Jerry Kopel

I seem to be the only one who has dared to suggest that the income raised by the state’s new casino tax be used to replace general revenue money for community colleges.

Colorado’s “Implied Warranty of Habitability for Residential Tenancies” is just a 10-month-old baby, born during the 2008 legislative session following a gestation period of 50 years. You could not expect it to be perfect, with 10 fingers and 10 toes. Those who carried House Bill 1356 fought hard to keep what they could keep to provide statutory protection for residential renters. But lots of pro-landlord language became part of the law, perhaps enough to render the new protections unusable. It’s too early to tell.

Recent news stories have centered on claims by state Republican legislators that, during the recently adjourned session, Democrats stole their bills or amendments and took credit for them. That usually happens when one political party controls both the House and Senate. In the past, legislators called this practice “rustling.”

I’ve been reading about the battle in Washington, D.C., between legislators supporting or opposing statehood for Colorado, and the rift was much deeper than I had thought.

The issues will certainly appear very “modern” to current Colorado state legislators.

No bill is ever really dead in the Colorado Legislature. Comatose — perhaps for a long period — but always subject to being awakened.

Last year was finally the right time for passage of a “warranty of habitability” bill, a half-century after the first bill designed to guarantee that rental housing in Colorado is fit for humans was offered by two Republicans.

It doesn’t always happen, but this time the executive branch “suggested” and the legislative branch “agreed.”

The Department of Regulatory Agencies’ review of the nursing occupation pretty well dominated Senate Bill 239 by Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, and Rep. Jim Riesberg, D-Greeley.

No way! Yes they could! And they did it!

The Colorado House, in the 2009 First General Session of the Sixty-Seventh Legislature, knocked House Joint Resolutions out for the 10-count.

My services at the Legislature began in 1957 while still a law student, before many of the present members were born.

I helped wife Dolores, who had been hired to proof bills that were scheduled for introduction in the House. The system required that bills to be certified by the proofreader be the same as the original. The original was returned to the sponsor, who then turned it over to the House chief clerk.

Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men; couldn’t put Humpty together again.

Think of Humpty as BINGO!

Is it possible to tell how much profit casinos will earn in small bets in future years despite the passage of Amendment 50 in 2008? I think so.