Senator Marble (R-Fort Collins) presents Senate Bill 17 which would give teachers easier access to opt in or out of a union. The bill failed to pass committee on a party line vote.
Senator Ellen Roberts (R-Durango) presents Senate Bill 15, which allows a school district board of education to adopt a policy that would allow members to participate in meetings electronically.
Today, the Senate passed Senator Mark Scheffel’s (R-Parker) Senate Bill 30, which aims to ensure that new agency rules coincide with the original intent of the legislation.
“This bill adds an additional level of legislative review for new rules and regulations promulgated by state agencies,” said Scheffel. “It’s an important step toward more meaningful oversight of agency rulemaking.”
“SB 30 adds an extra layer of scrutiny to new rules that could impact the business community,” said Loren Furman, CACI Senior Vice President for State and Federal Relations. “CACI (Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry) supports this bill because it helps ensure that new rules align with the laws that created them.”
Today, the Senate overwhelmingly voted to pass Senate Minority Leader Bill Cadman’s (R-Colorado Springs) bill to repeal an antiquated law that barred peace officers from acquiring a liquor license.
“This prohibition-era law prohibited police officers and others from opening and operating a restaurant, bar or neighborhood liquor store,” Senator Cadman said. “Peace officers are certainly honorable public servants. We trust them with law enforcement, with public safety, many times with our very lives. I think we can trust them with a liquor license.”
Senate Bill 59 was developed after Senator Cadman learned of a restaurant owner who desired to become a reserve peace officer for a sheriff’s department. Under current law, a person cannot be P.O.S.T. certified if they hold a liquor license.
Yesterday, Senator Larry Crowder’s (R-Alamosa) bill to expand the Colorado State Veterans Cemetery in Homelake passed the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.
“As Colorado’s oldest veterans’ cemetery, I am proud to expand this hallowed and historic ground so it can be a final resting place for our fallen soldiers,” said Crowder, the sponsor of Senate Bill 40. “Expanding this cemetery will provide greater comfort to the families and citizens of Colorado as they honor their sons and daughters who served.”
Presently, there are only three more burial plots available. The United Veterans Committee (UVC), Colorado’s largest veterans group, testified in support of the bill.
The bill now moves to the Appropriations Committee.
After a quick trip home for the weekend, I’m preparing for a busy week ahead with four of my bills to be heard in committee. My two water bills passed out of the agriculture committee last week and will be heard on the Senate floor for any debate and, hopefully, passage on through to the House chamber.
Every bill goes through hearings and debates in the assigned committees and again on the floor of both chambers of the Legislature before ending up on the governor’s desk, if all goes well, or in the killed bills’ pile, if a bill fails to garner enough support for passage.
Today, Senator Kevin Grantham’s (R-Cañon City) bill to expand the flexibility of the Charter School Institute (CSI) passed the Senate State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee unanimously. Senate Bill 143 would allow the Charter School Assistance Fund greater authority to grant funding to charter schools in the case of a funding emergency.
“This bill expands the criteria for when the Charter School Institute can offer grant funding and interest-free loans to help charter schools cover funding emergencies,” Grantham said. “It is a necessary step to help charter schools invest in student outcomes.”
The bill now moves to the Senate for full consideration and was placed on the Consent Calendar.
Last week, Senator Kevin Lundberg’s (R-Berthoud) bill to exempt the use of a turn signal for motorists driving in a roundabout passed the Senate Transportation Committee with bipartisan support.
“Current law, which requires drivers to use a turn signal at least 100 feet before turning, is impossible to follow when driving in a roundabout,” said Lundberg. “This is a common sense bill that improves safety for motorists.”
The bill now goes to the full Senate for consideration.
Yesterday, Senator Steve King’s (R-Grand Junction) bill to increase school safety unanimously passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“It is critical that we continually work toward keeping our children and our schools safe,” stated King. “This bill will provide a resource to schools across the state, especially those schools in small communities, by giving them more support to bring School Resource Officer programs to their districts.”
Senate Bill 138 will expand the involvement of School Resource Officers, police officers assigned to K-12 schools, to assist with safety, readiness, and emergency management planning in K-12 schools. This bill also allows the School Safety Resource Center to employ more staff to assist schools across Colorado that are seeking school safety grant funds.
Senator Lambert presents SB 55 which takes aggressive steps to safeguard the solvency of Colorado’s public pension funds. The bill would require PERA to use more conservative return-on-investment assumptions and expand oversight of the state’s investments. Additionally, the bill will increase transparency about the long-term viability of Colorado’s public retirement funds.
