DENVER – Colorado House Speaker Dickey Lee Hullinghorst said a public-safety spending bill clouded in the name of firearms may be too important to let die at the hands of politics.
The drama surrounding the spending bill revolves around wait times for background checks related to concealed-carry permits.
Earlier in the legislative session, the Joint Budget Committee deadlocked on a spending authority measure that would have provided funding for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to reduce wait times after Republicans objected.
The additional $369,323 for the current fiscal year aimed to reduce wait times, which currently stand at about 54 days, according to the Department of Public Safety. The goal was to get that number down to about 20 days.
The money is already available because of a $52.50 fee paid by concealed-carry applicants. But the Legislature must approve the spending.
After the JBC deadlocked, Senate Democrats attempted to amend a public-safety spending bill so the money would be available for the background checks. But controlling Republicans in the chamber shot that proposal down.
When the bill made it over to the House, controlling Democrats were successfully able to amend the bill to include the background-check money. Even though Republicans in that chamber opposed adding the funding, they ultimately voted for the overall spending bill since the caucus didn’t want to block funding for other critical public safety services. The bill received a unanimous vote in the House.
But when the amended bill made it back to the Senate on Wednesday to approve the House amendment that added the background-check funding, Senate Republicans rejected the change, choosing to adhere to the original bill that did not include the additional dollars.
The move caused an uproar with Democrats, who argued that Republicans should have agreed to a conference committee to resolve the impasse. Instead, Senate Republicans sent the bill back to the House without negotiation.
Now, Hullinghorst, a Boulder Democrat, must decide whether to encourage House Democrats to pass the bill without the background-check funding or let it die at the hands of gamesmanship.
She delayed a vote on the measure until March 2 so she can take some time to think about it. But Hullinghorst appears to be leaning in the direction of supporting the measure because it stands to protect vital services.
“I want to make sure that we do what is important here, which is to serve the people of the state of Colorado, and that means we need to get a supplemental passed for public safety, which includes some really important things,” Hullinghorst told The Durango Herald on Thursday.
Lawmakers are describing the situation as a “high-stakes game of chicken” tantamount to the government shutdown gridlock of Washington, D.C. About $2.2 million in funding is in jeopardy for the Department of Public Safety.
Money for the state’s toxicology lab, law enforcement training and testing for rape kits is in peril, among other important public safety needs.
Some Democrats think Hullinghorst should let the bill die to emphasize that the problem started when Republicans on the JBC originally rejected the background-check money.
“I’d lay this dead bill at the feet of the Senate Republican caucus,” said Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver, a member of the JBC.
The issue harkens back to the 2013 gun-control debates led by the Democratic-controlled Legislature. With a split assembly this year, Republicans have more room to flex their muscle.
Sen. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, chairman of the JBC, questioned whether it actually takes 54 days to conduct a background check. He said county sheriffs are reporting wait times as little as two days.
“They’re the ones holding this thing hostage,” Lambert said of Democrats. “There’s been no demonstration that what CBI is saying about the wait list is actually factual.”
Meanwhile, House Republicans are livid that Hullinghorst delayed a vote on the overall public-safety spending bill.
“The fiscal year is almost two-thirds over and each day House Democrats delay the approval of this important public-safety funding bill denies justice for crime victims in Colorado and ignores our responsibility as legislators to protect the public safety and welfare of the people of Colorado,” said House Minority Leader Brian DelGrosso, R-Loveland.
Hullinghorst, however, believes it was a “rash breach of protocol” not to agree to the conference committee to resolve differences.
“I don’t want this to become a tit-for-tat kind of situation,” Hullinghorst said. “We’re going to give it a little time to settle down.”
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
