Highlights from the Legislature on Tuesday.
— The Senate voted 26-9 to give final approval to setting limits on protests in residential neighborhoods (Senate Bill 192). Protesters would have to keep walking along a route about 300 feet long, wouldn’t be able to camp out in front of a house and wouldn’t be able to carry signs larger than 6 square feet. It now heads to the House.
— The Senate gave initial backing to requiring that convicted criminals get a new trial if DNA evidence is destroyed. The measure (Senate Bill 205) was inspired by the case of Clarence Moses-EL who says he was wrongly convicted of a 1987 rape in Denver.
— The Senate voted to send a bill setting limits on payday lenders to the appropriations committee after narrowly showing support for a version that’s more friendly to industry. Republicans and some Democrats said lenders should be allowed to collect a fee each time they renew a loan even though all GOP members said they still thought it would be a bad bill (House Bill 1310). The measure would prevent lenders from charging more than 46 percent interest but it’s not clear what rate customers would pay overall when the fees are included.
