Gov. Bill Ritter put forward an ambitious agenda in his State of the State address in January. Four months later, it’s safe to say he’s made a respectable dent in his priority list.
In his first legislative session, Ritter won from lawmakers a sweeping reform of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, a feat that eluded former Republican Speaker of the House Russ George. He pushed through a proposal – albeit somewhat clumsily – to boost property tax funding for public education, an accomplishment that former Republican Sen. Norma Anderson tried but failed to attain in 2004.
While he made modest gains toward improving health care for Coloradans, leaving the heavy lifting for 2008, he made a leap toward his goal of beginning a transition to a new energy economy for Colorado. The legislature passed at least eight bills that lay a foundation for renewable-energy investments.
In the area of corrections, Ritter began to refocus attention away from building more and bigger prisons in favor of offender treatment and reforming sentencing laws.
Beyond legislation, Ritter took matters into his own hands, signing several key executive orders. Early in the session, he authorized the state’s entry into a multistate pharmaceutical purchasing pool, enabling Colorado to buy medicine for low-income people at a lower cost.
Also by executive order, he created a panel to prioritize transportation projects and figure out how to get them funded, and he ordered that all state agencies and departments go green by reducing energy use 20 percent by the end of fiscal year 2011-12.
To drive his goal of working with both sides of the political aisle, he met with Republican lawmakers dozens of times, individually and in groups.
Not that it’s all been smooth sailing. Probably the biggest bump in Ritter’s legislative plans came after only a month in office when he vetoed a bill that would have made it easier for unions to organize. In explaining his veto, Ritter said the issue had deteriorated into “overheated politics at its worst.” He criticized his labor allies for making “no effort to open a dialogue” and some of his business allies for acting “neither respectful nor civil.”
A month later, Ritter rescinded a 2001 executive order signed by former Gov. Bill Owens and restored the right of state employees to have union dues deducted from their paychecks. That labor-friendly action went nearly unnoticed.
For a freshman governor with no prior statehouse experience, Ritter showed impressive leadership in his first go-round.
