A bipartisan bill intended to shore up the right of Coloradans to defend themselves from imminent violence was killed in a Senate committee Monday by majority Democrats.

Senate Bill 115, authored by Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, would have given an individual injured in an attack in a “gun-free zone” the right to bring a civil action against a government agency that designated the zone if possession of a firearm could have helped the law-abiding vicitm defend himself.

“Gun-free zones serve one purpose--to disarm law-abiding citizens," Brophy said. "That is why I prefer to call them, 'criminal-safe zones.' Let's face it, they offer an additional guarantee to thugs that they can get by with just about anything."

The measure was co-sponsored by a host of Republicans in both chambers as well as one Democrat--Sen. Lois Tochtrop. 

A Broomfield state senator is taking on city hall in his bid to expand the use of renewable energy. Senate Bill 117 would cap what Republican Sen. Shawn Mitchell says are "indefensibly high" permit fees charged by some local governments when solar-energy systems are installed on homes and businesses.

Mitchell says there is a patchwork of wide-ranging fees for solar installations from one Front Range city to the next; fees can be as low as $59 in the city and county of Denver and as high as $1,345--right next-door in Aurora.

Mitchell will present his bill to the the Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources & Energy Wednesday.

"One of the easiest things we can do to promote more efficient, renewable forms of energy is to move bureaucracy and red tape out of the way," Mitchell said. "And it begs for an explanation when you see fees in some cities in the metro area that are 10 and 20 times higher than they are for the very same permits right next-door."

Mitchell added, "Frankly, it casts doubt on some cities' claims that they are just trying to cover their administrative costs in processing permits. You have to wonder if they're really using the permits to subsidize overall operations at city hall."