UNDER THE DOME
Panel to study education reform
Gov. Bill Ritter will create a commission to study education reform in Colorado, including how to reduce the dropout rate and expand preschool programs, he said Tuesday.
The P-20 Council – which stands for preschool through college, or grade 20 – will focus on aligning the education system with the needs of employers.
“This council will help make sure our education highway provides a continuous path of knowledge and skills for our young people,” Ritter said.
The governor said he expects a report by the end of November.
Senate OKs ethics-commission bill
The Senate passed and sent to the governor a bill that sets up an Amendment 41 ethics commission.
Under Senate Bill 210, a five-member panel will hear alleged violations of the ethics-in-government amendment passed by voters last November.
The House and Senate have asked the Colorado Supreme Court to give the ethics panel guidance in interpreting the amendment, which some say is broad enough to ban scholarships to the children of government workers.
Lawmakers also might send Amendment 41 back to the ballot in 2008 to clarify it.
Parolee-voting provision stripped
A House committee voted unanimously Tuesday to strip a provision from a Senate bill that would have let parolees vote. The provision was added to a broader election-code cleanup earlier this month on the Senate floor.
Secretary of State Mike Coffman on Tuesday applauded the move by the House state affairs committee. “I adamantly opposed this amendment as I believe, along with the attorney general, that allowing felons on parole to vote violates the state constitution,” Coffman said.
Can we quote you on that?
“We split the difference and came up with a Jan. 1 start date so you can quit smoking as a New Year’s resolution.”
– Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon before the Senate passed a compromise bill to ban smoking in casinos. The bill needs one final endorsement in the House before it goes to the governor.
