Tag: Jim Kerr

In the weeks since the Colorado legislative session ended, calls for Gov. John Hickenlooper to veto House Bill 1036 have come from the political left, right and center, from government watchdog organizations, citizen rights and tax reform activists and from representatives of the sovereign Ute Mountain Ute tribe in southwest Colorado. Whatever happens by next Friday, when the deadline to sign the bill arrives, wrangling over its contents and legitimacy will continue indefinitely.

The bill was never really debated in the Senate where it was introduced, then it was tacked on to a House bill amid the blizzard of activity that marked the last days of the Colorado legislative session. Government watchdog and elections groups on the right and left are now asking Gov. John Hickenlooper to veto it, arguing the bill would deny citizens the right to inspect voter ballots and "gut" the state's Open Records Act.

There once was a time--you know it's true--when school board candidates in Colorado hoped to raise enough money for yard signs and a flyer to hand out or leave at doors. Times have changed.

Tempers ran high on the floor of the Colorado House today as members discussed reducing the number of PERA board members selected by employees and replacing them with governor appointees.

Republicans voted on a party line, 5-4, Thursday to kill HB 1096, a bill which would have allowed 16 and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote and have their voter status activated when they reach the age of 18.

PERA board members voted unanimously last week to oppose legislation that would radically restructure the board. PERA’s executive director, Meredith Williams, said that contrary to some accusations, PERA is one of the leanest run, most efficient programs in the world and that changing the board would have no effect on legislatively mandated benefits.

A bill to radically change the composition of the PERA board has been introduced by Rep. Jim Kerr, R-Littleton. His bill would reduce the number of members elected by PERA participants and replace them with political appointees.

Colorado’s U.S. congressional delegation expressed support this week for the move to end gender discrimination in the current health care insurance market through regulatory legislation — the entire delegation, that is, except 5th District Republican Doug Lamborn, a free-market Colorado Springs ideologist who appears to be looking past the modern history of the health insurance industry to see consumer choice as the way to create more equitable rates. That's not good enough for lawmakers responding to calls from the increasing numbers of American women frustrated by years of uneven rates and inadequate biased coverage.

News outlets across Colorado Monday published a four-sentence AP story reporting that "Colorado lawmakers" rejected a resolution urging Congress to pass a single-payer health...

A measure introduced in the Senate Monday would require that the federal government train more local police to identify, arrest and detain immigrants who have been charged with crimes in the state. The measure would also allow the state to use biometric identification -- like DNA tracking -- and federal databases to create an enforcement dragnet.