Tag: Dickey Lee Hullinghorst

DENVER -- Colorado’s Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler arrived late to testify at the Senate committee hearing, but he came prepared. A practiced courtroom lawyer, he began slowly. He threw in folksy asides. He answered his own rhetorical questions. And he smiled at the majority-Democratic committee members as he railed against the election-reform bill they all support and that he wants desperately to derail. It was a dramatic moment in Colorado politics that had been building since Gessler took office two years ago.

The economy and the environment “both won” in Colorado's legislative session this year, according to an annual scorecard that a leading state environmental group released Thursday.

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) has been part of life in Colorado since 1992. Today TABOR was tested in court for the first time in Kerr v State of Colorado. Today's hearing--on a motion by the state to dismiss the suit--may be the end, or it may be the first step in a long hard road.

As the long bill passed the House on 3rd and final reading Thursday, a JBC-initiated bill that may cause 2,000 low-income children to drop out of a Colorado health care assistance program also won the Legislature's approval.

House Democrats expressed discontent today with what they called Republican irresponsibility in passing a bill that reinstates tax breaks for bull semen, among other agricultural products.

Republican chair of the House Finance Committee Brian DelGrosso, Loveland, Wednesday moved to advance Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper's budget agenda by pushing an amendment that would have nearly doubled the extra amount government employees are paying into their state pension in order to help shore up the state budget.

State Rep. Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, D-Niwot, who's sponsoring pay-as-you-go legislation she feels will bring better transparency and accountability to the Colorado General Assembly, also said she'll join other Democrats in offering similar amendments to bills that would reverse cuts to tax exemptions for many industries put in place last year.

DENVER-- Lawmakers killed a bill in committee Tuesday that would have allowed lobbyists to bypass security lines at the capitol. The bill drew attention from the media for appearing to integrate lobbyists into the capitol culture in a way that citizens are not. The bill failed four votes to seven.