This week in the Legislature

Agenda 

    Today: The Senate could take up final debate on a bill that would raise the caps on malpractice lawsuit awards for disfigurement and impairment.

    Wednesday: The Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee considers a bill that would expand the ways that people can not discriminate against gays and lesbians to include housing practices, cemetery plots and publication of discriminative matter.

Round Two 

    The House Finance Committee will debate a proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday to expand the number of people who can receive the Homestead Exemption - the second such amendment debated within two weeks.

    This tax break allows seniors who have lived in the same house for at least 10 years to exempt half the value of their home, up to $200,000, from their property-tax calculations.

    Finance Committee members last week approved House Concurrent Resolution 2, a measure that would allow senior citizens to move to another house within the same county once every 10 years and keep the property tax break. Now the same committee will consider House Concurrent Resolution 3, a slightly more expensive measure cosponsored by Rep. Marsha Looper, R-Calhan, to allow seniors to keep the break while moving to another house anywhere in the state.

Legislator to Know 

    Rep. Claire Levy has found herself in the middle of some of this year's biggest legislative fights. The Democrat from Boulder has sponsored several measures that have met fierce resistance from Republicans and even from some members of her own party.

    One bill would require utility companies to invest a portion of their revenue in conservation and energy efficiency programs. Another would give judges greater authority to determine if juveniles should be tried and sentenced as adults. The first passed the House 33-32, and the second passed 34-30.
    Levy's background as a public defense lawyer and environmentalist inspired the bills.

    "I choose my bills based on what's important to me. I knew that both bills would be controversial. It wasn't unexpected," Levy said.

    Not all of the freshman lawmaker's bills have been close calls. A bill Levy sponsored that would strengthen property rights passed the House 64-1.