Local lawmakers offer bills that run the gamut

Bills from the Pikes Peak region’s delegation of state lawmakers hit the Capitol in Denver like a paper blizzard last week at the start of the 2010 General Assembly session.

Some of the bills are familiar, like Republican Sen. Dave Schultheis’ annual attempt to force employers to use a federal immigration database to keep illegal immigrants off their payrolls.

Some are responses to last year’s laws, like efforts by Republicans Sen. Bill Cadman and Rep. Kent Lambert to cut late fees for vehicle registrations that were imposed last year as part of a wider highway-building measure.

Those late fees have piled up for El Paso County residents, totaling more than $1.4 million since they became law on June 1, said county Clerk and Recorder Bob Balink.

At Balink’s office Friday, the measures to cut late fees got support from Mike  Wittwer, as he stuck a new license tab on the rear plate of his 1998 pickup.

“It’s always a good idea not to spend money,” Wittwer said.

He paid an extra $25 for missing the deadline to renew his registration and liked the idea of cutting the maximum late fee to $10 as proposed in the Lambert bill.

Lawmakers will introduce additional bills later in the session, likely dealing with the hot issues, including the state’s $1 billion budget crisis for the fiscal year that starts in July. Other top priorities are fixing a state employee pension system and figuring out how the state will regulate medical marijuana.

So far, bills from local lawmakers focus on relatively narrow issues. Each bill faces a long road during the 120-day session, including passing committees and floor votes in both chambers before landing on Gov. Bill Ritter’s desk.

This year, The Gazette will track bills with local lawmakers as a primary sponsor. A list of the bills, more than 30 so far, with explanations of each and links to learn more, can be found here.

A proposal from Republican Rep. Mark Waller and Democratic Sen. John Morse aims to save counties money by eliminating five-day mandatory jail sentences for some drivers arrested for having suspended or revoked licenses.

Morse said many of those drivers had their licenses pulled for not paying child support, so putting them behind bars may be counter-productive.

“Putting people in jail is costing us money and not getting us the child support payments,” Morse said.

A bill from Republican Rep. Bob Gardner would clarify which state-produced lawbooks are actually official.
Republican Rep. Larry Liston introduced a bill to let lobbyists buy a $100 identification card that would allow them to bypass metal detectors and other searches at the entrances to the Capitol.

Liston say the lobbyists are in and out of the Capitol so often that it’s costing taxpayers money to repeatedly search them for weapons.

“Literally they are going through this screening process six or eight times a day,” Liston said.  “It takes time, energy, resources and ultimately money.”

One measure by Republican Rep. Marsha Looper was driven by Detroit automakers that last year shuttered hundreds of dealerships. Her bill would give Colorado’s car dealers more rights when fighting manufacturers.

It could have local impact — last year, General Motors announced it would not renew its franchise with Daniels Chevyland in Colorado Springs.

“If GM or Chrysler wants to re-open a dealership in the same market area, the previous dealer must be offered the opportunity to take back the franchise,” Looper said in a news release about the bill.