Tag: Kevin Lundberg

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.

Denver legislators Sen. Pat Steadman and Rep. Mark Ferrandino saw their bill challenged by faith-based opponents of same-sex civil unions Monday, with some calling for tough love to bring those who had entered into sin back into the fold.

As Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver, presented his civil unions bill to the Senate Judiciary Committee, some Republicans expressed concerns the bill might violate the Colorado Constitution's prohibition against gay marriage.

Laura Latimer and Professor Ellen Paul attend college events in Durango with their 8-month-old son Alexander strapped to one of their chests. They wear Ernie and Burt hats around the house for comic relief. They own four dogs. They plan their days around their son's nap time, just like all new parents do, and they want to be there for each other for the long haul, come what may. They work. They vote. They pay their taxes. Whether they realize it or not or even care, Laura and Ellen and Alexander are an apple pie American family. Because Laura and Ellen are lesbians, however, they pay more money for less civil rights than straight couples do, a fact that could change this year in Colorado as Senate Bill 172 makes its way though the legislature in Denver. The bill, sponsored by Senator Pat Steadman, would create legal domestic-partner civil unions in the state, and it meets its first test at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in the Old Supreme Court Chambers under the dome this afternoon.

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.

The partisan feud over a largely symbolic budget resolution spilled over into the Senate today, where Majority Leader John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, amended Joint House Resolution 1007 to effectively remove a Republican amendment that lowered revenue expectations by 2.7 percent.

A nearly annual bill that could encourage dissatisfied parents to withdraw their children from public schools is being sponsored by Republican Sen. Kevin Lundberg, Berthoud, and Rep. Spencer Swalm, R-Centennial, this year. Swalm said the bill is an effort to spur competition and potentially save the state money. However, Colorado educators and school boards are adamantly opposed to the tax credit that would have public taxes subsidizing private education. They say the program is a de-facto voucher program that would see public money being used for religious and non-state accredited schooling.

The country's self-styled "toughest sheriff" made more news in Arizona the week after the midterm elections. As Stateline reports, Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio...

Republican legislators Monday hosted an informational meeting to discuss immigration in Colorado, but the Colorado Independent has learned two of the presenters invited to speak were from organizations founded by white supremacist John Tanton. One of those organizations, The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), has been named a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

NPR's blockbuster investigative report exposing the private prison industry's role in writing and bankrolling the "lock 'em up" Arizona immigration law that passed earlier...