{"id":42400,"date":"2022-02-02T03:48:36","date_gmt":"2022-02-02T03:48:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/a-democrat-wants-colorado-voters-to-eliminate-a-capitol-delay-tactic-the-gop-has-used-many-times\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T09:06:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:06:56","slug":"a-democrat-wants-colorado-voters-to-eliminate-a-capitol-delay-tactic-the-gop-has-used-many-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/a-democrat-wants-colorado-voters-to-eliminate-a-capitol-delay-tactic-the-gop-has-used-many-times\/","title":{"rendered":"A Democrat wants Colorado voters to eliminate a Capitol delay tactic the GOP has used many times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Colorado
Colorado state representatives stand for a morning prayer as the 2022 legislative session opened Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022, in the state Capitol in Denver. (David Zalubowski\/Associated Press)<\/span>David Zalubowski\/Associated Press<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Colorado Republicans don\u2019t have enough votes to stop legislation at the state Capitol. They haven\u2019t in almost four years.<\/p>\n

So when the GOP wants to try to prevent the Democratic majority from passing a bill, they really have only one tactic: delay.<\/p>\n

The main way Republicans have tried \u2013 sometimes successfully \u2013 to slow down the lawmaking process and force Democrats to the negotiating table is by taking advantage of a provision in the Colorado Constitution that\u2019s as old as the state. It requires that bills be read at length upon request. And there are some very, very long bills that the Legislature considers every year.<\/p>\n

Now, a Democratic state lawmaker, Rep. Mike Weissman of Aurora, wants to remove the provision. He\u2019s introduced House Resolution 1002, which asks the Legislature to put a measure on the 2022 ballot that would amend the constitution, arguing that the read-it-at-length clause, aimed at ensuring people understood what the Legislature is debating, is no longer needed because lawmakers and the public can access bills in a multitude of ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe requirement for bills to be read at length dates back to our statehood constitution in 1876,\u201d Weissman said. \u201cBack then we didn\u2019t have the options that we have. We didn\u2019t have the internet, we didn\u2019t have the ability to easily make photocopies of bills on paper, we didn\u2019t have the ability to read bills on desktop computers, laptop computers, phones, tablets, watches and other devices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weissman said the provision now serves little purpose beyond being a mechanism to waste the Legislature\u2019s precious time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a time-limited session,\u201d he said. \u201cThe constitution limits us to 120 days. And people of Colorado of any political persuasion have a legitimate expectation that we will use that limited time to the utmost efficiency, to see to the problems that are facing our state, and to try to craft solutions to challenges that people are facing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"State
State Rep. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora, speaks in the Colorado House on a police accountability bill on June 12, 2020. (Eric Lubbers\/The Colorado Sun file)<\/span>Eric Lubbers\/The Colorado Sun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Republicans see Weissman\u2019s resolution as a nonstarter, likely meaning that it won\u2019t have the two-thirds support it needs to pass and send the question to voters in November. Several GOP members of the Legislature would have to vote for the resolution in order for it to pass.<\/p>\n

House Minority Leader Hugh McKean, R-Loveland, said he thinks the constitutional change would be bad for the Legislature.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, when the pace of the Legislature moves quickly, we ought to slow down and say: \u2018Hold on up. What\u2019s in here? What exactly has been done?\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

State Sen. Paul Lundeen, R-Monument, sees parallels between Weissman\u2019s resolution and efforts to change the filibuster rules in the U.S. Senate, where Democrats say they need to change the rules to prevent Republicans from blocking legislation while the GOP argues alterations would represent an overreach.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are trying to consolidate and become even more powerful by a move of this nature,\u201d he said. \u201cI think there appears to be a hunger coming from national Democrats, and now with this effort from state Democrats, to be ever more powerful and to tamp down the voices of the minority and alternative thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cI don\u2019t see how they are going to get two-thirds (support) of two bodies to get to the ballot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"State
State Rep. Shane Sandridge speaks on the House floor during hour six of debate around House Bill 1106 on March 8, 2021. (Screenshot)<\/span>David Zalubowski\/Associated Press<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

And fellow Democrats may not be entirely on board with the resolution, either. Some Democrats at the Capitol weren\u2019t keen Monday to discuss the resolution.<\/p>\n

House Speaker Alec Garnett, D-Denver, said: \u201cMike cares a lot about this institution and thought it was important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, said the measure won\u2019t be a focus of Democrats at the Capitol this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem to me like it\u2019s a priority,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The read-it-at-length provision was deployed as a delay tactic by Republicans in the 2019, 2020 and 2021 legislative sessions.<\/p>\n

But the tactic caused the most disruption in 2019 when the Colorado Senate GOP demanded that a noncontroversial, 2,000-page bill be read in full, gumming up policymaking for hours.<\/p>\n

Democrats responded by having the legislation speed-read by multiple computers simultaneously, which sounded like intergalactic chatter and was impossible to discern.<\/p>\n

Senate Republicans sued Democrats over how they handled the situation in a case that went all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court, which ruled 4-3 last year the Democrats violated the constitution, suggesting that bills that are read at length must be read in a comprehensible way. The court, however, did not define what a comprehensible reading of a bill would be.<\/p>\n

The 2019 drama in the Senate came amid high tensions between Democrats and Republicans as the majority party worked to pass Senate Bill 181, a measure rewriting Colorado\u2019s oil and gas regulations. Democrats called it a matter of public and environmental health and safety while the GOP said it would kill jobs and fought hard to prevent its passage.<\/p>\n

The delay tactics, when wielded at the right time, can be a powerful tool. Toward the end of the lawmaking term, when the Legislature has a long to-do list but little time, delays can threaten to derail bills.<\/p>\n

Lundeen pointed out that erasing the read-it-at-length provision could prove to be dangerous to Democrats, who may not always be in the majority at the Capitol. But Weissman said that\u2019s not really a concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thinking about this in a way that\u2019s more fundamental than party or control,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m thinking about it in terms of the basic function, and even dignity, of the institution. And what people of the state, nearly 6 million of them now, have the right to expect from their government.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weissman thinks that if a lawmaker wants to oppose a piece of legislation, they should be forced to talk about their opposition. Both the House and Senate allow for unlimited debate on legislation during the second reading of bills, where they get a preliminary vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think if a legislator feels strongly enough that the question under debate is deserving of a negative vote or being amended then, yes, I think a legislator should propose an amendment, should raise a debate, should speak at whatever length he or she wants to speak at to lay out the arguments,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what policymaking is supposed to be \u2013 laying out the arguments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lundeen rejects that argument.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a freight train is racing through a small town, anything that slows that freight train down gives that town a little bit of peace,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Even just a small delay can force the majority party to rethink their policy, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe old saw is that, \u2018the majority gets its way and the minority gets its say,\u2019\u201d Lundeen said.<\/p>\n

Colorado Sun staff writer Daniel Ducassi contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more at The Colorado Sun<\/div>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to covering Colorado issues. To learn more, go to coloradosun.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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