In a historic step, majority Democrats called today for a special session of the Legislature to deal with illegal immigration after GOP Gov. Bill Owens said he would not let lawmakers dictate the agenda for dealing with the hot-button issue.
“I, along with the speaker, have called for this special session because of a failure of the federal government to adequately address illegal immigration,” said Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Golden.
“We must find tough, fair, enforceable and practical solutions to Colorado’s illegal immigration issues,” she said.
House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver, said he expected bipartisan consensus on “commonsense solutions.”
The call is the first in state history to come from lawmakers themselves; all other special sessions have come from the governor’s office. Democrats face a daunting task, since they need approval from two-thirds of lawmakers in both the House and Senate.
