May 07, 2007 06:59 PM UTC

Grading the Legislative Session

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• by: Colorado Pols

The 2007 legislative session is in the books, and the news media is busy assessing the results. The Denver Post editorial board is complimentary in its rundown:

The legislative session that ended Friday was the first in more than 40 years in which Democrats controlled both houses of the legislature and the governor’s office. It was a delicate balancing act as the legislative and executive branches tested their newfound powers. By the close of the session, relations remained cordial but less than cozy.

And perhaps that’s as it should be.

Overall, state lawmakers made impressive headway on three key aspects of Gov. Bill Ritter’s agenda: expanding health coverage, providing more money for education and revitalizing the economy, especially by focusing on developing renewable energy sources.

Legislators also passed other key bills, including a measure that Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver, called “historic,” to prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation in Colorado. Intermittent efforts had been made since 1975 to include sexual orientation in state employment law.

Also noteworthy was the passage of five bills to address mortgage and appraisal fraud. The legislation couldn’t have come at a better time, given that Colorado had the highest foreclosure rate in the country for most of last year and has ranked among the top states for mortgage fraud for the past two years.

Throughout the session, Ritter reached out to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Republicans and Democrats had their disagreements, like transportation funding, but they found common ground on a range of issues such as water policy and consumer loans…

…It was a productive session for the General Assembly and the new governor.

Who was the big winner? You tell us…

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