A clothing salute
Today is military appreciation day in the legislature, and lawmakers were encouraged to dress appropriately – if possible.
“If your uniform still fits, senators, wear it,” Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald said.
Right size for the job
“It’s the absolutely perfect size for the parakeet’s cage.” – Sen. Bob Hagedorn, commenting on the new size of the Rocky Mountain News.
Happier trails for AG
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers won a mid-year $798 boost to his budget to get a new office car after being stranded in South Park last year.
Suthers was driving his state- issued 2000 Ford Taurus on a Sunday morning last September when the radiator cracked and he was stranded for several hours. Suthers had to rely on family members to retrieve him.
“The attorney general is now understandably reluctant to use the vehicle,” according to the emergency-funding request approved Tuesday by the Joint Budget committee.
With the $798, the state will pay the lease acquisition fee.
Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, joked that it would be cheaper to give Suthers the money for a roll of duct tape.
Suthers said he plans to use the new car exclusively for official travel, not commuting.
Self-defense proposal
Although freshman Republican Amy Stephens joked that the only way to get anything through this renewable-energy- focused session was “to include a windmill,” lawmakers have filed nearly 300 bills since the session started two weeks ago.
Among the proposals not focusing on the key topics of education, energy and budget is the “stand your ground law” from Rep. Cory Gardner.
The Republican from Yuma has proposed legislation that would expand the “make my day” law to apply to people who are defending themselves in their vehicles or businesses, not just their homes.
The “make my day” law says the occupant of a dwelling has the right to shoot an intruder. “I think it will be a highly debated bill,” Gardner said. “There are people out there who seem to blame the victim rather than the criminal.”
Tuesday’s highlights
The House Judiciary Committee killed a bill (House Bill 1082) that would have prohibited requiring anyone to be implanted with a microchip.
Sponsor Rep. Mary Hodge, D-Brighton, said she needed to do more research.
Rep. Don Marostica, R-Loveland, introduced the Taxpayer Transparency Act (House Bill 1164), a measure he said would require the state treasurer to set up an Internet site to show how tax dollars are spent.
The full Senate voted to confirm Harris Sherman as executive director of the Department of Natural Resources. He headed the department from 1975 to 1980 under Gov. Dick Lamm. Sherman is a lawyer who has practiced in the areas of natural resources, environment, water, land use and public-land use.
