Legislature: Thursday in review

Strike ban

Gov. Bill Ritter quietly signed into law a ban on strikes by state employees Thursday.

HB1189 by Rep. Jim Riesberg, D-Greeley, resulted from an executive order issued by Ritter in November that created new partnership agreements with employee unions but also banned those groups from striking. After Attorney General John Suthers wrote that the order did not override state law permitting employee strikes, Republicans and Democrats wrote bills to put the ban in place.

Riesberg's bill was less punitive and more narrowly tailored than a counterpart by Rep. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs, that was defeated in committee. Gardner's imposed heavy fines and applied to all public workers, including teachers and city employees.

Ritter sent out a news release at 5:30 p.m. that mentioned in one line that he had signed the bill - after it highlighted his inking of three animal-related laws.

Animal house

And what took precedence in the Democratic governor's eyes over the strike ban, you might ask?

HB1304 increases penalties for poaching bald eagles to a maximum $100,000 fine and one year in jail. Ritter signed it as a woman held a bald eagle next to him in the Capitol foyer.

HB1042 adds an exemption to the Colorado Veterinary Practice Act to allow for animal massage therapy. And HB1200 bans remote hunting, by which weapons can be aimed and fired at animals over the Internet.

Budget bawling

Partisan sniping over the $17.6 billion budget for 2008-09 continued on the Senate floor Thursday, as Republicans and Democrats took shots at each other before approving it 21-14.

Sen. Steve Johnson, R-Fort Collins, was the only Republican to cross party lines and vote with Democrats for HB1375.

After Wednesday's floor debate, when Democrats rejected a slew of GOP cuts, Thursday's vote was expected to be quick with little debate. It was anything but, with Republicans and Democrats blaming the other for what both conceded were years of poor planning.

Sen. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, led the GOP effort to hammer Democrats for not creating a rainy day fund in advance of a recession and labeled their plan "faith-based budgeting."

Democrats responded that even some Republicans had said the amount given to the fund was symbolic. Republicans increased spending at a higher rate and cut taxes when they controlled the Legislature and governor's office early in the decade, said Sen. Moe Keller, D-Wheat Ridge.

"People of this state wanted their tax money invested in the state" when they voted out Republicans, Johnson said. Lawmakers should follow their direction and spend the money on roads, schools and economic incentives, he said.

The budget will return to the Joint Budget Committee, which will address the changes made by the House and Senate. Historically, the committee leaves very few changes intact.