Recently in this space, Sen. Bob Gardner, a Colorado Springs Republican, wrote that Democrats had resorted to “misinformation,” “demagoguery” and “hysterical cries” about Republicans’ vote to defund the Colorado Civil Rights Division.
I’ll skip the name-calling and stick to the facts.
Each year, the CCRD investigates hundreds of claims of discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on race, gender, disability, sexual orientation and other factors. It’s an important resource for individuals who face discrimination, including communities of color, LGBTQ individuals, women and seniors, helping them access justice without having to file expensive lawsuits. And it’s beneficial for businesses, for whom lawsuits are also costly and time-consuming.
Ensuring the continued existence of the CCRD should be a no-brainer, and beyond petty partisan games. But on Feb. 8, Republicans on the legislative Joint Budget Committee, which drafts the state budget, blocked funding for the CCRD. As a result, there is currently no money set aside in the budget for the CCRD to continue operating past June 30. This certainly can change before the budget is finalized. But despite claiming a desire to continue the division, 26 of the 28 House Republicans voted on Wednesday against reauthorizing it. Democratic votes were enough to pass the reauthorization in the House. But now the reauthorization is headed to the Republican-controlled Senate, where its future is not assured. And until the JBC Republicans vote to fund the division, its prospects remain clouded.
The Republican votes against the agency charged with protecting Coloradans from discrimination prompted widespread protest, and for good cause. Though it is not necessarily unusual to “table” – essentially set aside for further debate – components of the budget while it’s being put together, that move is generally reserved for items that are a point of disagreement, which will have to be debated and hashed out during the final budget negotiations.
Instead, we now see Republicans publicly claiming support for the CCRD while simultaneously voting to discontinue it and to block its funding. Trying to extract changes to the commission – such as stacking it with appointments from big business to tilt it away from its core mission – by threatening the division’s funding, rather than entering into a regular policy discussion about the agency, is a brazen political maneuver and it should absolutely be called for what it is.
Democrats are open to honest policy discussions about how or whether the agency could be improved. But we are not open to changes that will undermine the commission and its core mission of protecting Coloradans from discrimination. A “compromise” that undermines the agency and the protections it offers is not good enough for me, or for the people of Colorado.
Our goal is to ensure that Coloradans have the right to work and live in Colorado without fear of discrimination and harassment in their jobs and their homes, and a strong, independent and balanced CCRD is critical to achieving that goal. The continued existence of this agency is too important to play brinksmanship politics, holding it hostage to extract changes. We hope that common sense prevails over politics, and we can pass a clean bill reauthorizing the division this year. Because Colorado is watching.
Crisanta Duran, D-Denver, is speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives.
