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January 12, 2022 06:47 AM UTC

73rd Colorado General Assembly Second Session Open Thread

  • 54 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

Let’s get lawmaking.

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54 thoughts on “73rd Colorado General Assembly Second Session Open Thread”

  1. Why I Distrust Axios:

    From the Denver Axios Newsletter, Axios news is all about perceptions and framing, rather than telling us what's actually going on. Why are we supposed to accept Axios's "Both-siderism" philosophy when Republicans are stark raving loonies? For example:

    Expect Colorado lawmakers to file hundreds of bills this session and for hundreds to win approval, similar to last year.

    • For the record: Most will have limited impact, but a handful of major issues — including abortion, air quality and unemployment benefits — will face fierce debate.

    WTF does "fierce debate" mean? AFAIK, it means that Democrats will write bills and vote on them, while Republicans will paint their faces stand up on the table wearing buffalo horns and scream insults about pedofiles.  

    What does it even mean to have a "fierce debate" on Abortion Rights, when 66% of people in Colorado agree that women have the right to control their own reproduction decisions.

    There's no fierce debate because Republicans are irrelevent in Colorado; they don't have the votes AND they have minimal popular support outside of Fox News Country.

    I detest Axios telling me "why it matters", when this is a code for trying to slip in AXIOS's commitment to Two-Party-Framing. Since Republicans are irrelevant whack-jobs, the real debate is across the spectrum of the Democratic coalition. Why not tell us about the Bills the Democrats are proposing, and the agreements across the Dem coalition bringing them to fruition?

    Why it matters: The partisanship and conflicting visions will cement the stakes for the 2022 midterm elections, and the policies that advance will set the tone for how the state emerges from the pandemic.

    …

    • Republicans will focus on sending messages that will empower parents who fueled wins in local school board races in 2021.
    • Democrats, who control the majority in both of Colorado's legislative chambers, are hoping to avoid hot-button issues and corral rank-and-file lawmakers who are more liberal than party leadership.

    In other words, the 2022 legislative session is important NOT for what it does for people in Colorado. Axios wants us to think about positioning, impressions, messaging, and especially restraining the left wing of the Democratic Party.

    And THAT folks is the Axios Schtick: Centrism, No Labels, Washington DC gamesmanship.

        1. "WTF does 'fierce debate' mean?……."

          It would appear that you don't have much experience sitting through legislative committee hearings. 

          "fierce debate on abortion rights……66% of people…..agree……"

          Very true. But there are the loud voices from among the 34% that will turn out for legislative hearings. 

          (Disclosure: I've been a registered volunteer lobbyist at the Legislature for a number of years, although I wasn't there in 2021 due to the pandemic. I work exclusively on environmental & public lands bills).

           

          1. Remember that Republicans have ZERO actual interest in policy. Their only interest is to make a bunch of loud noises to distract from the useful things Democrats are proposing.

            Is it really a fierce debate or is it just individuals in the audience screaming at the legislators? So "Shrill Testimony" is closer to what we should expect.

            When push comes to shove, legislation is written based on input from the interested parties. Since Republicans are irrelevant, a proper discussion of the new legislative session would discuss the Democratic Coalition and where they stand on the various issues.

            Republicans can go pound sand.

            1. "remember that Republicans have ZERO actual interest in policy….."

              You're entitled to your opinion. But, again, you seem unfamiliar with the Legislature. Not every Republican there is a Dave Williams or Ron Hanks.

              2. CHB
                You overestimate the relative reasonableness of your hoped for party.

                I remember reasonable Republicans. They would have stood up to Trump. They would have stood up to idealogues and bullies like Hanks and Williams and more.

                Who is the reasonable leadership you would point to?

                  1. The rational Republicans who would stand up to these trump wannabe bullies are either dead (Wattenburg, Noble, Bledsoe, Bishop) or staying as far away and quiet (Foster, Teck, others). Until the base changes, it’ll stay that way. The base is frightening.

                2. “reasonable leadership…..”

                  I see no reason to repeat the Colorado names I listed in another thread. And, again, I have at least a modest amount of experience in dealing with the Legislature. You?

                  “I can’t wait for this answer…..” You got it in the other thread and you didn’t like it.

      3. There's this group called "Jews for Jesus". They participate in our local 4th-of-July parades wearing old-testament robes and Jewish looking (whatever that is) clothing, running around and dancing vigorously while blowing shofurs. 

        It's a lot of effort to put into some kind of weird religious cos-play.

    3. Thanks for that perspective, PH. I kinda felt something wrong there, to the point that Axios fell off my regular news search. I hadn't really thought about it, but what you say seems right.

    4. Democrats winning elections and still mad and angry. If it weren’t for those rascally Republicans they could be happy. Truth is, without the politics of envy, they have no constituency.

        1. Hi Duke,

          Just wanted to check in and see if you have completed your ECON 101 class. Your non-tax inflation is now over 7%, highest since 1982. But since you don’t pay it, you probably haven’t notice.

          1. " . . . ECON 101 . . ."

            . . . Well, of course, what else would anyone expect there to be but simple answers (to everything) coming from simpleton pfruits?

          2. Hi there, 

            I actually rely on people with advanced degrees for guidance when formulating opinions. Ask Jerome Powell about higher prices…let's see, what was it he said? Oh, yeah… "corporations are inflating prices because they can" .

            It is natural for those going down with a sinking ship to grab for anything they think will float. Try again, PP, 'cause as they say where I come from, that dog won't hunt.

          4. ECON 101……. can be defined as too much money chasing too few goods. Lot of production streams were shut down in 2020, into 2021, because people stopped buying.

            Things eventually will balance out. Here in Lakewood I've already noticed significant drops in gasoline prices at the pump.

            1. Right, supply & demand can influence inflation & disinflation… at least in a frictionless capitalist economy with equal information access (insider trading), without monopoly pricing power (drug companies), and time for businesses to respond to supply-demand disruptions.

              In this case, aggregate demand went way up for goods and waay down for services.  It isn't so much supply vs demand, rather supply and demand disruptions, and shifting consumer preferences.

              Used car prices were disrupted because Rental Agencies sold off cars in early 2020, and then started buying up everything they could find in late 2021.

              And a lot of the inflation or dis-inflation is regional. Housing is extremely high in popular parts of the country like California, Colorado and the North East (hip cities), but I can get a spectacular house for almost nothing in small-town Nebraska or Wisconsin (too many White People; too many Republicans).

              Actually, some inflation is good for the economy. It's good for people with fixed mortgages, and for people with incomes pegged to inflation, like Social Security.

              1. actually, parkie, those of us on social security only break even on inflation.  Plus, those of us like moi who have private sector pensions almost never have a cost of living adjustment in them, so we definitely get screwed on inflation.

          5. CPI for 2021 — all items, 7% 

            … major category food… 6.3%

             …major category energy 29.3%  [hmmm.. why would energy prices have taken such a jump?? maybe supply and demand?]

            … all items except food and energy 5.5%

            And I've not seen anything yet … what is the real inflation rate for wage earners?  And the "real return" on stock investments? 

            1. It's good to be a capitalist, not so much a wage slave:

              The S&P 500 gained 26.9% for the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 18.7% in 2021, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 21.4%

              On average, wages increased about 3% before inflation.

  2. 2022 Legislation possibilities: more tax revenue, more to spend, some to refund, possibly ensuring abortion stays legal in Colorado, GOP raving about crime rates …these are just some of the legislative delightson the menu. 
     

    And in case that didn’t sufficiently trigger our trolls, my 2 year old granddaughter has a new action figure doll: she calls him “Fowchi” and he comes with a detachable mask. 🧑‍🔬

    1. "possibly ensuring abortion stays legal in Colorado"

      So there will be legislation re-enacting the legalization of abortion which has been on the books since when ….. 1967?

      Why not work on the constitutional ban on state funding for abortion?

      1. As well as the ban on state funding of vasectomies… If there is such a law.

        Seriously, the single greatest thing that reduces abortion is free and easy access to birth control. Colorado had a pilot program that showed spectacular success. I'm not sure if it has been extended.

        1. The pilot program for LARC was a HUGE success, lowering unintended pregnancies and associated government costs substantially.

          It was extended by the legislature … well, by the Democratic majority of the legislature, since I think I remember that not a single Republican voted for the program.

    2. I'm as socialist as everyone else when it comes to spending money to improve public education and the social safety net, but obviously the funds available are limited. 

      I would like to see a cost-benefit analysis to identify high-impact investments. For example, anything that addresses worker disruptions caused by the Covid pandemic would have out-sized benefit – healthcare measures specifically. I don't know the numbers, but big increase in day care availability would allow a lot more women with kids to get back in the work force.

      We have other issues like affordable rents and houses, but supply-demand pressures in housing would be extremely costly or impractical to solve by throwing State money at them. Increased density, and removing restrictive zoning laws are regulatory, not monetary interventions.

    1. Fat Donnie also might want to stay out of the state of Georgia for a while.  Jennifer Rubin has a great column explaining his chances of being criminally charged in that state for election fraud.

      The prosecutor has Trump on tape implicitly threatening the secretary of state, saying that failure to find extra votes would be “a criminal offense” and “a big risk” to Raffensberger and his lawyer. Moreover, then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who was on the call, was likely present for any discussion leading up to it, as were Trump’s lawyers, who would not be able to invoke attorney-client privilege if the court determines it was a criminal conspiracy.

      Fat Donnie’s one-trick pony defense?

      A spokesman for Trump has dismissed the investigation as a “witch hunt,” but Trump should be nervous. Several factors make the Georgia case arguably easier to prosecute.

      But sometimes they do find a witch (or warlock in this case).

      The possible charges, according to a group of legal scholars writing for the Brookings Institution, include “criminal solicitation to commit election fraud; intentional interference with performance of election duties; conspiracy to commit election fraud; criminal solicitation; and state RICO violations.” 

      1. Question:  Does Brian Kemp have legal authority to unilaterally pardon Trump for any state crimes? That would certainly be one way to get David Purdue out of the governor's race.

        1. You're suggesting some kind of quid-pro-quo.

          Yes, Trump understands that language, or at least the pro-quo part. I wouldn't trust him with a ten-foot pole on the quid part.

  4. Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend is testifying under oath this morning.  Not a good sign for Beavis. Assuming this goes as planned, Lindell will only have 299,999,999 of us to incarcerate. Who is going to buy these shitty pillows if we’re all in jail?!?

  5. Wow! This thread got off-topic in a hurry!

    I know several legislators who find the flurry of bills more problematic than the fierce debate because the former tends to render the latter impossible.

    I'm not wild about the agenda Polis and leadership presented yesterday, but at least it is focused. If we want to hold majorities into next year, let's hope it stays that way.

    1. It is an open thread, actually. Sometimes Alva suggests a topic and let's us write a diary about it.We are all supposed to get SorosCash for our effort, but so far, I have seen nada.

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