“I’m a huge fan of wind energy.”
Rep. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, who lives “off the grid” and generates his own power for his home and also is a frequent speaker during floor debates in the House.
“Jacques Strapp, Athletic Supporter.”
The name tag Republican Sen. Dave Owen was wearing in place of the usual pin identifying him as a senator.
“You’re acting like a lame duck. We’ve got rules and procedures.”
Sen. Peter Groff, D-Denver, to Sen. Dan Grossman, D-Denver, who is retiring from the Senate after one term.
“The only reason I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane was that the governor made me do it.”
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, speaking about his pro-Referendum C commercial during a Capitol news conference promoting tourism.
PERA REFORM
Deal makes special session unlikely
The legislature managed on Friday to avoid a special session when lawmakers passed a compromise package (Senate Bill 235) to reform the state’s pension system.
Republican Gov. Bill Owens had threatened to call legislators back after Wednesday’s deadline to adjourn if a deal was not struck to fix an $11.3 billion shortfall in the Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association, the state’s largest public pension plan.
Democratic lawmakers and Owens agreed to divert pay raises equal to 3 percent of employee pay over six years to shore up the pension plan’s funding and to raise the retirement age for new hires.
The measure also reduces the size of the PERA board from 16 to 15. Three of the members will be outside experts appointed by the governor.
The House approved the bill 65-0, and the Senate readopted the measure 33-2. It now goes to Owens for his signature.
LOOKING AHEAD
With the legislative session scheduled to end Wednesday, lawmakers will likely operate free-form. In the final days, there is not much of a schedule and some rules about public notice and calendaring are suspended. Here’s what planned so far:
MONDAY
Conference committee: Representatives and senators will meet in the morning to iron out differences between the two chambers on Senate Bill 206, which would create penalties for human smuggling – the transporting of illegal immigrants into Colorado. 8:45 a.m. Room 352.
