Owens trims budget
Gov. Bill Owens vetoed $6.8 million worth of construction projects on state college and university campuses – a minor cut in the state’s $16.5 billion budget, which he signed on Monday.
Owens said the spending – for projects at Western State College, Colorado State University, the University of Colorado at Boulder and Fort Lewis College – would commit the state to $29.4 million in spending the following year.
“While we have enough money to start all the projects on this list, the second and third year costs were too expensive and would have unnecessarily burdened the (fiscal year) 2007-08 budget and the next administration.”
Owens also used his line-item veto power to eliminate a budget-bill provision that would bar the use of state funds for elective surgery in prisons, including sex-change operations.
Bills get top OK
As the action shifts from the legislative to the executive, Gov. Bill Owens’ pen is getting a workout.
On Monday, the governor signed Senate Bill 90, which could deny state funds to cities that discourage or prevent police officers from working with federal immigration authorities.
He also signed:
Senate Bill 2, which requires home-sale contracts to disclose whether the property was ever used as a methamphetamine laboratory.
Senate Bill 25, which requires owners of dogs deemed to be dangerous to put up a sign warning others.
Time-off plan dies
Sen. Peter Groff, D-Denver, Monday killed his proposal to require businesses to give employees time off to attend their children’s academic events.
It’s the second year in a row that Groff’s effort has failed to get to the governor’s desk. Last year, the bill died in the House. This year, Senate Bill 66 was gutted in a House committee.
Parole bill advances
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill on Monday offering parole options to juveniles convicted of murder, clearing the way for a full Senate vote this week.
The legislation, already approved by the House, applies only to future offenders, giving them a shot at release after serving 40 years in prison.
In other action
The House gave tentative approval to a House Bill 1411, which would set a higher standard for communities that use eminent domain to claim property to remove blight.
The House approved House Bill 1400 on a vote of 64-1 and sent it to the Senate. The measure sets up the state’s first charter for interbasin water compacts.
The House approved and sent to the Senate on a 59-6 vote House Bill 1406, which would increase the penalty for using electronic devices that make traffic lights change.
