Tag: Greg Brophy

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.

Republicans countered Democratic desires for drawing competitive districts Wednesday by refusing to use party registration as a factor in the Joint Select Committee on Redistricting's effort to draw Congressional lines. The move led to another stalemate between the parties, leaving no map drawn and an ever increasing chance that Colorado courts will again draw the Congressional districts.

Tuesday, the Colorado General Assembly's Joint Select Committee on Redistricting agreed that partisan emotions ran too high at Friday's sharing of maps, but there appeared to be little common ground on at least one major Democratic starting point--competitiveness. Republicans rejected that as a compelling factor and called for a blank map created without looking at political balance. Democrats said that voters were calling for competition in a state where many districts have solid Republican numbers.

A bill that would have allowed anyone able to purchase a handgun in Colorado to conceal the weapon was shot down in the State and Military Affairs Committee today.

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.

Though the power of the Tea Party weighed on the minds of some Republican legislators today, it was not strong enough to stop the passage of a resolution that would make it more difficult for people to amend the constitution through the ballot amendment process.

Republican freshman State Rep. Chris Holbert, R-Parker, and State Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, have introduced a bill that would allow concealed gun toting on grade-school grounds, among other places, without a concealed weapons permit.

The state senate late last week had some fun debating the legacy of former President Ronald Reagan. Had an amendment by Senate Majority Leader John Morse passed Friday, President Ronald Reagan would have been honored by the Senate not only for his achievements in helping to bring down the communist wall, but also for bringing amnesty to 1.7 million undocumented immigrants, tax increases to the State of California and for closing corporate tax loopholes.

The Senate pulled the plug on the struggling HJR 1007, leaving the General Assembly out of compliance with state law and the Joint Budget Committee with no consensus revenue projection by which to budget.