A push by the GOP on the Senate floor today challenged one-size-fits-all historic-preservation rules in order to allow for greater energy efficiency in the state's oldest buildings.

The Republican proposal, by Sen. Scott Renfroe aims to relax preservation rules so that energy efficient materials and technologies can be employed when historic-preservation funds are used.   

“This is a down-to-earth approach for saving energy in Colorado’s oldest schools, libraries, courthouses and buildings,” said Renfroe, of Eaton.  Renfroe said protecting the appearance and integrity of treasured historic buildings, while making them energy-efficient, is common sense that should enjoy bipartisan support.

Senate Bill 78 specifically targets outdated windows, insulation and the heating and cooling systems that are inefficient in the state government's oldest buildings.

Key voices for education reform--Democrat Senate President Peter Groff and Assistant Senate Republican leader Nancy Spence--introduced a potentially groundbreaking proposal in the General Assembly this week that Spence says would give students and teachers a way around the public school bureaucracy.

Senate Bill 130 would allow public schools throughout the state to sidestep current restrictions--especially union-negotiated labor contracts--so they can implement wide-ranging innovations. The bipartisan effort, called the Innovation Schools Act of 2008, likely will run into intense opposition from teacher unions, Spence said.

"This bill does an end-run on the entire bureaucratic process, which long has stifled education reform," said Spence, a veteran lawmaker from Centennial who also served in the state House and on the board of the Cherry Creek Schools.

The proposal is being sponsored in the House by two other leaders on education issues, the GOP's Rep. Rob Witwer, of Genessee, and Democrat Rep. Terrence Carroll, of Denver. Both Groff and Carroll have been known to buck some of their party's establishment backers, like teacher unions, by supporting innovations like school choice and greater accountability.