Peter Marcus

As the Legislature nears its mid-session on Saturday, a fiery House Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, has raised concerns over “political gamesmanship” by House Republican leadership that he fears will lead to a deterioration of relationships that could make budget and other negotiations increasingly more difficult.
House Democrats allege that Republicans are killing bills because of their Democratic sponsors, or delaying popular legislation for the same reason.

This story has been updated. Please see clarification at end of story.

So-called “527 political organizations” in Colorado scored a major victory on Feb. 21 when the Colorado Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the organizations can spend unlimited money in support of state candidates and operate free of some state campaign governance laws so long as the organizations steer clear of “magic [electioneering] words” that would trigger those laws.

Adorned in decorative hats spanning the many eras Colorado women served at the state legislature, female lawmakers gathered on the chilly west steps of the Capitol on Friday to celebrate Women’s History Month.

The business community scored a couple of key victories this week at the Capitol after House Republicans successfully pushed through legislation that would allow businesses to comment on the fiscal impact of proposed bills, and then killed legislation that would have criminalized the practice of so-called “wage theft.”

Marijuana advocates received surprising support on Monday from conservative Sen. Tim Neville, R-Littleton, who awed observers when he voted against a measure that would expand driving under the influence offenses to include the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

State Senate Democrats on Wednesday pushed through a bill that would require hospitals in Colorado to disclose to patients services that are not offered because of religious or moral beliefs, such as abortions.

The debate over whether some state lawmakers would be receiving a 22 percent pay increase, or simply an increase in living expenses, came to an end Wednesday after the Senate approved a per diem increase for 41 lawmakers who live outside the Denver metro area.

Embattled Republican state Rep. Laura Bradford wants to know what’s next.

In an exclusive interview with The Colorado Statesman this week, a shaken Bradford poured her frustrations over a string of controversies and personal turmoil over the last month that has left her fighting for her career and family.

A simple piece of legislation aimed at ending the use of credit reports by employers who make hiring decisions turned into one of the most personal and partisan attacks yet this year on the Senate floor.

Senate Majority Leader John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, riled Republicans into the attacks on Tuesday during debate of Senate Bill 3, which ultimately passed the Democratic-controlled Senate on final reading with a party-line vote of 20-15. The vote brought to an end two straight days of debate.

Republican Rep. Chris Holbert of Parker shocked observers on Thursday when he asked the House Finance Committee to kill his own bill. Critics said it would have reduced employer contributions to the Public Employees’ Retirement Association health care fund in such a way that health care subsidies provided to retirees would have been eliminated.

Holbert had come under fire from more than 1,200 PERA members over House Bill 1250 and he told the Committee that he could not move forward with the legislation.