Highlights from the Legislature on Wednesday:
— The Colorado Senate rejected a proposal to abolish the death penalty, hours after backers revived the measure for a final vote on the last day of the legislative session. Senators voted 18-17 to kill the bill (House Bill 1274), which would have used the savings from eliminating capital punishment prosecutions to fund cold case investigations.
— The House approved and sent to the governor a measure (House Bill 1366) getting rid of a deduction for capital gains earned on Colorado assets. The measure would still allow people to deduct $100,000 in capital gains earned in any state, a move aimed at helping small businesses.
— The House approved and sent to the governor a bill that would eliminate the state sales and use tax exemption for cigarettes (House Bill 1342). Lawmakers said they don’t need voter approval because they are eliminating a sales tax exemption. They said the bill would raise the price of a pack of cigarettes by 13 cents a pack.
— The Colorado House killed a resolution urging Congress to consider community needs when deploying the National Guard. Supporters said the deployments are hurting local police and fire departments because of the large number of reserves being called up from their ranks. Opponents say the state lacks jurisdiction over the National Guard and there is no way to limit the number of reserves that are being recalled.
— Both houses approved and sent to the governor a bill aimed at cracking down on talking and texting while driving. Teen drivers would be barred from any talking or texting under the measure (House Bill 1094), but only texting would be illegal for adults.
— The House and Senate revived and sent to the governor a measure that would require anyone arrested for a felony to submit a DNA sample. The goal is to use the samples to solve old crimes and prevent criminals from striking again. It’s named Katie’s Law after 22-year-old Katie Sepich, who was raped and murdered in New Mexico in 2003. Her killer was captured using DNA, and 15 states have passed such laws since her death.
