Highlights from the Legislature on Thursday:
— The House and Senate decided to declare a snow day and take off the rest of the day and Friday.
— The House gave tentative approval to a bill that would allow homeowners to collect rain water for fire protection, animals, irrigation and household use (Senate Bill 80). The bill faces a third reading before going back to the Senate for consideration of amendments.
— The House tentatively approved a bill (Senate Bill 5) that expands the definition of a traumatic brain injury to include injuries like those experienced by individuals serving in the military who are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill faces a third reading before it goes to the governor for his signature.
— The House gave tentative approval to a measure (Senate Bill 148) giving more rights and protections to bicyclists. It requires drivers to give cyclists at least a 3-foot berth when passing them. The bill also makes it a class one misdemeanor to throw something at a cyclist. The bill faces a third reading before it goes back to the Senate for consideration of amendments.
— The Senate gave initial backing to requiring that drivers in parts of Weld and Larimer counties get their car emissions checked as part of a Front Range program to cut down on ozone pollution (Senate Bill 3). Cars in those areas would have until July 1, 2011, to comply with emissions standards. The bill would also allow cars made only in 1975 or earlier to qualify for classic-car plates and the break they get on emissions testing. The aim is to cut down on emissions from older cars that aren’t truly collector’s items by either repairing them or getting them off the road.
— The House tentatively approved a measure (Senate Bill 237) that changes the state’s “zero tolerance” law on fake guns at schools, sending the measure to the House. The bill was introduced in response to the suspension of a 17-year-old drill team commander who had practice rifles in her vehicle on school grounds. Under the bill, fake weapons found in a car wouldn’t be considered a violation, but administrators would still be able to decide how to punish students who display, carry or brandish a fake weapon at school. Right now, those students would have to be automatically expelled. The bill faces a third reading before going back to the Senate for consideration of amendments.
