marcus

Sen. Rhonda Fields, a Democrat who supports the death penalty, will not be sitting on a committee Wednesday when a repeal proposal comes back to the legislature. Fields said she does not want to be a voice in the middle of the debate as the Senate Judiciary Committee discusses a proposal to eliminate capital punishment…

Colorado bill adding PTSD as qualifier for marijuana crosses important first hurdle

Jan 30, 2017

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Peter Marcus

State lawmakers on Monday offered hope to throngs of veterans who have for years been asking the state to add post-traumatic stress disorder as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana. The Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee unanimously backed the legislative proposal, offering a symbolic endorsement of the normalization of medical marijuana. The bill…