Ritter lobbies for energy bill
Gov. Bill Ritter testified before a Senate committee Tuesday, urging passage of legislation that is the centerpiece of Democrats’ efforts to increase the production of renewable energy.
It is fairly rare for a governor to appear before a legislative committee, but renewable energy tops Ritter’s agenda for his first year in office.
“Over the long run, this is just one of the many things that we need to do as a country to achieve energy independence,” Ritter told the Senate state affairs committee.
House Bill 1281, which has already passed the House, would require utilities to produce 20 percent of their power from renewable sources such as wind and solar by 2020.
The committee sent the bill to the full Senate on a 3-2 vote.
House backs teen tanning bill
The House on Tuesday endorsed a bill to ban teens from using tanning beds without parental permission.
Representatives tentatively approved the bill after debate about whether it was lawmakers’ place to tell parents how to parent.
“This bill was brought not by the nannies but by the dermatologists,” said sponsoring Rep. Anne McGihon, D-Denver.
Sex offenders’ online IDs targeted
The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday unanimously passed legislation to require sex offenders convicted of preying on children to register their online identities.
The information would be updated in databases at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Failure to register would be a felony offense.
Currently, sex offenders must register their residential and employer addresses to local authorities. House Bill 1326 would require those convicted of a sexual offense against minors to register their personal e-mail addresses and other online identities, such as instant messages and chat-room screen names.
Rebate would aid seniors, disabled
A bill that will rebate tax money to seniors and the disabled won initial approval in the House on Tuesday.
House Bill 1106, sponsored by Rep. Rafael Lorenzo Gallegos, D-Antonito, would change the thres holds for determining eligibility for the property-tax, heat and rent-credit rebate program for the elderly and disabled.
“This bill goes a long way in addressing some very important issues regarding our aged and disabled populations, many of whom are on fixed income and hover near the poverty line,” Gallegos said.
The bill would increase the minimum threshold for eligibility to $12,000 and maximum threshold to $15,000 per year.
Gallegos said the utility rebate was initiated in the early 1980s and was last increased in 1999, but he said it is insufficient, given inflation and the recent economic downturn. As a result, he said, thousands who need the benefit have found themselves ineligible.
Can we quote you on that?
“I was just at a news conference in Northglenn with a bunch of kindergartners. I was thinking how much nicer it is to be with kindergartners than it is to be with the media.”
– Gov. Bill Ritter, during a speech Tuesday afternoon
“As I understand it, the legislative basketball team is ranked 66th out of the 65 teams in the NCAA tournament.”
– Rep. Terrance Carroll, D-Denver
“This bill burns me.”
– Rep. Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, on requiring teens to get parental consent to use tanning beds
