Highlights from the Legislature on Friday:
— Gov. Bill Ritter signed next year’s $19.2 billion budget into law. The budget is for the new fiscal year that starts July 1. Ritter praised lawmakers who worked on the budget, but he did veto several portions, including a provision allowing state colleges and universities to raise tuition above 9 percent.
— An important labor bill is on its way to the governor, but it’s not clear whether he’ll sign it. Senate Bill 180 would give firefighters the right to unionize without getting local approval. The Senate backed the House’s version of the bill Friday, sending it on to Ritter.
— The House killed a bill (Senate Bill 255) that would have set up a statewide authority to share service workers, such as computer technicians, among state agencies after unions complained.
— A proposal to eliminate Colorado’s death penalty is on the way to the full Senate for debate. The Senate Appropriations Committee backed the measure (House Bill 1274) in a 6-4 party-line vote. The full Senate is expected to vote on the bill Monday.
— The House gave tentative approval to a plan that would set up a search committee when a president or chancellor position comes open at a state-funded university, and require the committee to make the names of the finalists public. The House gave initial approval to the measure (House Bill 1369) after amending it to require that all universities in the system be represented on the search committee. The bill faces a third reading before it goes to the Senate.
— The House killed a bill (House Bill 1269) that would have created a rainy day account for the state budget.
