Amid plans by GOP lawmakers to give voters a veto over the statewide property-tax hike that Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law last year, Coloradosenatenews.com escaped the cloistered confines of the Capitol earlier this week to gauge public sentiment on the issue.

The upshot? Everyday taxpayers surveyed along Denver's 16th Street Mall all agreed: Whether or not the state really needs the extra revenue--a projected $3.8 billion over the next 10 years--voters should have been asked for permission first. They're not alone in that sentiment.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers issued an opinion last year saying that the governor's tax hike, passed by ruling Democrats in the General Assembly, should have been put on the ballot to ensure compliance with the state constitution.

A citizens group also took up the cause, suing the state for imposing the tax hike--which froze the property mill levy throughout Colorado--without voters' permission. And Republican Sen. Mike Kopp, of Littleton, and Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, are soon expected to introduce a measure referring the controversial tax hike back to the voters.

The Coloradans polled Tuesday on the Mall said it is about time they were consulted.

"Everything should be voted on," said Brad Brooks, a Republican business owner who was taking a break sketching a street scene on a sheet of paper. "Government IS the people."

A Republican measure to make access to health care simpler and more affordable for consumers passed the Senate today.

As part of the Republican agenda on health care, Broomfield Republican Sen. Shawn Mitchell's measure would streamline health care and reduce red tape.  The bill would require health insurers and providers to develop and use a standardized card that would hold vital information about a patient’s health coverage. 

The electronic, readable cards would immediately give doctors and hospitals the details of the patient’s insurance so that fewer mistakes would be made by the providers and insurers when inputting a patient’s information.“

We’ve had input from the stakeholders on this bill and shaped a creative, exciting proposal,” said Mitchell.  “We have broad, bipartisan support, and I am proud to carry the measure.”