A resolution to request the Colorado Supreme Court review the constitutionality of a bill to install Amendment 41 has sailed through a Senate committee. But, with three weeks remaining until the end of the legislative session, it is unclear whether the Supreme Court – if it accepts the interrogatory – will have time to review it.
An attorney for the Amendment 29 Coalition, which includes original sponsors of last fall’s Ethics in Government amendment, spoke in favor of House Joint Resolution 1029. However, Mark Grueskin says his group is moving forward with a possible November statewide ballot initiative to clarify the muddy language of the new law – and install a $50 annual tax on lobbyists – in the event that the Legislature runs out of time.
After the hearing, one of the resolution’s sponsors, Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, conceded that the legislature is “cutting it close” with the timing. But, he noted, “The [Supreme} Court can do amazing things when it wants to.” When addressing the State, Veterans & Military Affairs committee, Grueskin did not speak of his group’s plans to move ahead with a statewide ballot initiative. But, he later noted that the high court’s previous record for reviewing interrogatories was four weeks –
