House Honors Armed Forces Personnel, Veterans; Bruce Dissents

The House passed a resolution honoring the state's armed forces personnel and veterans today, voting to recognize the service and sacrifices of more than 60,000 military men and women and more than 425,000 veterans that live in the state on Military and Veterans Appreciation Day in Colorado.

The resolution conveyed "heartfelt gratitude to our state's veterans, past and present, to all military men and women currently serving in the armed services, and to the family members of active duty personnel and veterans." It also "encourage[d] the citizens of Colorado to join in the celebration of Colorado's Military and Veterans Appreciation Day on February 13, 2008, in recognition and honor of the thousands of fellow citizens in the military who protect and serve their communities, state, and country."

The resolution, HJR 1007, is to be sent to President Bush, the commanding officers of military installations and units in the state, members of Colorado's delegation in Congress, the state Board of Veterans Affairs and the United Veterans Committee of Colorado.

The resolution drew sponsorship from virtually every member of the House today. However, one Republican refused to sign on as a sponsor: Rep. Douglas Bruce, R-Colorado Springs.

Bruce has said that he thinks resolutions are unworthy of the General Assembly's attention. However, he has been a co-sponsor this session of a resolution honoring the late Rev. Martin Luther King, as well as of a resolution honoring 4-H day in the state.

The Military and Veterans Appreciation Day resolution was introduced by Reps. Stella Garza-Hicks, R-Colorado Springs, and Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora.

House GOP Women Criticize Liston Comment

Female members of the House GOP caucus issued a statement Thursday that criticized Rep. Larry Liston, R-Colorado Springs, for labeling pregnant teenage girls and the boys who have intercourse with them as "sluts."

The statement said:

"Words have a meaning, and we all have an obligation as public officials to be respectful of others.

"We appreciate the fact that Rep. Liston has accepted responsibility for his inappropriate and unacceptable comments.

"His unfortunate use of language distracted from an important caucus discussion of meaningful health care reform.

"Just as we each hold ourselves to a high standard, we also hold our colleagues to a high standard. This incident was unacceptable, and it is our hope that we can focus on the work that we have been sent here to do and to avoid such occurrences in the future."

Members of the House who signed the statement are Reps. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, Amy Stephens, R-Monument, Marsha Looper, R-Calhan, and Stella Garza-Hicks, R-Colorado Springs.

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.

Liston Publicly Labels Pregnant Teens "Sluts"

Rep. Larry Liston, R-Colorado Springs, said that young, unmarried women who become pregnant and the men or boys who have intercourse with them are "sluts" during a lunch caucus meeting with health care professionals Wednesday.

According to a report in The Gazette (Colorado Springs), Liston said that "In my parents’ day and age, they were sent away, they were shunned, they were called what they are. There was at least a sense of shame. There’s no sense of shame today. Society condones it. . . . I think it’s wrong. They’re sluts. And I don’t mean just the women. I mean the men, too."

The report goes on to quote Liston's El Paso County colleague, Rep. Stella Garza-Hicks, R-Colorado Springs, as being "disturbed" and "offended" by Liston's remarks.

According to The Gazette report, Liston later explained that he was trying to say that teens who can't afford the children to whom they become parents are able to turn to the government for financial help, which in his view contributes to the prevalence of teen pregnancy.

The Denver Post reported this morning that Liston apologized to Garza-Hicks after his wife expressed concern about his choice of words.

4th Infantry License Plate Bill Moves On

A bill to create a special license plate honoring the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division has passed a House committee.

HB 1175 was approved by the Transportation & Energy Committee Monday, Feb. 4. It now moves on to the House Appropriations Committee.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Stella Garza-Hicks, R-Colorado Springs, and Sen. Mike Kopp, R-Littleton.

Last Session Looms For Some Legislators

Colorado's term limits law will mean that several veteran legislators will be spending their last session at the Capitol this winter and spring. Colorado's 1990 term limits law, which is part of the state constitution (Art. 5, Section 3), gives members of the House of Representatives a maximum of four two-year terms and members of the Senate a maximum of two four-year terms.

Among the senators of both parties who will finish their final terms this session are:

Sen. Ken Gordon (D-Denver)
Sen. Bob Hagedorn (D-Aurora)
Sen. Stephanie Takis (D-Aurora)
Sen. Sue Windels (D-Arvada)
Sen. Ron Tupa (D-Boulder)
Sen. Andy McElhany (R-Colorado Springs)
Sen. Jack Taylor (R-Steamboat Springs)

In addition, Sen. Ted Harvey (R-Highlands Ranch) and Sen. Steve Ward (R-Littleton) are running for Congress in District 6.

Over in the House, these are the members that will be done when the 2008 session adjourns in May:

Rep. Andrew Romanoff (D-Denver)
Rep. Alice Madden (D-Boulder)
Rep. Michael Garcia (D-Aurora)
Rep. Rosemary Marshall (D-Denver)
Rep. Debbie Stafford (D-Aurora)
Rep. Cheri Jahn (D-Golden)
Rep. Alice Borodkin (D-Denver)
Rep. Mary Hodge (D-Brighton)
Rep. Al White (R-Winter Park)

In addition, Rep. Stella Garza-Hicks (R-Colorado Springs), Rep. Rob Witwer (R-Evergreen) and Rep. Ray Rose (R-Montrose) have said they won't seek re-election in the fall. Rep. Dorothy Butcher, D-Pueblo, is also likely serving in her last session at the Capitol, having announced plans to run for a county commission post in the fall instead of for re-election to the House.

White has announced his plans to seek election to the Senate seat held by Taylor, while Borodkin is presumed to be a candidate for the Senate seat now held by Gordon and Garcia is expected to run for the Senate seat now held by Hagedorn.