February 09, 2015 12:57 PM UTC

Get More Smarter on Monday (Feb. 9)

• 4 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

Only 7 more shopping days left until President's Day. It's time to Get More Smarter with Colorado Pols. If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below.

GET READY FOR THIS…

► Senator Laura Waters Woods (R-Arvada) presents SB15-069 in the Senate Business, Labor, and Technology committee today. Also known as the "Right to Discriminate" bill, SB-069 would repeal some basic protections for workers in companies with fewer than 15 employees, allowing employers to discriminate based on sex, race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, and disability…and pretty much anything else you can think of.

► Let's get fracking! Several pieces of legislation focused on fracking are expected to be discussed this week.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

SHOULD YOU FIND YOURSELF STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► Electra Draper of the Denver Post finds that low vaccination rates in Colorado are driving an increase in both illnesses and medical costs.

► Senator Tim Neville is doing his dardnest to go down with the ship (and take every other Republican with him) as SB-077 ("Parent's Bill of Rights") churns ahead. Now in need of lifeboats: Sen. Laura Waters Woods and Sen. Ellen Roberts.

► Republican lawmakers are trying to implement a number of education changes in the state legislature, writes Kristen Wyatt of the Associated Press. Vouchers: Good. Sex education: Bad. Funding for Full-Day Kindergarten: Bad.

► The Supreme Court refused to issue a ruling today that would have blocked same-sex marriage in Alabama. The decision puts even more pressure on SCOTUS to eventually decide whether the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of same-sex marriage.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Are you an anti-vaxxer? Well, this guy is an anti-braker.

► The so-called "Death with Dignity" bill proposed in the Colorado legislature was given a "respectful death" on Friday, as Peter Marcus of the Durango Herald reports. You couldn't have resisted that pun, either.

► As Dave Perry writes in the Aurora Sentinel, studies have shown that more guns do not equal more safety.

► More from the Sentinel's Dave Perry: Charles Cotton, head of the Texas State Rifle Association, is a big believer in allowing teachers to spank and hit children in school (which is being discussed in the Texas legislature). "Perhaps a good paddling in school will keep me from having to put a bullet in him later," says Cotton. Why not just shoot 'em now and get it over with, Chuck?

ICYMI

► The Denver Post editorial board is not a fan of SB-77, also known as the "Parent's Bill of Rights" or the "Kids Have No Rights" bill. In an Op-Ed on Saturday, the Post  says Sen. Tim Neville's train-wreck of a bill "causes more problems than it solves." Can we get a "No Shit!" from the Pols congregation?

► Oh, no! What happens if a clerical error leads to a denial for a gun permit? In one case, the whole thing was sorted out in less than 8 hours.