(Whee! – Promoted by Colorado Pols)
Here are some of the bills we can look forward to seeing die this week. Special note is given to the nearly identical bills to repeal the magazine capacity limit from last year being heard in both the House and Senate committees this week. Also worth noting is Jared Wright's repeat attempt to make it illegal for any state employee to assist federal law enforcement who are pursuing terrorist threats (which is identical to the bill that failed last year).
I particularly enjoy the solution-seeking-a-problem bill proposed Renfroe to keep the governor from restricting firearms in the case of an emergency.
Monday:
HB14-1155 Wright–Prohibit State Aid To NDAA Investigations
HB14-1106 Nordberg and Wright–Tax Deduction For Affordable Care Act Penalty
HB14-1151 Holbert and Saine–Repeal Ammunition Magazine Prohibition
SB14-111 by Senator(s) Brophy; also Representative(s) (None)–Interstate Sale Small Employer Health Benefit Plan
SB14-038 by Senator(s) Renfroe; also Representative(s) Everett–Governor Cannot Restrict Firearms During Emergency
Wednesday:
SB14-100 by Senator(s) Baumgardner and Herpin, also Representatives(s) None– Repeal Large Capacity Ammunition Magazine Ban
Thursday:
HB14-1128 Szabo–Reduce Voter Identity Theft
Yup, that's some clown car shit right there. I hope the press reports on them.
Don't forget HB14-1258, Respondent's Legal Rights in IEC complaints. The ostensible purpose of this bill is to make sure that any government employee facing the Independent Ethics Commission has their "legal rights" safeguarded.
The legal rights in question are the right to know charges against the respondent, and the right to free legal counsel, since paying for legal counsel out of the company till might be yet another ethics complaint. Sounds good, right? it gets better:
Wow! So if someone, like, say, Scott Gessler, was brought up on ethics complaints, and had public hearings and the whole nine yards, Scotty could hold the IEC commissioners personally liable for his expenses, not to mention his pain and suffering!
Gosh, I wonder what that effect would have on the ability of the IEC to carry out its mission to "give advice and guidance on ethics issues arising under Article 29 of the Colorado Constitution," knowing that any respondent could theoretically sue them in Federal Court if said respondent thought that a charge was insufficiently explained, or they weren't offered a free defense at IEC expense?
It might stop the IEC from being able to investigate ethical problems, right?
But hey, if you're Scott Gessler, you just get the fee-paying Colorado public to pay your legal defense fees ($238,973) in the IEC complaint as well. And hey, if you blow your budget, you can always blame that darn election law.
This bill was introduced by Amy Stephens, and was promptly packed off to cold storage in the State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee. It is clearlly some kind of revenge or political inoculation for the Governor's race for Mr. Gessler.
Pols, I'm not going to have time to write a diary anytime soon, and if I did, that's pretty much what I'd say, above. So if you want to run with it, please do.