State lawmakers are keeping busy this summer, holding meetings on everything from affordable health care to rural economic development. The Democrats who run the legislature have convened seven study committees – plus a task force.
Republicans weren’t as energetic when they ran the show. They authorized just three such committees during the previous two legislative offseasons. They like to boast that they were more frugal with taxpayer money. It costs $99 per lawmaker per day – a total of more than $6,300, not counting mileage – for the committees to meet once this summer. Senate President Pro Tem Peter Groff says it’s worth it.
The idea behind the committees is to study problems that arose in the previous session but didn’t get fixed, Groff said. The goal of his procurement committee, for instance, is to save money “by making sure contracts entered into by the state are done in an efficient and effective manner.”
Republicans have a different take. Former Senate Majority Leader Mark Hillman said Democrats “have interim committees running amok this year. I have not seen a worthwhile piece of legislation come out of an interim committee in my seven years in the Senate, including my own,” he said.
Centralized voting idea
The vote center idea is gaining national attention, but in Colorado, only three counties have latched on to the concept for this year’s elections. Word from the secretary of state’s office is that Adams, Weld and Otero counties are considering trying out the centralized centers in November’s election. Bigger counties like Denver, Arapahoe, Douglas and Mesa are waiting until next year. El Paso County Clerk Robert Balink says he’ll wait even longer.
Larimer County launched vote centers in 2003 and so far is the only county in the country to use them. Larimer County Clerk Scott Doyle was recognized last month by a national elections group for developing and implementing the vote center model. Still, El Paso county’s Balink is put off by the cost. If vote centers were used this November, they would cost El Paso County $1.1 million to $1.4 million, 73 percent more than the $810,000 it will cost the county for precinct voting and 97 percent more than mail ballots. Until every county has touch-screen machines and is hooked up to the statewide voter registration database, Balink said it doesn’t make sense for counties to rush ahead. The database enables election judges to look up voters across the state and make sure they haven’t already voted. While the secretary of state’s office says it hopes to have the database ready by early 2006, Balink and other county clerks say they hear it might be delayed. State spokeswoman Dana Williams concedes there have been delays, but as far as she knows, the database is still on track.
Gaming paying off
The number of tourists making the trek to Colorado’s casinos has state officials surprised and a little puzzled. Brian Vogt, executive director of the state Office of Economic Development and International Trade, said the gaming industry is growing steadily around the country. But in Colorado, it is now the seventh-most popular destination – ahead of resort vacations, for instance. In 2004, 610,000 people traveled to Colorado to gamble – a threefold increase from 1994, when roughly 200,000 came here to roll the dice. The number was contained in a new study by Longwoods International, commissioned by the Colorado Tourism Office.
The study also found that Colorado was the country’s top ski destination, but business travel shrank for the second straight year. On the gambling front, Vogt said that in contrast to the high-stakes Vegas types, tourists gambling in Colorado’s mountain casinos are looking for quieter environments. “It’s fascinating,” he said. “I wonder where it’s heading.” Any wagers?
Julia C. Martinez (jmartinez@denverpost.com) is a member of The Denver Post editorial board.
