Roberts: Work on bills is just beginning

The finishing touches went on the last regular bills in the Senate at the end of this past week. If a legislator wants to get another bill introduced this session after this point, he or she needs to get permission to have a "late bill" introduced.

Some of the bills I'm carrying are ones based on ideas from my district and others are ones that I've been asked by House legislators to carry in the Senate. Since there are twice as many state representatives as senators, senators tend to have more bills to work on.

Since these bills span a number of topics, they get assigned to different committees, with varying meeting times. This week, I have two water issues bills scheduled for their first hearing in the Senate Agriculture Committee. The bills concern allowed purposes of water storage and emphasizing Colorado's need to adequately fund water infrastructure efforts.

I'm carrying these bills because the stress of the current drought adds challenges to Colorado's water needs for our people and agricultural, recreational and environmental assets. Addressing the definition of water's beneficial use is a touchy subject, but much outreach to the various interested parties has been going on and continues still.

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