Tag: Bill Ritter

Freshman Republican Congressman Cory Gardner weathered a drawn out if ultimately not-close Tea Party caucus battle last year and rode the Republican wave to victory over Democrat Betsy Markey.* Less than a year later, he's again navigating the increasingly rocky electoral waters of Colorado's sprawling Fourth District.

Two years ago, former Colorado Sen. Tim Wirth delivered stern words to members of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association at their annual conference: You blew it. The natural gas industry could have been part of the climate bill called Waxman-Markey, he said, but in fact it was mentioned just twice in more than 900 pages of legislation.

Most highway construction and maintenance today gets paid for at the pump, in the form of gas and diesel taxes, both state and federal. So how will electric cars pay their share?

Tuesday, the nation's largest community owned solar energy facility opened in Rifle.

A bill to force counties to participate in Secure Communities died in a Senate committee Monday. Opponents cited racism and opposition to forcing another unfunded mandate on rural counties.

Republican lawmakers have made opposition to industry regulation a top priority, repeatedly framing public health and safety laws as "nanny state" "job killers." On Wednesday, Montana Republican Congressman Alan Hale used the GOP anti-government "job killer" line to defend drunk driving. He argued that drunk driving laws were killing "small businesses" in his state-- small businesses like taverns that make money and "create jobs" by sometimes sending people off into the night bubbly in the head and weaving down Montana roadways. In his ridiculous insincerity, Hale made a satire of GOP politics that would have made Jon Stewart proud.

The battle over payday loan fees will strain partisan loyalties at the Legislature again this year as new legislation was introduced Friday in the House.

Colorado Independent energy and environmental reporter David O. Williams will appear tonight on the Rocky Mountain PBS show “Colorado State of Mind” on a panel that includes former Gov. Bill Ritter, Public Service Company of Colorado (Xcel Energy) president and CEO David Eves and Western Resource Advocates executive director Karin Sheldon.

A bill to pull state funding from local communities if they choose not to participate in the federal Secure Communities program--called an immigration dragnet by some State Representatives and local community leaders--passed the House on second reading today.

Gov. John Hickenlooper’s budget proposal cuts programs designed to reduce recidivism, prevent juveniles from entering the criminal justice system and cut the number of repeat drug offenders in jail -- programs former Gov. Bill Ritter's administration said were saving the state millions of dollars.