Of all the bills winding their way through the Colorado legislature, few have seen as much in-front-of-the scenes wrangling as Republican Sen. Ted Harvey’s bill to ban the sale of pornography to kids.
The bill was contested, then gutted, then brought back to life, then slapped with a price tag and is now, as Harvey put it Friday, “on life support.” And, contrary to many bills that go through the political taffy puller behind the scenes, all of the maneuvering on Harvey’s bill took place in public view.
It is the kind of chess match Capitol watchers delight in. But Harvey, not so much.
“I think it’s a shame that the majority party will do whatever it can to keep the sale of pornography to minors legal in the state of Colorado,” Harvey, from Highlands Ranch, said.
Democrats say their concerns with the bill are real and their interest in protecting children genuine.
Harvey’s bill, Senate Bill 125, would make it a misdemeanor to sell or give pornography to minors. It passed narrowly out of committee, but when it came before the full Senate in February Democrats said the bill was overly broad, unenforceable and maybe even unconstitutional.
Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, offered what he called a “bill-saving” amendment.
“The bill, as drafted, would basically have given these people a traffic ticket,” Shaffer said.
His change struck much of Harvey’s bill and instead made it a felony to give pornography to minors with the intent of grooming them for sexual abuse.
Republicans were able to revive Harvey’s old language and mash it together with Shaffer’s new language. But because the bill now created a new felony crime, it got slapped with a price tag and sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
When that committee met late last month, it voted against approving the new $125,000 in costs, even though some committee members spoke in favor of the bill’s intent.
“What I think we should do is start again next year and do it right,” said committee member Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver.
But Republicans accuse Democrats of using the bill’s cost as an excuse to ax it — a maneuver known around the Capitol as “death by fiscal note.”
“They didn’t want to be on record as voting against outlawing the sale of pornography to minors,” Harvey said.
“If they really care about protecting kids, they should pass this bill,” Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, said.
But Sen. John Morse, a Colorado Springs Democrat, said politicians should be able to debate policy without fear of being labeled pro-sex offender.
“All of us,” he said, “would agree that pedophiles seducing children is very, very bad.”
Harvey said he is hunting for another funding source for his bill but said he is not optimistic he will be able to get it passed.
John Ingold: 303-954-1068 or jingold@denverpost.com
