Peter Marcus

Sponsors of at least five ballot proposals watched their titles expire on Monday, as they were unable to collect the necessary 86,105 signatures needed to qualify for the November ballot.

The initiatives included an effort to provide undocumented immigrants with a driver’s license, two efforts to protect the state’s water sources and two efforts to legalize recreational marijuana.

One of the most controversial of the proposals was Initiative 52, which would have asked Colorado voters to make a statutory change to approve driver’s licenses for all, despite legal residential status.

Failed attempts at the legislature this year to define local versus state control of oil and gas regulations in Colorado has spilled into the courts, as the state has filed suit against the City of Longmont for having enacted its own set of rules.

A Colorado business has been thrust into the national debate on President Barack Obama’s health care law after a federal judge ruled last Friday that the Catholic owners do not have to comply with a mandate that private employers provide employees with insurance coverage for birth control.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge John Kane in Denver came just days before a provision under the Affordable Care Act took effect on Wednesday, which requires that birth control be made available to women at no cost.

In the wake of a senseless and horrific mass-shooting at an Aurora movie theater last Friday that left 12 dead and 58 injured, state lawmakers are already preparing to introduce stricter gun control legislation for Colorado.
Reps. Beth McCann, D-Denver, and Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, say they are discussing a slew of proposals that could involve a statewide ban on assault weapons, a prohibition on Internet purchases of certain ammunition and military armament being shipped to Colorado, a ban on high-capacity ammunition clips in the state, and stricter background checks.

Throngs of voters and public officials lined up at Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler’s office on Monday to oppose proposed rules that many believe would disenfranchise voters and impede the democratic voting process.

Gov. John Hickenlooper has signed a handful of bills addressing the needs of military personnel and their families, as well as measures to assist seniors most in need.

One of the legislature’s centerpiece measures sent to the governor was a bill that makes it easier for military personnel to vote.

Gov. John Hickenlooper signed more than a dozen judicial bills this year that add new offenses, eliminate old offenses and bring reforms to the overall criminal justice system.

Perhaps the most controversial judicial bill was House Bill 1271, sponsored by Reps. B.J. Nikkel, R-Loveland, and Beth McCann, D-Denver, and Sens. Angela Giron, D-Pueblo, and Tim Neville, R-Littleton. It requires a court hearing before prosecuting youth defendants as adults.

The American Conservative Union released its ratings of Colorado lawmakers on June 29, the first time that the organization graded state legislators based on votes on conservative issues.

ACU has been offering its ratings for Congress since 1971, and this year it expanded to 15 state legislatures, including Colorado. The organization made the announcements for Colorado at an event at the Hyatt Regency in Denver.

Of the dozens of bills sent to the governor by the Legislature this year, at least eight specifically addressed burdens faced by businesses in the state, including taxes, rules, fines and fees, while also simplifying business filings and reducing insurance costs.

Republicans outscored Democrats this year on the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce annual legislative scorecard.

The Republican caucus scored “uniformly high” with the lowest scoring member in the House — Rep. Glenn Vaad, R-Mead — earning a 69 percent, according to the Chamber. The lowest scoring Republican in the Senate was Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, with 77 percent.