Tag: Morgan Carroll

DENVER-- A rare case of agreement has broken out at the Capitol. Lawmakers on the right and left agree that better rules should be put in place to guard against police searches and seizures. A bill that would require law enforcement (pdf) to inform individuals of their right to refuse searches of themselves and their cars passed the Senate unanimously, thirty-five votes to zero. The ACLU has launched an action campaign championing the bill and asking Gov. Bill Ritter, a former district attorney and strong law enforcement advocate, to sign it straightaway.

DENVER-- The House easily passed a bill this morning to end health-insurance gender rating over the objections of Spencer Swalm, R-Centennial, who argued today as he has throughout the session, that the bill would unfairly raise rates for men.

In a series of charged emails to the Colorado Independent prompted by a report on the existence of unlisted immigrant-detention "subfield offices" in the state, Carl Rusnok, a spokesman for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, wrote to clarify that the offices were used only for processing suspects. He said immigrants suspected of violations were held at the agency's subfield offices for up to approximately two hours before being transferred to long-term holding facilities. He conceded that contact information for the facilities was unavailable and that detainees being processed at the offices were not allowed to contact relatives or attorneys before being transferred to the larger facilities. The nature of the processing done in the offices, however, was merely transitional, he wrote, and the offices were not "secret."

The detention policies of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in Colorado and the network of facilities that has grown here in the last few years are drawing increasing attention among local lawmakers and human rights organizations. Critics of the system say men and women held on suspicion of immigration violations in the state are housed in conditions that rival those established for violent criminal offenders, that the immigrants are becoming fodder for a booming detention industry, and that detainees are often difficult to locate in the tangle of state facilities, which include unlisted so-called subfield offices.

DENVER-- In a speech announcing his candidacy for governor Tuesday afternoon, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper sought to emphasize the independent nature of his leadership style and record in public service, an attempt to erect an early firewall against Republican attacks levied for months against Gov. Bill Ritter in particular and perhaps against more general dissatisfaction in the state with Democratic leadership in Washington.

Colorado Democratic Party Chairwoman Pat Waak told the Colorado Independent yesterday that ten would-be candidates for governor had been testing the waters for a...

Colorado Independent writer Katie Redding joined Progressive Talk 760 AM host David Sirota this morning to discuss her recent reporting on insurance industry gender...

Insurance industry lobbyists have pulled back on the fight to charge women higher insurance rates across the board and have redrawn the battle lines, vowing to oppose legislation this coming sessions that would force insurers to offer individual plans that would cover maternity care.

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.

State Senator Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, is asking voters to voice their preference on health care options. Whether for, against, or simply confused, voters may...