Tag: Sal Pace

Pay-go legislation dies in House. Republicans call it a gimmick, while Dems tout it as a way to improve government and save the sate money.

A bill that Democrats say opens up the redistricting process to gerrymandering and represents a sign of bad faith by Republicans was introduced in the state House Friday. However, Rep. Jake Paul Brown, R-Ignacio, the bill's sponsor, said it simply repairs changes Democrats made last year.

House Minority Leader Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, and Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, announced a bill Tuesday designed to limit Pinnacol Assurance's travel expenditures after it was revealed that Pinnacol had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on everything from spas to pink golf balls for top producers of the company.

Colorado House Republicans Tuesday introduced a bill to enable Colorado to opt out of participation in the Affordable Care Act. The bill would cause Colorado to join in an interstate compact with several other states that do not want to participate in the federal health care plan.

The Colorado House passed a resolution 52-12 today that will give the voters the option of limiting their own ability to change the Colorado Constitution in the next election. SCR 001 now goes back to the Senate, as amended by the House, for final passage.

The ping pong game on a Colorado House joint resolution that provides direction for state spending continued today as House Republicans rejected amendments made yesterday in the Senate.

Colorado House Republicans today announced new committee chairs for the 2011 session, which will convene in January. More profoundly, perhaps, Speaker of the House-elect...

DENVER-- Gov. Bill Ritter signed nine pieces of controversial legislation into law Wednesday that suspended or eliminated tax breaks for businesses. Ritter is attempting to balance a state budget billions in the red due to recession-era declining tax revenues. The bills he signed Wednesday drew sharp protest from Republican lawmakers who said they were bad for business and recommended additional program cuts on top of the historic cuts already made in the last year. The tax bills will generate $15.6 million in revenue this fiscal year and $132.6 million next fiscal year.

DENVER-- A controversial bill that aims to diversify and open up decision-making at Pinnacol Assurance, the impressively profitable quasi-governmental workers compensation insurance provider, passed out of the House Judicial Committee Friday on a mostly partisan vote. The hearing highlighted the tensions that define Pinnacol, an entity designed to serve the public but also required to act as a business.

Last night the Mayor returned to his old haunt the Wynkoop Brewery to throw a huge Convention bash featuring local band and rising national sensation the Flobots. While the crowd might have been a little, well, old for the hip-hop beats, the event drew a broad range of Colorado politicos, including Pueblo sensations Ken Lane and Sal Pace, former CO Dem Party Chair Chris Gates, former CO first lady for Dottie Lamm (the first candidate I ever worked for) and her daughter Heather, Host Committee COO Paul Lhevine, and a whole host of others that I’m just not important enough to know personally.

Read more of Jeff's commentaries: • Protesters police and bigots invade dnc • Thanks for turning my city into a fortress • 'Saturday Night Fever' at the DNC • C-SPAN tricks its ride • I love me some Police State’n, yeah!