April 22, 2016 04:04 PM UTC

Hot Mic, Asshole! Tensions Spike As Session Nears End

• 4 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: Via 9NEWS’ Brandon Rittiman:

Staff for @RepDelGrosso say he has no comment about calling @JovanMelton an "asshole" on #COleg House floor after heated exchange. #9news

— Brandon Rittiman (@BrandonRittiman) April 23, 2016

A “no comment” for the weekend to chill out is probably a good idea.

—–

As the Denver Business Journal’s Ed Sealover reports, debate today in the Colorado House over House Bill 16-1388, the “ban the box” bill to disallow questions about a job applicant’s criminal history on the initial application, took a turn for the ugly:

House Bill 1388, sponsored by Rep. Beth McCann, D-Denver, would ban employers from asking people to check a box on job-application forms if they have a criminal record.

It would not ban those same companies from checking applicants’ criminal histories independently or from asking during in-person interviews about such histories…

Rep. Joe Salazar, D-Thornton, however, said that the boxes on these application forms are no different than boxes that asked people about their age and disability status and were used to weed out older and disabled candidates before the federal government put a stop to that several decades ago. Those who oppose the bill “are on the wrong side of history,” he said.

House Minority Leader Brian DelGrosso, R-Loveland, shot back that people don’t have a choice on how old they are or whether they suffer from a disability — unlike felons who have criminal histories because of their chosen actions.

From there, things got a little more, uh, personal:

MELTON: Thank you, Madam Chair, and wow, Representative DelGrosso. You gave me so much material. Where do I start…

I don’t know if you read the bill, but turn to page 3 line 6, and it talks about how this does not apply if federal, state or local law prohibits employment of a person with a specific criminal conviction. Read the bill!

…If you don’t understand the bill, take five minutes and read it.

COURT: I think Representative Buckner was next, Representative DelGrosso, and then you’re next after Representative Buckner.

DELGROSSO: But that asshole called me out, I just… [unintelligible]

COURT: Oh, Shh Shh Shh Shh Shh.

(Pause)

COURT: Shh Shh Shh Shh Shh. Representative Melton, you did make an error in what you just said, it was inappropriate to insult people by suggesting they haven’t read the bill. And I do want to point that out.

We’re pretty sure House Minority Leader Brian DelGrosso did not realize there was a microphone in close enough proximity to pick up his calling another representative an “asshole” on the floor of the Colorado House. We’d call that a fairly substantial breach of etiquette, though it’s true also that Rep. Jovan Melton really isn’t supposed to suggest that his colleagues haven’t read a bill in a floor debate.

Every year as the legislative session nears its end, but especially in frustrating split-control years when just about everybody’s bills are unceremoniously killed, things get kind of tense. Oftentimes, the annual “Hummer” sketch comedy routines break the tension–except when they get cancelled because things are, you know, too tense.

Assuming they’re not cancelled, this will make for a fine “Hummer.”