Work delayed on sanctuary ban
The Colorado House on Tuesday postponed action on a bill to prohibit so-called sanctuary- city policies that limit police from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
Several representatives objected when Rep. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, referred to Denver, Durango and Boulder as having such policies that protect illegal immigrants.
Rep. Jerry Frangas, D-Denver, tried to amend the bill, Senate Bill 90, so it would change the standard for when law-enforcement agents should contact immigration officers from when the agent “reasonably believes” a person is not legally in the U.S. to “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Rep. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, said such a change would weaken the bill and hurt law-enforcement efforts.
“That is why our streets are being overrun with people coming here – because we are not enforcing the laws that we have a reason to believe are being broken,” Harvey said.
Charter schools hold up budget
The conference committee working on the budget for the state’s public schools delayed a final vote until today after Gov. Bill Owens’ office raised concerns about the bill.
House Bill 1375 has generated some controversy because on Monday Democrats stripped out $2.8 million in extra funding for charter-school construction efforts.
Republicans want the total to be $7.8 million rather than the currently proposed $5 million. On Tuesday, Democrats agreed to put $800,000 more toward charter-school construction. That’s not enough, said Rep. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs, who wants the amount restored to the the level it was in the 2002-03 budget.
Sen. Sue Windels, D-Arvada, said the state should give money to other school programs that lost all funding during the recession before giving money for charter-school construction. She noted that the state has reserved $5 million per year for the past three years, while summer school and other programs have not received any money.
Owens vetoes global-trade bill
Gov. Bill Owens on Tuesday vetoed a bill that would have prohibited state officials, including the governor, from binding the state to the procurement rules of an international trade agreement without specific legislative approval.
In his veto message, Owens wrote that House Bill 1010 would have resulted in Colorado taxpayers paying more for products and services by eliminating foreign bidders from the process of applying for state-funded work. “House Bill 1010 would severely hamper Colorado’s relevance in the global economy,” he wrote.
