House Education Committee Kills Bill Creating Tax Deduction for Private School Tuition

A proposal to allow parents of private school students to take an annual state income tax deduction for up to about $1,250 of the tuition they pay was killed in a House committee Thursday.

HB 1195 died after legislative staff projected it could cost the state as much as $108 million in fiscal year 2009 and as much as about $163 million in fiscal year 2010.

Democratic members of the House Education Committee told the bill's sponsor, Rep. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, that his measure would effectively funnel public money to private schools and undermine rural school districts' financial stability by increasing the incentives for parents to pull" their kids out of local public schools.

But Lambert said preliminary research on his proposal shows that his bill would save money as an increasing number of parents choose private schools over public schools.

"If you have fewer students in the public schools, you also have less back fill from the state," Lambert said. "Whatever we raise in taxes could then be used for something else."

Lambert also said he thinks the existing system under which parents of private school students pay taxes to support public schools is unfair.

"The thing is, people who do not take advantage of the public schools, they still have the same tax liability," Lambert said. "They are being taxed whether or not they decide to participate. The question is whether that's fair."

The vote against the measure was 9-4.

Republican Tom Massey of Poncha Springs joined the committee's majority Democrats in opposition to Lambert's proposal, which was co-sponsored by Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray.

Ethics Committee to Look Into Allegations Against Balmer

A bipartisan committee of House members will investigate allegations that assistant minority leader David Balmer, R-Centennial, attempted to improperly influence colleagues' votes in the race to replace Rep. Mike May, R-Parker, as minority leader.

The committee, which was announced by speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver, today, includes five veteran legislators.

Members of the ethics committee, which will consider a complaint filed against Balmer on Dec. 16, include Reps. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, Joel Judd, D-Denver, Claire Levy, D-Boulder, Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs, and Ken Summers, R-Lakewood.

The complaint against Balmer, which was filed by May, alleges that Balmer attempted to coordinate a campaign contribution by a professional association in exchange for a vote in his favor in the GOP caucus meeting. It also alleges that Balmer promised a future committee chairmanship to another legislator in exchange for his or her vote for Balmer as the new minority leader.

As a Rocky Mountain News article on the ethics controversy points out, the partisan makeup of this committee is different from the one that investigated Rep. Douglas Bruce, R-Colorado Springs, last session. That committee has three Democrats and three Republicans.

Balmer is accused of violating House Rule 49b, which requires that ethics committees assigned to investigate such allegations "shall be in proportion generally to the relative number of members of the two major political parties in the House."

Teen Tobacco Use Ban Passes Senate

The Senate passed Wednesday a bill that would ban minors from possessing tobacco.

SB 88, which its sponsor calls the "Teen Tobacco Use Prevention Act," does not criminalize the possession or use of tobacco by children under the age of 18. Instead, the bill authorizes law enforcement officers to confiscate cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco or any other tobacco product found in a minor's possession.

The bill also forbids tobacco retailers and others from selling or otherwise providing minors with cigarettes or other tobacco products. Violation of those provisions is made a petty offense subject to a fine for each violation. The bill would require tobacco merchants to ask for identification before selling tobacco products.

SB 88 also preserves the right of Colorado municipalities to enact criminal prohibitions against possession of tobacco products by minors.

Sen. Ron Tupa, D-Boulder, sponsored the bill in the Senate, while the House sponsor is Rep. Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs.

The bill now moves to the House of Representatives.

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.