After months of intense talks and partisan attempts to rearrange the congressional districts by Republicans and Democrats, the Colorado General Assembly’s redistricting attempt failed to produce a map. The Senate State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee killed an amended Republican map, moving the battle out of the Legislature–at least for now.
A bill to increase fees on payday loans died Thursday, leaving consumer advocates happy and payday lenders less so.
Democrats and Republicans held hearings on dueling redistricting maps at the Capitol Thursday while party leadership negotiated with the governor to find a solution to partisan gridlock.
The battle of the maps continues under the Capitol dome as Democrats released a new redistricting map today that they said is a compromise that is still open to change as the deadline quickly approaches for the General Assembly to provide the state with new lines of congressional representation.
House Republicans introduced their version of what could be the map of the political battlefield Tuesday. While Republicans called the map an olive branch extended to their Democratic colleagues,they actually carved out four of the seven districts to favor themselves.
A Senate committee axed three Republican immigration bills Monday. The committee, on a party-line vote, turned down legislation that targeted voting accessibility and immigration concerns. Also killed was a bill ridiculed by some as a “birther bill.” That legislation would have required elected officials to present proof of citizenship upon taking office.
The big fight over congressional redistricting entered center ring Thursday afternoon as Sen. Rollie Heath introduced SB 268 as the Democratic starting point for the state’s new congressional district lines. The map mirrors a version first presented in the failed Joint Select Committee on Redistricting, which he co-chaired.
Republicans lined up to testify Wednesay in the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee on a declaration the Senate would never officially declare. SR 11-04 called for the Senate to put its foot down and state for the record that it would not raise taxes during the legislative session. Democrats all voted no and the bill died.
Democrats and Republicans traded barbs Monday after Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, declared an end to the Joint Select Committee on Redistricting by preparing to introduce a bill to create a Democratic map. In turn, Republicans said they too would introduce a map to compete with the Democratic version.
Senator Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, said today that he would likely introduce two redistricting map bills into the Senate after committee talks broke down on redistricting. Heath said there was no reason for further conversations with Republicans, who he said did not have authority to negotiate.
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