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Flurry of votes as lawmakers call it a wrap

Last-day rush includes student testing, elected officials’ pay, tougher DUI penalty

DENVER – Colorado lawmakers frantically worked Wednesday to advance several key measures in the final hours of the legislative session.

Last-day compromises were forced by voters who chose a split Legislature in which Republicans controlled the Senate for the first time in a decade.

Several critical bills were sent to Gov. John Hickenlooper before session’s close at 8 p.m. including a controversial effort to continue the Office of Consumer Counsel, the OCC.

Late action also came on police reform, limiting the use of red-light cameras and asking voters to let the state keep marijuana tax revenue. All those bills also went to the governor.

Gridlock over the OCC revealed a divide on whether to include telecommunications as part of the office’s purview. Democrats were forced to agree to exclude telecom so that the entire office wouldn’t close.

Red-light cameras came down to two bills sent to the governor: one that would completely ban its use and another that would require local governments to hold an election before using the technology.

Lawmakers also finalized their package of police-reform measures. Lawmakers on Wednesday sent the governor bills addressing transparency in the wake of police-officer shootings, extending training and encouraging the use of body cameras.

Some of the major action Wednesday included:

Student-testing reform

The sole student-testing reform bill sent to Hickenlooper emerged as a compromise that would reduce testing by about 35 hours but stopped short of eliminating ninth-grade exams.

Sen. Chris Holbert, R-Parker, the bill co-sponsor, wanted more sweeping reform that gave local districts more control and eliminated additional tests, including ninth-grade exams. But he acknowledged a more ambitious proposal would have failed.

Still, he said, “But we are going to reduce the total footprint, the frequency and the amount of hours kids are spending on these assessments every year.”

Throughout the process, Holbert has pointed to Mancos High School, where about 93 percent of parents signed a form opting their children out of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exam. Federal standards have driven much of the controversy.

The deal would eliminate PARCC tests in 11th and 12th grade, replace 10th grade PARCC exams with a trimmed college-preparatory test and create a pilot program enabling local districts to create alternative tests, which could theoretically replace current PARCC tests.

Elected officials’ pay

A politically difficult measure that raises salaries for state lawmakers and other elected officials also went to Hickenlooper. The pay bump would be the first increase since 1999, as previous legislative attempts to raise salaries failed.

Senate Bill 288 received a vote in the House of 33-30, with Rep. J. Paul Brown, R-Ignacio, voting against the raise, and Rep. Don Coram, R-Montrose, supporting it.

The Senate backed the bill by a vote of 21-14, with Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, supporting the measure.

The new salaries would not kick in until 2019, meaning many lawmakers voting for the bill, which will cost $1.3 million, would not be serving at the time. Hickenloopeer also would be term-limited by then.

Based on current budget figures and judicial salaries, the governor would receive a 30 percent pay hike, from $90,000 a year to about $117,000 a year; attorney general would get about $102,000 instead of $80,000; and other constitutional officers would receive about $88,000 compared with $68,500.

State lawmakers would see pay raises of almost 27 percent, from $30,000 a year to about $38,000 a year. County officials would receive raises based on the size of a county and other formulas.

Felony DUI

House Bill 1043, creating a felony crime for repeat drunken-driving offenders, cleared both chambers after years of failed attempts to send a measure to the governor.

The measure would allow for a felony charge in DUI cases on a fourth offense.

“It’s time to say enough is enough,” said Rep. Beth McCann, D-Denver, a sponsor of the bill.

In its original form, the bill would have created a felony charge after three DUI convictions. But lawmakers amended the bill after that proposal appeared unlikely to pass.

pmarcus@durangoherald.com

May 6, 2015
Lawmakers back salary increase for themselves
May 6, 2015
Felony DUI off to the governor
May 6, 2015
Testing reform deal reached


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