Former Republican U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis has written to Gov. Bill Ritter, asking him to veto a bill that would put state lands off-limits to the Army as it considers expanding the Piñon Canyon training ground east of Trinidad.
Supporters of House Bill 1317 say it would block the Army’s goal of getting a contiguous tract of land for expansion.
“My experience in Congress tells me that this legislation will be used as a tool to preclude any effort to reach a compromise by either party on this issue,” McInnis wrote to Ritter. “I believe that your signature on this legislation will make that important middle ground very difficult to reach.”
Rep. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, one of the bill’s sponsors, said he views the letter as a calculated attempt by a Republican considering a gubernatorial run to win over conservative voters in El Paso County, home to Fort Carson, whose soldiers often train at the site.
Ritter has not announced whether he will sign the bill.
