jerry sonnenberg
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Citizen legislature vs. child support? Lawmaker’s court hearing points to problems
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Lawmakers elected to the Colorado General Assembly are expected to be part-time. It’s why they’re paid so little ($30,000 a year, currently), and the session only lasts for 120 days per year. The rest of the year, they’re expected to handle legislative business on a part-time basis. Few lawmakers, if any, claim they can live…
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COVER STORY: Hickenlooper’s legacy of water
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Gov. John Hickenlooper leaves office on Jan. 8, 2019, after eight years of service as governor. He may be best remembered for guiding the state through its growing pains over the legalization of recreational marijuana, but he leaves another legacy as well: Water. In a fast-growing state that places greater demands on its water supply…
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Hickenlooper signs pension-reform bill; vetoes 2 measures
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Gov. John Hickenlooper signed several pieces of legislation Monday but also added to his veto tally. The governor signed into law a bill that lawmakers and pensioners hope will start the state on a path to shoring up a $32 billion shortfall in the Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) pension plan for state workers…
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‘Red flag’ gun bill meets its expected demise in Colo. Senate
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A Colorado state Senate committee late Monday put an expected end to a “red flag” bill that would have allowed law enforcement or family members to legally remove firearms from mentally ill people deemed a threat to themselves or others. The Republican-led Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee voted down the “Zackari Parrish III…
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Rural teacher shortage bill battles Colo. Senate snag
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A compromise hammered out Monday morning between Colorado’s House and Senate means a bill – intended to help resolve rural teacher shortages – that almost made it to the governor’s desk has another shot. Senate Bill 85 won final approval for House amendments on a 31-3 vote on April 27. But Senate President Pro Tem Jerry Sonnenberg…
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Bill to expand Colorado rural teacher program is in trouble
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Rural school advocates and Democratic lawmakers Monday are hopping mad about a last-minute procedural move that’s keeping a bill intended to address rural educator shortages and that the Senate approved on Friday from going to the governor’s desk. Senate Bill 85 would expand a rural teacher program set up through 2016 legislation that was sponsored…
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Senate Republican leaders talk major issues left in final full week of session
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Senate Republican leaders Monday reviewed the last major issues remaining with one last full week to go in Colorado’s 2018 legislative session: transportation, the state pension plan and the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. They also put a solid nail in the coffin for a bill that, as introduced, would jail teachers who go out on…
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Hickenlooper signs rural broadband bills into law
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With the stroke of a pen – or maybe 20 strokes from 20 pens – Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday signed into law three bills that could change rural broadband in Colorado as well as the economic future of rural communities that depend on it. In a series of bill signings, Hickenlooper, surrounded by lawmakers,…
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Colo. Ag Day brings smiles — and great food — to a weary Capitol
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DENVER – No matter how stressful a legislative session it’s been, there’s one day every year at the state Capitol where everyone is friendly and happy and, well, full. Thursday was Colorado Agriculture Day at the state Capitol. It brings together lawmakers, ranchers, farmers, award-winning chefs, nonprofits, and lots of happy Capitol regulars to the…
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Rural broadband bill heads to governor
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DENVER – The Senate Tuesday morning agreed to House amendments on Senate Bill 2, the bill to finance the buildout of rural broadband. With that resolved, the bill now heads to Gov. John Hickenlooper and a hoped-for signing. House amendments last week resolved several lingering issues. That included a lawsuit from Viaero Wireless that the…
