The Colorado Legislature is about to wrap up its business for the year, and lawmakers are rightly worn out from a busy and contentious session. The political constellations aligned following Novembers election to queue up a series of measures that divided a body already split. Gun control legislation was the primary problem child for this years session, but civil unions, in-state college tuition for undocumented Colorado high school students, sex education standards and measures to reform the K-12 funding structure and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission all turned partisan heads through the session that began in January. Despite that, the Legislature has a lengthy list of accomplishments for the session and will not stop checking items off the list before Wedensday.
The regulatory framework governing recreational marijuana in Colorado is at the top of the docket, and lawmakers have to get this done as per the language of Amendment 64, which legalized marijuana. This is a complex undertaking, with little to no guiding lights to follow. The task force charged with the effort has done significant work in a short time and the Legislature is poised to take ground-breaking action on this issue. Say what you will about marijuana use, but from a policy perspective, it is unusual to watch rules being drawn on such a blank canvas. This legislative session will be landmark for that alone.
Lawmakers have earned their exhaustion and deserve high fives for their sprint through a busy session. Regardless of observers political affiliation, there has been admirable work done on all sides in Denver this winter and spring the results of which will not soon fade.
