House OK's Online Voter Registration

Coloradoans could soon be registering to vote online, at least if a bill approved by the House Monday makes it into law.

Under HB 1160, a qualified elector could register to vote, or make changes in their voter registration, if they have a digital signature on file with one or more state databases, including the driver license and motor vehicle registration databases, the state income tax database, the motorist insurance database, or the state's voter registration database.

The bill would require the secretary of state to create and maintain a "fully secure" website to accommodate the online voter registration system. It would impose a deadline of April 1, 2010 for the online system to be made available.

HB 1160 was approved overwhelmingly on a 60-4 vote. The only opponents were Republicans Cory Gardner of Yuma, Kent Lambert of Colorado Springs, B.J. Nickell of Berthoud and Jerry Sonnenberg of Sterling.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Joe Miklosi, D-Denver, and Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins.

It must be approved by the Senate and signed by Gov. Bill Ritter before becoming law.

Post: Bill Imposing Fee on Grocery Store Plastic Bags Coming

The Denver Post reports today that lawmakers will soon introduce a bill requiring consumers to pay a fee for each plastic bag they use to carry groceries from a store.

The measure, which has not been introduced yet, is inspired by a group of students from the Kent Denver School.

According to the Post story,

The bill, introduced Friday, would require shoppers to pay 6 cents for each plastic bag they used.

The vendor and the state, which would use the money to increase environmental awareness, would split the fee evenly.

The proposal would apply only to businesses that are the largest sources of the bags — stores of 10,000 square feet or more and those that generate more than $1 million in annual revenues.

The bags would be eliminated from those stores after three years.

The sponsors will be Rep. Joe Miklosi, D-Denver, and Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver.

A 2006 report estimated that Americans recycled more than 800 million pounds of "post-consumer film," which includes plastic grocery bags, in 2006.