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Salazar-Esgar Bill Affirms Colorado State Agencies’ Right to Not Assist With Unconstitutional or Illegal Federal Orders

A bill by Reps. Joe Salazar and Daneya Esgar to protect Coloradans from overreaching federal programs targeting religious or ethnic communities passed out of the House this morning with a party-line 37-28 vote.

“As this bill moves to the Senate, I hope to see my colleagues come together around this legislation that protects all communities in Colorado and simply says to the federal government, ‘If you’re asking us to do something that’s illegal and unconstitutional, we will not stand for it here in Colorado,’” said Rep. Esgar, D-Pueblo.

“This bill is about protecting states’ rights and Coloradans’ rights,” said Rep. Salazar, D-Thornton. “It’s disappointing to see my Republican  colleagues vote against constitutional protections—they’re sending a message to our communities that the federal government can terrorize Coloradans.”

The Colorado Freedom Defense Act prohibits state and local governments from giving information about a Coloradan’s race, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status, or religious affiliation to the federal government unless it is for a legal and constitutional purpose.

The bill also prohibits state and local governments from working with the federal government to create or maintain any registries, identify people using physical or electronic markers, or intern or detain a person based on race, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status or religious affiliation. The bill does not prohibit law enforcement from sharing information about criminals with federal agencies.

On the floor this morning, Reps. Esgar and Salazar supported an amendment to change the name of HB17-1230 to the “Colorado Freedom Defense Act” after correspondence with a relative of the late Governor Ralph Carr who did not oppose the bill, but requested that Carr’s name not be on the bill due to the politicized nature of the debate surrounding the legislation.

The bill proceeds to the Senate with the new name.  

WASHINGTON D.C. – Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) today released the following statements after five Colorado-specific public lands bills were unanimously approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Gardner and Bennet introduced the bipartisan bills earlier this year.

“Protecting and promoting Colorado’s public lands is not a partisan issue, and I’m proud to work across the aisle to move these priorities forward,” said Gardner. “Each piece of legislation is important to Colorado and I’ll continue to support efforts that will ensure future generations of Coloradans are able to enjoy our state’s natural treasurers.”

“Our public lands define Colorado and help drive our outdoor recreation economy,” Bennet said. “These bipartisan, commonsense bills will expand outdoor access and preserve and protect wildlife habitat for years to come. The Committee’s approval of these measures is a win for Colorado, and we’ll continue to work to advance these measures in the Senate.”

·       The Bolts Ditch Access and Use Act (S. 285) would authorize special use of the Bolts Ditch headgate and the segment of the Bolts Ditch within the Holy Cross Wilderness Area, allowing the town of Minturn, Colorado to use its existing water right to fill Bolts Lake. This would solve a problem created in 1980 when Congress designated Holy Cross Wilderness area, but inadvertently left Bolts Ditch off of the list of existing water facilities.

·       The Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument (S. 287) legislation will allow for enhanced wildfire protection as well as additional habitat for wildlife and recreational opportunities for visitors. Established as a national monument in 1969, the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument is located west of Pikes Peak and less than 40 miles from Colorado Springs. The monument is home to diverse fossil deposits, maintaining a collection of over 12,000 specimens. It also provides recreational experiences and curriculum-based education programs for its visitors. A private landowner submitted a proposal to donate 280 acres of land adjacent to Florissant Fossil Beds Monument, but due to current law the land donation cannot take place. This commonsense legislation would permit a landowner to donate private land to Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.

·       The Wedge Act (H.R. 688) would aid the Forest Service in acquiring several parcels of land adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park. This Act would help preserve critical wildlife habitat, Colorado River headwaters, and a highly visible view shed in the area commonly referred to as the Wedge.

·       The Crags, Colorado Land Exchange Act (H.R. 618) is a federal land exchange where the Forest Service would acquire pristine land in the Pike National Forest allowing for more outdoor recreation near Pikes Peak.

·       The Elkhorn Ranch and White River National Forest Conveyance Act (H.R. 698) would correct the discrepancy that took place from conflicting land surveys and require the Forest Service to convey acreage to private ownership that is rightfully private property, according to the Forest Service’s own conclusion and recommendation.  For nearly 100 years, 148 acres of land has been used as private land even though it is included in Forest Service survey maps, and this legislation allows for the resolution between the Forest Service and the private landowner.

DENVER — Democrats in the State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee killed, on a party-line vote, a Republican-led effort to address Colorado’s ailing transportation infrastructure without a tax increase. Though still requiring voter approval, House Bill 1171, sponsored by Representatives Terri Carver (R-Colorado Springs) and Perry Buck (R-Windsor), would have directed 10 percent of state sales and use tax revenue to transportation projects statewide; approximately $250 million to service a $3.5 billion bond for projects listed in the statute and an average of $280 million annually for road maintenance.

“When I have town halls around my district in western El Paso County, voters are shocked that we don’t have transportation funding as a regular part of the state General Fund budget,” said Carver. “Transportation is a core government function, and should be a priority in the state General fund budget. How can we ask voters for a tax increase for transportation, when we have not made transportation funding a priority in the state budget?”

Representative Buck added:

“Democrats cannot continue to prioritize everything above Colorado’s road and bridges, and then seek more tax revenue when there isn’t anything left for transportation. House Bill 1171 is a common-sense approach to prioritizing transportation funding and it’s disappointing that the only solution House Democrats will consider is a tax increase.”

Prior to the 2009 session, a percentage of sales was diverted to state transportation funding.

Kennedy Bill Ensures Policymakers & Taxpayers Know What They’re Paying For

A bill by Rep. Chris Kennedy, D-Lakewood, to increase transparency about health care costs in Colorado’s hospitals earned initial approval from the House on second reading this morning.  

“This is all about hospital transparency—transparency for consumers and for policymakers,” said Rep. Kennedy. “With as much money as we spend on hospitals, we need to better understand how that money is being spent. The bill requires hospitals to submit two reports to the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing so that we can analyze and break down how we are spending money in our healthcare system.”

Rep. Kennedy continued with an example of how this data can help create better policy.

“Over the last few years, we’ve actually reduced our uncompensated care in this state from $2.6 billion down to $1 billion a year, and yet we have no idea how that breaks down between metro-area and rural hospitals. With this bill, the hope is we learn some information to craft future policies that will make healthcare more affordable and allocate our hospital provider fee dollars more effectively.”

HB17-1236 requires hospitals to send cost reports and their financial audits to the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF), which will then prepare an annual report of hospital expenditures, including inpatient and outpatient care, administrative and capital costs, and uncompensated care. HCPF would then submit the information to the General Assembly, the Governor and the Medical Services Board.

   The bill proceeds to a recorded third reading vote.

Rep. Tracy Kraft-Tharp’s bill to give state agencies the ability to waive penalties for small businesses that run afoul of state regulations passed the House Business Affairs & Labor Committee this afternoon in a bipartisan rebuttal to years of partisan efforts to tilt the playing field against Coloradans.  

Under HB17-1270, also sponsored by Rep. Polly Lawrence, R-Roxborough Park, first-violation companies with 50 employees or fewer – about nine out of 10 companies in Colorado — that fail to file the appropriate paperwork, where the aggregate penalty is a fine of $500 or less, could be given 30 days to correct the lapse without penalty. State agencies would have discretion on a variety of categories, but not in several specified categories, including those involving public safety, wage theft or violations of federal law.

The bill would also urge state agencies to improve public dissemination of rules changes and order a review of the most-violated rules to see if notification and training, or the rules themselves, should be revised.  

Testifying in support of the measure were representatives of organizations as diverse as the Colorado Competitive Council, Conservation Colorado, the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, the AFL-CIO and the Denver Metro Chamber.

“This is not just me, this is not just Rep. Lawrence,” said Rep. Kraft-Tharp, D-Arvada. “This is stakeholders that have been meeting for months. Let’s support them, let’s move along and support smart regulatory reform that cuts red tape while also ensuring the health and safety of Coloradans.”

Despite bipartisan sponsorship and support from an array of labor and business groups, only one Republican voted for the bill, even though they have supported similar efforts in the past. The vote to send HB17-1270 to the House floor was 8-5.

Also today, the BAL Committee approved Rep. Kraft-Tharp’s HB17-1119, which would give the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment discretion to relax the automatic $250-a-day minimum fines for two-time offender companies failing to carry workers compensation and use fines collected for workers comp violations to create a fund to assist employees who suffer on-the-job injuries while working for companies violating the workers comp law. The bill passed on an 8-5 vote and goes to the Finance Committee.

DENVER — Today, the Senate approved Senator Bob Gardner’s (R-El Paso County) proposal to curb Colorado’s grey market marijuana grows. 

House Bill 17-1220 sets a limit for the number of marijuana plants a medical marijuana patient or caregiver may raise in a residential area. 

Current law allows a local government to establish a per resident limit for the amount of marijuana plants grown in a home. This unenforceable policy has spurred the growth of cartels and unlawful grows in Colorado’s suburban and residential neighborhoods.

HB 1220 establishes 12 as the maximum amount of plants allowed for medical marijuana patients or caregivers unless otherwise permitted by local law enforcement officials.  

“Most of our patients and caregivers are doing the right thing,” said Gardner. “We want to ensure that we are giving those with genuine medical need for these plants the ability to continue their treatment, while keeping our communities as safe as possible from the cartels and criminals who are encroaching on suburban Colorado. Giving law enforcement the tools to be able to root out those bad actors, build a case, and press charges strengthens the system for patients with real need.”

House Bill 1220 now moves on to the governor’s desk for approval.