June 04, 2013 02:00 PM UTC

Hickenlooper Still Pondering Handful of Decisions from Session

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• by: Colorado Pols

As Eli Stokols at Fox 31 reports, Governor John Hickenlooper is still mulling over whether he will sign or veto several bills still awaiting their fate after passing through the legislature:

After nearly a month of deliberation, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is expected to take action Wednesday on a handful of controversial bills that remain unsigned, including a measure to increase the amount of energy that rural electricity associations must draw from renewable sources.

Backers of Senate Bill 252 are optimistic Hickenlooper will sign it into law, but the governor’s office insists that a final decision won’t be made until Wednesday morning…

…So far this month, Hickenlooper has signed nearly 100 bills into law, many of them at public events that have taken him to 22 Colorado counties.

But he has taken his time mulling over four final bills, including S.B. 252, which would require rural co-ops with more than 100,000 meters, and utilities that generate and supply electricity on behalf of member co-ops, to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by the year 2020.

Under Colorado law, a bill automatically becomes law with or without the Governor's signature after 30 days, which gives him until Friday to make any final decisions…or perhaps Thursday…or Wednesday…

But Hickenlooper is headed to Park City, Utah on Friday to address a political summit convened by GOP presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, leaving Wednesday or possibly Thursday as his final opportunity to take action on outstanding legislation.

Of all the remaining pieces of legislation on his desk, SB-252 is indeed the one being watched most closely. A veto would not only irritate the environmental community, but would also likely cause some consternation among legislative Democrats; SB-252 was sponsored by both Senate President John Morse and House Speaker Mark Ferrandino.