Today is the last day of the 2015 session of the Colorado General Assembly, which means your favorite lawmakers are about to catch up on some sleep. 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 (here’s a good example).
TOP OF MIND TODAY…
► The Colorado legislative session ends today, but we’re no closer to a solution to the “Gordian knot” that is the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). As the Colorado Springs Gazette’s Megan Schrader reports:
Senate President Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, introduced Senate Bill 1 on the first day of session to address how TABOR refunds are given. It died Tuesday in the House.
House Speaker Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, D-Boulder, introduced House Bill 1389 last week to avoid giving TABOR refunds by moving state revenue out of the general fund. It too died Tuesday in the Senate…
The issue will likely be taken up next session with greater urgency.
In other words, the status quo prevails–and the state’s looming future needs are left unmet.
► Rep. Patrick Neville, one half of the father-son legislative duo we’ve affectionately branded the “Neville Nutters,” at least has a sense of humor. He sent us this photo today to prove it!
Well played, young Rep. Neville. Well played.
► Elizabeth Warren is still not running for President.
► But Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina are, at least for vanity purposes.
► Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton is still answering questions about emails, even though the polls say voters don’t really care.
Get even more smarter after the jump…
SHOULD YOU FIND YOURSELF STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…
► Morgan Carroll is pondering a run for Congress, a fact to which Mike Coffman had better pay attention.
► Michael Hancock cruises to victory in the Denver mayoral race, while Chris Nevitt unexpectedly loses the city auditor’s race.
► The killing of Bill Cadman’s fetal homicide Personhood bill continues to reverberate.
► Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg might get big subsidy checks from the government, but he’ll be damned if you can fill a bucket with rain water and water your garden.
► One of the last unresolved battles in this year’s legislative session: will the Office of Consumer Counsel be stripped of its authority in telecom rate cases?
► When the dust settles, urban renewal tax incentives in Colorado are going to look different.
► Also, Colorado public officials are ridiculously underpaid, and it’s way past time to do something about it. Fortunately, they are.
► Unfortunately, greedy lending lobbyists are getting a piece of the last-minute action too.
OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK
► It’s gonna keep raining for days. Don’t get depressed.
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Such self awareness, Neville Nutter.
My state representative, Justin Everett, got lots of sleep during the session.
Like that HRC is going big on immigration. Obama should have before, not after, the 2014 l election. Not really his fault since cowardly Dems didn't want to ruffle any feathers, not that the folks whose feathers would have been ruffled were going to vote for them in any case, and didn't want him to go big on immigration. Or anything. Wanted him to pretty much just do nothing. Between that and so dedicating themselves to distancing themselves from everything Obama including all the good economic news (and bad news from R dominated states) no wonder they couldn't get enough Dem leaning voters excited about voting for them. Just look at the Udall and Romanoff campaigns.
Saw a chart that showed GW got enough of the non-white vote to win, though the percentage was still very much a minority. McCain and Romney didn't get enough of that vote. I believe the cut off was 19%. If an R presidential candidate can't do better than that (or as good, just saw it briefly on TV) that candidate can't win. So instead of looking to appease a bunch of grumpy old whites who won't vote Dem anyway, it's smart to go big for the Hispanic vote to add to the black vote and deny the R candidate the minority chunk of the non-white vote an R needs to win. Other Dem candidates ought to follow the HRC example. Rs can't do or say anything to appeal to non-Cuban Hispanic voters without pissing off the majority of their voters.
This time, I think formerly hapless team HRC is onto something.
I agree. She has boxed the Republicans in. Jeb is supposed to be traveling to Nevada soon. I wonder what he will have to say now?
Jeb needs to be afraid, be very afraid …. of Steven King, and Tom Tancredo and that wing of the party. He's got to be troubled that he's running in single-digit seventh place in Iowa behind Walker, Rubio, Paul, Carson, Cruz, etc.
My prediction: he goes to Nevada but says very little but gets photos taken of him hugging Brian Sandoval. And saying Sadoval would be on anyone's short list for VP.
On Rachel's show last night she had a segment on the election of a liberal in Alberta, Canada. She said conservatives have had control for 43 years so this is was an unlikely event. She also said the new Premier would not be putting any more resources into Keystone. Is it possible that this deplorable project will come to an end?
Hopefully it has. At todays' prices, it is pretty much no longer financially viable. Besides, there was significant pressure from oil interests in the Bakken for an on ramp into the Keystone…that pressure , too, has eased, if not dissipated, because other pipelines are also available now for that resource. Certainly, not enough to carry all the Bakken crude (hence, the long oil trains) but increasing. Their biggest problem is now that there is so much oil around, I hear tell they are storing it offshore in old tankers.
What could possibly go wrong with that?
That is a wild story. The first left wing provincial government in 40 some-odd years!
The best part is that the new provincial premier will kill Keystone on the Canadian side of the border! Bet the Krotch Brothers never saw that one coming!
They spent all that money getting Yertle elected majority leader and now this!
As Moderatus would probably boohoo, the Sheikh is very happy.