Republican Gov. Bill Owens on Tuesday played down the partisan wrangling that dominated the Capitol this year, declaring the legislative session that ended Monday a “relatively quiet and businesslike” success.
Most important, Owens said, was the fact that “we were able to start to put the state budget back on track.”
Legislative leaders, meanwhile, spent Tuesday touting their achievements and crafting messages for what promises to be a contentious battle in November for control of the Statehouse.
Democrats currently hold a one-vote margin in the 35-member Senate and a 35-30 lead in the House.
Republicans and Democrats battered each other throughout the session with charges and countercharges of ethical missteps, leading to the resignation of Democratic Sen. Deanna Hanna, D-Lakewood, and the resignation of Rep. Joe Stengel of Littleton as the House Republican leader.
But Owens said reporters, “made mountains out of mini- molehills in order to try to fight for space on the front page.”
“It actually was pretty businesslike except for (those) little so-called ethical lapses,” Owens said.
Lawmakers kept their promises for spending the extra $800 million the state got to keep this fiscal year thanks to voter approval of Referendum C in November, he said.
Democrats agreed, pointing to funding increases for schools, health-care programs, state colleges and universities and roads.
Republican opponents of the ballot initiative acknowledged that the legislature – with Democrats in control – crafted a budget that fulfilled the promises made to voters.
“The Referendum C dollars actually were spent the way voters were told they would be spent,” said Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs.
Still, McElhany stopped short of endorsing the “Promises Made, Promises Kept” banner that has been hanging on the wall of Democratic House Speaker Andrew Romanoff’s office.
“I think the promise was ‘If you give us more money, we’ll spend it’ and they did that.”
In addition to spending, House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, said, his party would target lawmakers who supported bills that he said would be bad for business.
“I think it is pretty clear: Their anti-business agenda was significant,” May said.
He cited 20 bills that were proposed by Democrats that would raise fees or impose mandates. But many of those bills were killed in committee or on floor votes with Democrats joining in the effort to kill the bills.
Democrats touted their success in promoting fiscal conservatism with a balanced budget and social equality with recognition of rights for gays and lesbians.
Senate President Joan Fitz- Gerald, D-Jefferson County, also said lawmakers boosted the economy by providing money for tourism promotion, tried to lower the cost of prescription drugs and cracked down on illegal immigration.
But she said the final tally of this session is yet to be counted because many bills are only now making it to the governor’s desk.
“The vetoes will tell the story about where the Democrats came down,” she said. “Did they come down with the best interests of most families in Colorado or did the governor?”
Last year, Owens vetoed 47 bills.
Owens said he hasn’t decided on what to do with Senate Bill 1, which aims to help uninsured Coloradans get cheaper prescription drugs by requiring the state to join a multi-state drug-purchasing pool. The measure is a key Democratic agenda item. Owens vetoed a similar bill last year.
“Just because I vetoed a bill last year doesn’t mean because it’s the same broad subject that I’ll veto it this year,” he said.
Staff writer Chris Frates can be reached at 303-820-1633 or cfrates@denverpost.com.
