Tag: Amy Stephens

Bipartisan co-sponsorship of a bill to set up a public healthcare exchange in Colorado appears now to be on shaky ground after House Majority Leader Amy Stephens, R-Monument, broke a pact between herself and Democratic cosponsor Sen. Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood, by pushing what Boyd called a "poison pill" amendment.

Former Colorado Springs Senator Dave Schultheis is no longer holding forth on bills on the Senate floor in Denver, but he has continued to exert influence this year as the powerful force behind the conservative Republican Study Committee of Colorado. Now that influence may be waning. This week, a third of the RSCC flock quit the committee, rejecting the would-be radical-right revival.

A bipartisan bill that would develop the specifics of a Colorado health exchange will be introduced late this week or early next week according to bill sponsor Sen. Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood.

DENVER-- Durango Republican Senator Ellen Roberts has received awards for championing youth causes and praise from capitol watchers for taking non-partisan problem-solving stands on critical issues. So it was both remarkable and unsurprising that she voted Monday with five Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in favor same-sex civil unions legislation.

Colorado House Republicans Tuesday introduced a bill to enable Colorado to opt out of participation in the Affordable Care Act. The bill would cause Colorado to join in an interstate compact with several other states that do not want to participate in the federal health care plan.

A handful of Democrats stood behind Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, as he announced today a citizens' initiative to roll back tax rates in hopes of generating $1.63 billion over three years for higher education and K-12 education.

With a prayer from Archbishop Charles Chaput that called for legislators to consider the future of both the born and unborn in their decision making, Republicans officially took control of the Colorado House of Representatives as the Colorado General Assembly opened for business Wednesday.

DENVER-- Lawmakers Monday passed a bill in the Colorado House that would require health insurance companies to include prenatal and birth control in all plans offered to women on the individual health care market. Sponsored by Denver Democrats Beth McCann and Jerry Frangas, the bill was stripped of this strong provision in committee weeks ago in order to move it onto the floor. House watchers expected to see a fight on the floor but the bill passed on a voice vote, with only minimal questioning from conservative Monument Republican Amy Stephens, who asked if the bill would now cover so-called Plan B contraception, the "morning after" pill, which some see as akin to abortion.

DENVER-- More than a hundred people gathered at a rally convened on the west steps of the capitol today to urge Colorado lawmakers to oppose federal health reform and to launch a state ballot initiative that aims to exempt Colorado from any version of the health legislation set to pass through Congress in the coming weeks. The move here reflects related efforts in states across the country.

House Speaker Terrance Carroll, D-Denver, introduced legislation on Tuesday designed to address abuses that plagued the ballot initiative process in Colorado last election season. Co-sponsored in the House by Lois Court, D-Denver, and in the Senate by Majority Leader Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, the bill aims narrowly to address the petitioning process, where signatures in support of initiatives are gathered, and particularly "concerns raised regarding the use of paid petition circulators," according to a House Democratic Party press release.