February 24, 2012 12:26 AM UTC

Read Your Own Bill, Chris Holbert

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• by: Colorado Pols

We wanted to be sure a story reported by Lynn Bartels of the Denver paper in the last couple of days got a mention–House Bill 12-1250, sponsored by Republican Rep. Chris Holbert, was killed by the House Finance Committee this morning on Holbert’s request. This bill would have shifted costs for the Public Employees Retirement Association’s supplemental health coverage to retirees, which would have had the effect of forcing many of them onto Medicaid.

A fierce response from retirees made the bill politically untenable even for Republicans, but that’s not the most interesting part of the story. As the tough questions rained down about this bill from constituents and then the press, Rep. Holbert actually stopped taking responsibility for his own legislation. Bartels reports that Holbert began responding to inquiries claiming the legislation was the conservative Independence Institute’s idea, and actually directed questions about the bill to that organization, saying he didn’t know enough about it. Now, it’s no secret that the Independence Institute, like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and other such groups frequently assist in drafting–or even draft entirely–bills carried by elected legislators in the Colorado General Assembly.

But if you can’t even answer questions about a bill you’re carrying, maybe it’s gone too far.