FOX 31’s Eli Stokols reports:
Among dozens of bills introduced on the opening day of the 2012 legislature Wednesday are proposals to recognize same-sex civil unions and give a reduced tuition rate to undocumented students.
As FOX 31 Denver was first to report, the civil unions legislation, now known as Senate Bill 2, will start in the Senate, which passed the bill last year, as the sponsor, Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver, looks for a Republican co-sponsor in the House, where a GOP-controlled committee killed the measure last year.
The in-state tuition proposal has been re-worked and altered — some would say, “watered down” — and introduced as Senate Bill 15.
Noting that his bill number is that of Colorado’s man of the moment, bill sponsor Sen. Mike Johnston, D-Denver, tweeted Wednesday that he hopes Tim “Tebow magic” will get the bill over the hump this year.
After House Republicans voted this bill down last year, Johnston and Sen. Angela Giron, D-Pueblo, a co-sponsor made some major changes to this year’s version: reducing the tuition break undocumented students could receive and allowing colleges and universities to opt out.
The new version of last year’s ASSET bill to help undocumented students attending Colorado colleges indeed has made some interesting changes in hopes of winning GOP support, and all eyes will be on House Republicans–especially Rep. Robert Ramirez, assuming the bill reaches him–who expressed some remorse over the bill’s defeat in committee in 2011. Likewise with the new civil unions bill, where there will be more pressure than ever before on declared opponent Speaker Frank McNulty to not route the bill to a “kill committee.” And if he does, one, maybe two Republican committee member(s) whose conscience can be swayed…
It’s been suggested that in our prior discussion of the new Republican pro-civil unions group Coloradans for Freedom, we may have unfairly presumed political or otherwise cynical motivations. With polling on the issue the subject of major generational shift to support, equal rights for gays and lesbians becomes one of a number of issues, like immigration policy (see above) that threaten to leave the GOP with an agenda permanently alienating to a growing majority of voters. But beyond that, we feel obligated to consider the possibility that Republicans are genuinely responding to conscience in their newfound moderation on the issue.
On a certain level, proponents shouldn’t care which it is. But it’s important for posterity.
P.S. Can someone in the legislature please demand a moratorium on Tim Tebow references?
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Because for most of Colorado, it’s putting people back to work. That’s the only crucible.
You and Gov. Hickenlooper can make these your defining issues all you want. I would rather focus on what the voters care about.
Jobs: everything else this year is a distraction we can’t afford.
Yeah right. Give us just one thing that you would do that will help with jobs. And please, we already know your US House of Representatives has no plan except to cut taxes and cut regulations. The fact is that the “Republican” party does agree with Sharon Angle on one issue at least. The government has no role in adding jobs. Just admit it and let’s move on. Everyone on this site is well educated enough in the “Republican” party’s positions to know it is true.
PS Jerk. One of the worst things that government ever interfered with in taking away personal responsibility was the creation of the corporate entity. So, I vote to do away with all corporations since they are an unwarranted intrusion into the private sector that took away the personal responsibility of shareholders. Argue that one with me you inconsistent little puke.
I thought you agreed with him that the issue was voter fraud
signed-joker veteran
Would you really have deprived Gov. Hickenlooper of his best applause line today? 🙂
Tebowmania is such a national, not just state, phenomenon that my 86 year old mother in Florida, who would be hard pressed to name a single football player other than Tebow, knows everything about the Tebow story without benefit of making any effort, whatsoever, to pay the slightest attention. In fact quite the reverse. It’s that inescapable. Don’t know how it’s playing in the rest of the world. Maybe one could escape to, say, Borneo.
even worse?
http://www.ksla.com/story/1649…
Life in these end times requires a good set of ear plugs . . .
Fuck you to hell, John Parr!
tries to correct my grammar it comes up with all kinds of nonsense. It finds disagreement simply from word proximity without reference to the whole sentence. If I took its advice it would be pretty funny.