It is not a buffet.
I marvel that people often talk about the Constitution without the understanding that it is a complete document. You do not get to pick and choose what you like.
Well, guess what? The Colorado General Assembly is now treating the Colorado Revised Statutes as a buffet.
As an example, last week we heard the governor’s appointments to the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission. Colorado Revised Statute 34-60-104.5 (b) states, “Excluding the executive directors from consideration, no more than three members of the commission may be members of the same political party. To the extent possible, consistent with this subsection (2), the members shall be appointed taking into account the need for geographical representation of areas of the state with high levels of current or anticipated oil and gas activity or employment.”
The appointees meet the requirements of the statute as far as political affiliation goes: three are Democrats and two are unaffiliated voters. But I personally feel that among 170,000 oil and gas workers, at least one Republican must be qualified and could have been named to the commission.
Another surprise: The new epicentre of Colorado oil and gas production is now apparently Lakewood. Seriously, the governor’s appointees include one member from Durango, one from Gunnison, one from Denver and two from Lakewood – with no representation from the major producing counties such as Weld, Morgan, Yuma, Mesa, Garfield or Rio Blanco, just to name a few. None of the appointees resides in any county that is in the top one-third of Colorado’s oil- and gas-producing counties.
I have several bills that have been presented or calendared for committee. Most interesting is SB 21-073, co-sponsored by Sen. Jesse Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge, that will eliminate the statute of limitations for filing a civil suit for sexual abuse of a child. The bill will also allow parents or guardians to file a civil suit on behalf of a child who has been sexually abused. Current law allows only six years to file a civil action, so, for example, a six-year-old victim would have to file suit when they were twelve. Third parties, such as a parent or guardian, would not be able to intervene.
This last issue caused a spirted debate between myself and Sen. Bob Gardner, a good friend and skilled Republican attorney from Colorado Springs. Members of my caucus were concerned that two friends were having this debate.
To be clear, Sen. Gardner was proposing a statute of limitations of 20 years and objected to the third-party issue; he was worried that people unrelated to an abused child might try to file such suits. He also felt that the bill should have been heard in the Judiciary Committee rather than Health Committee and thus should be sent back for another hearing. I objected to sending the bill back to committee as well as the 20-year limitation and the removal of third-party involvement.
Good news: When things were all settled, the bill passed the Senate unopposed.
I told my caucus members it is quite OK for members of the same party have a difference of opinion, and frankly, I think we would have better legislation if that were to happen more often. I have never been one to bow to party positions and never will. I often quote my good friend, former Rep. J. Paul Brown, who said his father, Casey, warned, “If you find 10 people in a room all thinking the same thing, only one of them is doing the thinking.”
SB 21-067, regarding civics in the classroom, had its first hearing. I started this bill a couple of years ago with Sen. Lois Court, Democrat from Denver, working with former Rep. Mike Coffman, a Republican, and former Rep. David Skaggs, a Democrat. At the beginning of last session, Sen. Court was stricken with Guillain-Barré syndrome and resigned from the Senate. Along came COVID-19 and many bills were never introduced.
Sen. Chris Hansen, who replaced Sen. Court, has been a valuable partner in shepherding this bill and Sen. Court remains an influential force in getting the job done. This bill will direct the state Department of Education to create specific standards for civics education in public schools.
I want to encourage you to pay attention to legislation. Due to COVID-19, it is now actually easier for rural Coloradans to participate in the process.
In the past, in order to testify, you needed to drive to Denver or a university to participate. Today, you can simply go to the General Assembly website, click on a committee, and sign up to testify from your home or office.
