Statehouse Republicans Petition Governor to Oppose Relocation of War on Terror Detainees to Colorado

Republicans at the capitol are circulating a petition asking Gov. Bill Ritter not to volunteer Colorado's Supermax prison as a site for the relocation of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The request, which was drafted by Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, and Sen. Ken Kester, R-Las Animas, implores Ritter to oppose any effort by President Barack Obama to relocate individuals captured in the War on Terror to the state.

"I don't really think it would be appropriate to mix these terrorists with the current prison population. They're going to be in our prisons recruiting inmates to kill American servicemen and civilians," Kester said. "Besides, there simply isn't enough room. We don't have the beds or staffing to accommodate that many new prisoners."

Evan Dreyer, the chief press spokesperson for Ritter, said the GOP is simply looking to score political points.

"I don't think the Republicans in the Colorado statehouse are acting any different than the Republicans in Washington," Dreyer said. "There was a similar type of knee-jerk reaction from Republicans in Washington as we saw today from Republicans in the statehouse."

U.S. Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio and the House minority leader, issued a statement Thursday criticizing Obama's decision.

Boehner, expressing fears that federal judges would order detainees held in a prison in the continental U.S. released, said Obama's plan to close the Cuba prison has not been well thought out.

Dreyer explained that Ritter supports Obama's decision to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and that the ultimate decision about who can be placed at Supermax is not in the governor's hands.

He also emphasized that Ritter believes that any detainee who is classified as a combatant under relevant international law should not be housed at the high-security prison complex near Florence.

"If they're military detainees, then Supermax is not the appropriate facility for them to be detained in," Dreyer said.

The military detention complex at Guantanamo Bay holds about 250 prisoners that could be classified as enemy combatants.

Obama issued Thursday an executive order that requires the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility used by the U.S. armed forces to hold foreign citizens suspected of involvement in the nation's war against al Qaeda and allied terrorist organizations.

As of Friday afternoon the petition included the signatures of three statehouse Democrats: Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, Sen. Paula Sandoval, D-Denver, and Sen. Jim Isgar, D-Hesperus.

Republican signers of the petition include Senate minority leader Josh Penry of Fruita, Kester, and 12 other GOP senators. House Republican leadership team members Mike May of Parker, David Balmer of Centennial, Cory Gardner of Yuma and Amy Stephens of Monument, as well as 18 other GOP representatives, also signed the document as of Friday afternoon.

Senate Gives Preliminary Nod to Expansion of Sexual Preference Discrimination Ban

The Senate, after a heated and emotional argument over a Republican attempt to equate discrimination against short people with discrimination against gay men and women, gave preliminary approval this morning to a measure that would expand the scope of the state's ban on sexual preference discrimination.

Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, introduced an amendment aimed at preventing private sector discrimination on the basis of height, which provoked a tempestuous, and at times heated, exchange. Brophy argued that gay people don't face different treatment in any area of public life.

“What I’m talking about is economic discrimination, political discrimination, employment discrimination,” Brophy said. “I find no pattern of any of those.”

That statement prompted strong responses from several Senate Democrats.

“It must be nice, as a white male, to sit back and mock the real discrimination that occurs in our society, especially on the basis of sexual orientation,” Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver, said.

And Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, recounted how his son, who is gay, felt compelled to leave Colorado to practice law because he did not believe he would have a fair chance to succeed in this state.

Senate president Peter Groff of Denver also indicated that he was displeased by Brophy's comments.

“Discrimination is a practice that has gone on in this country too long,” Groff said. “It is the birth defect of this country. And I think it’s time we deal with that.”

SB 200 would expand the reach of existing state law preventing discrimination on the basis of race and gender, among other demographic characteristics, in a wide variety of areas, including in housing, places of public accommodation, consumer credit, labor unions and school enrollment, to cover sexual preference.

Last year the General Assembly enacted, and Gov. Bill Ritter signed, a measure that prohibits private employers from making job-related decisions on the basis of a person's sexual preference.

The bill faces a final vote in the Senate before moving on to the House.

Brophy withdrew his amendment before the second reading voice vote took place this morning.

PUC Overhaul and Reauthorization Heads to Senate

The House cleared a bill that reauthorizes the Public Utilities Commission and makes some important changes in its mission Thursday, but not without a long debate the day before.

HB 1227 has gained attention because it includes provisions aimed at increasing the likelihood that additional taxicab companies will enter the market in the state's cities. However, the bill also broadens the function of the state's Office of Consumer Counsel. It requires the OCC to consider social and environmental factors, as well as the economic interests of consumers and business interests, when formulating and presenting a position on proposed rate increases or decreases to the PUC.

That provision drew controversy, with Republicans arguing that it would inevitably lead to higher utility bills. But Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, pointed out that a failure by the PUC to consider the social and environmental impacts inherent in public utilities' choice of fuels for power generation could actually result in increased costs to consumers.

The bill also authorizes the PUC to impose administrative fines against public utilities, an authority the agency currently has with respect to motor carriers, and subjects investor-owned water and sewer companies to PUC regulation.

The measure is sponsored by majority leader Alice Madden, D-Boulder, and Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo.

It cleared the House on a near-party line 41-24 vote, with only Rep. Al White, R-Hayden, voting with the Democrats in support of the measure.

Dem Strike Ban Bill Gets Past Senate Committee

A Democratic bill that would forbid state workers from going on strike was approved by a Senate committee Wednesday.

HB 1189 was sent to the full Senate on a 4-1 vote of the State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee.

The bill does not make the act of going on strike a felony, as Republicans would prefer. Instead, it makes it a misdemeanor.

Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, was the sole member of the committee to vote against the bill.

Rep. Jim Riesberg, D-Fort Collins, and Sen. Dan Gibbs, D-Silverthorne, are the sponsors of the bill.

Joint Constitution Committee to Hear From DU Panel Thursday

The new Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Reform will hear a presentation from the authors of a University of Denver report calling for changes to the state's initiative process Thursday morning.

The DU report, issued Jan. 3, recommends that the General Assembly enact tougher standards for getting a proposed change to the state constitution on the ballot and protect statutory initiatives from legislative change for ten years.

The report also calls for creation of a "Constitutional Revision Commission" to study ways in which the state's legal charter could be simplified.

Members of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Reform are chair Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, vice-chair Rep. Al White, R-Hayden, Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, Rep. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, and Rep. Andy Kerr, D-Lakewood.

The panel held its first meeting Tuesday.

Bill Banning Possession of Tobacco by Minors To Get Committee Hearing

A bill that would ban minors from possessing tobacco in Colorado will get a hearing before a Senate committee Monday.

SB 88, sponsored by Sen. Ron Tupa, D-Boulder, and Rep. Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs, would also forbid the distribution of free tobacco products at public events.

The proposed "Teen Tobacco Use Prevention Act" also has two Republican co-sponsors in the Senate - Sens. Greg Brophy, R-Wray and Steve Johnson, R-Fort Collins - as well as the backing of the Senate president and president pro-tempore.

Wiretap Extension Bill Gets Final House OK

The House gave final approval Wednesday to a bill that would allow state judges to grant indefinite extensions to wiretap authorizations.

HB 1130, sponsored by Rep. Stella Garza-Hicks, R-Colorado Springs, passed on a 43-20 vote.

The bill provides that state courts could grant law enforcement agencies unlimited extensions of orders allowing police to wiretap people or entities suspected of committing crimes.

Current law says that police can get an order allowing wiretapping for 30 days and have it extended once for an additional 30 days.

All of the "no" votes on the bill were cast by Democrats. However, nearly as many Democrats (18) voted for the bill as voted against it. Among those voting "yes" were:

Rep. Debbie Benefield, D-Arvada
Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction
Assistant Majority Leader Rep. Terrance Carroll, D-Denver
Rep. Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver
Rep. Cheri Jahn, D-Golden
Assistant Majority Caucus Chair Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder
Majority Leader Rep. Alice Madden, D-Boulder
Rep. Rosemary Marshall, D-Denver
Rep. Liane "Buffie" McFadyen, D-Pueblo West
Rep. Mike Merrifield, D-Colorado Springs
Rep. Cherilyn Peniston, D-Westminster
Rep. Dianne Primavera, D-Broomfield
Rep. Joe Rice, D-Littleton
Rep. Christine Scanlan, D-Dillon
Rep. John Soper, D-Thornton
Rep. Debbie Stafford, D-Aurora
Rep. Nancy Todd, D-Aurora
Speaker Rep. Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver.

The bill is sponsored in the Senate by Democrats Abel Tapia of Pueblo and John P. Morse of Colorado Springs.