peter marcus
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Ballot proposal aims to restructure legislature
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Following a failed attempt to secede from the state of Colorado, the so-called “51st state movement” has morphed into an effort to restructure the state legislature with the aim of giving rural Colorado more of a voice. The newest attempt comes in the form of a proposed ballot initiative that would reorganize the legislature with…
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Shared sacrifice and managing expectations
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Pension financing experts say it will take “shared sacrifice” in order to solve the crisis of unfunded liabilities facing current and future retirees. Greg Smith, executive director of the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association, said Colorado coined the term “shared sacrifice” when it began its push for PERA reform in 2009. The state faces at…
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School funding push a ‘success’ in the end
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After months of wrangling over a spending package for K-12 education, all sides of the debate came together for a signing ceremony on Wednesday in which stakeholders were able to put the contentious legislative session aside to bask in the reflected glory of dramatically increased education funds. Gov. John Hickenlooper joined lawmakers, lobbyists, school leaders…
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House: More productive than partisan
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House leaders from both sides of the aisle pointed to a productive legislative session in which they traded the political jabs from last year for a session focused on recovery from recent natural disasters and making investments in economic development, jobs and education. “We set out to accomplish three main objectives… to help those who…
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Guv: Veto requests like stars in the sky
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Gov. John Hickenlooper equates veto requests to stars in the sky. The Democratic governor says he has received so many of them, he could start mapping his own constellations. “The array of veto requests, it’s almost like stars in the sky…” Hickenlooper joked at a media availability on May 8. “They’re very, very bright stars.…
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Senate: Less contentious than last year
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After a rocky start, Senate leaders from both sides of the aisle were able to put aside contention and differences to conduct a bipartisan legislative session with shared values, including funding education and recovering from recent natural disasters and the economic downturn. But back in January, few Capitol observers would have anticipated a smooth and…
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Turmoil in Democrats’ own caucus
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As the gavel came down Wednesday and sine die was declared on the 2014 legislative session, Democrats continued to squirm over bad blood within their political family after several lawmakers on the left battled it out over controversial bills. The contention was first highlighted in the Senate last month when Sen. Andy Kerr, D-Lakewood, and…
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Local control efforts moving ahead for now
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Proponents of a series of proposed ballot initiatives that would authorize local governments to ban hydraulic fracturing are moving ahead after negotiations around a legislative fix failed. Coloradans For Local Control had watched the negotiations carefully; they are proposing ballot questions that would authorize local control over oil and gas development, potentially expanding fracking bans…
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HUMMERS
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Cross-dressing Republicans; a country-themed dig at the Senate; and a catfight that has been a long time coming – all this and more in a typical day at the state Capitol. And despite a few production difficulties and some off-key singing, the House minority pulled off their annual theatrical payback on the majority. “Hummers” is…
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Turmoil in Democrats’ own caucus
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As the gavel came down Wednesday and sine die was declared on the 2014 legislative session, Democrats continued to squirm over bad blood within their political family after several lawmakers on the left battled it out over controversial bills. The contention was first highlighted in the Senate last month when Sen. Andy Kerr, D-Lakewood, and…