A GOP-led bill that will let Coloradans get discounts on gas and prescription drugs won overwhelming, bipartisan support in the Senate today despite an attempt by an El Paso County Democrat to kill the proposal.

Most majority Democrats abandoned Sen. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, in droves as the rookie lawmaker stood almost alone in denouncing discounted gas and drug prices as "illegal."  More than 300 of Morse's constituents had signed petitions pleading with him to support the bill, and several expressed disappointment after his vote today.

"I'm in the military, so any discount is nice," said Jeri Lynn Chapman, who lives in southeast Colorado Springs. Said Mary Strauch, another Colorado Springs resident who had signed the petition to Morse, "It doesn't sound like he's representing us." 

HB 1208, sponsored in the Senate by Republican Sen. Steve Johnson of Fort Collins, allows for gas and prescription drugs to be sold at lower costs by companies, such as Safeway, King Soopers and Wal-Mart, exempting them from the state’s Unfair Practices Act.

“This bill benefits consumers who don’t want to pay more at the pump for gasoline,” Johnson told fellow senators. The bill is being sponsored by Rep. Cheri Jahn, D-Arvada, in the House.

Morse had introduced a series of amendments to HB 1208 in an attempt to gut the bill. All amendments failed with nearly unanimous opposition.

While reading a wide-ranging speech from a prepared script, Morse lashed out at "big box" retailers and then, in an apparent plug for a bill recently vetoed by fellow Democrat Gov. Bill Ritter, urged that the Labor Peace Act be revisited and updated. House Bill 1072 would have made it easier to establish closed union shops.

“Selling below cost is very bad,” said Morse, insisting that small businesses would be undercut by larger ones. “The bill is unfair, and that’s the worst thing a bill can be.”

Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, disagreed and pointed out that cheaper gas is a benefit for consumers.

“Low-cost selling is a good thing,” he said. “It promotes competition.”

Johnson noted that HB 1208 is about “free enterprise" and is in "the long-term interest of Colorado” in addition to being pro-consumer. The proposal passed through the state House by a 60-4 count, he said.

“There’s so much competition in the gas industry, and government should limit its restriction to monopolies,” Johnson said. “Safeway and Wal-Mart are not going to take over the gas industry.”

Although Morse said charging a price for gasoline below its actual cost is “predatory and illegal,” Johnson responded that HB 1208 is not about predatory pricing and is simply using gas as a loss leader.

“It seems dumb when companies are trying to provide a benefit to consumers and government says they can’t,” Johnson said.