Exasperated Republicans accused Democrats on the Senate floor this morning of raising wide-ranging fees on ordinary Coloradans in order to avoid seeking voters' permission for a tax hike.

The debate erupted amid discussion of House Bill 1100, which attempts to attach a new fee to birth certificates--and came only days after a proposal by another Senate Democrat, John Morse of Colorado Springs, to slap a $25 fee increase on marriage licenses.

The Republicans point to numerous fee hikes authored by Democrats during the 2008 session alone, ranging from Keller's and Morse's to  one that would assess higher fees on ozone-depleting compounds. 

"Will enough ever be enough?" the GOP's Sen. Josh Penry, of Grand Junction, said to colleagues.

"When do we stop the fees? We have a fee on marriage, we have a fee on weddings--did we forget caskets?... I'm sure that's coming before the end of the session," Penry said. "There is no end to the appetite to spend more money."

HB 1100's sponsor, Democrat Sen. Moe Keller, of Wheat Ridge, said the 75-cent

surcharge on each copy of a birth certificate would be used to provide "additional resources and outreach" for parents of children with birth defects.

Republicans, however, said the measure represented yet another attempt this session to enact a new tax in the guise of a fee, sidestepping the constitutional requirement to seek voter permission.