Subject: Winners and Losers of the 2013 Colorado Legislative Session
From: "Amy Runyon-Harms, ProgressNow Colorado" <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 9 May 2013 12:09:09 -0500 (CDT)

A Win For Colorado

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This year's session of the Colorado General Assembly was truly
historic. After two years of divided control and stagnation in the
legislature, a large backlog of high-priority, common-sense reforms
awaited lawmakers in January. Working tirelessly in the face of
right-wing obstruction, smear campaigns, and even threats of violence,
the progressive majorities in the Colorado House and Senate passed
historic legislation to create jobs and boost Colorado's economy, to
preserve public safety, to make great strides toward equality for
every Colorado family, and to give all children in Colorado the
education they deserve.

As we get ready to defend the historic gains we've made this
year, please make a donation to ProgressNow Colorado, and help us
as we prove once and for all that's it's still possible to come
together and meet the challenges facing our state, nation, and world.

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With that, we bring to a close the most successful and productive
legislative session anyone can remember in Colorado. Below are some of
the highlights--and the disgraces--that we'll be talking about for
years to come. 

Thank you for all of your help this year. Every letter, every email,
and every phone call made a difference. With your help, we've
accomplished so many goals it's difficult to list them all.

Once again, with your help, Colorado is a model for the nation.

Sincerely,

Amy Runyon-Harms
Executive Director
ProgressNow Colorado

PS. Help us keep fighting for progress. Donate today.

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WINNERS

Common sense

For the 2013 Colorado legislative session, the big winner is
easy: common sense. This session, progressive legislators in Colorado
kept their promises on many important pieces of legislation that will
make our lives and communities better. Progressives created new
economic opportunities, expanded access to health care, worked to
protect our communities and helped level the playing field for workers
at all Colorado businesses. After years of stagnation in our
legislature, the pent-up demand for progress most Coloradans want was
finally realized.

Colorado's economy and workers

Important legislation passed this year that will pay
dividends for Colorado's economy for years to come. The Advanced
Industries Accelerator Act will help bring high-tech industry to the
state. House Bill 1292, the Keep Jobs in Colorado Act, will focus
taxpayer dollars and state contracts on the goal of creating
good-paying jobs in Colorado. After watching tax credits go to
businesses for years, this year new tax credits for working families
will provide relief to those who need it most while injecting money
directly into Colorado's economy. The regulation and taxation of
retail marijuana sales will bring millions in new revenues to the
state and thousands of new jobs. And a new chance to properly fund
public education in this state, which is key to any long-term growth
strategy, is headed for the ballot this fall. These bread and butter
bills might not have earned as much ink as other issues, but their
passage will have real benefits for Colorado families. The
legislature's progressive majority focus on jobs and the economy paid
off.

Gun safety

Thanks to the bravery of Colorado progressives in the face of
lies, angry mobs, and even death threats, our state is now a model for
the passage of common sense gun safety legislation. In Colorado, we
respect the rights of every law-abiding citizen to own guns. Our
experience with terrible gun violence tragedies in recent years has
given Colorado a new perspective on this issue. Progressives,
responding to overwhelming public support for responsible gun laws,
responded by passing publicly popular legislation closing the
background check loophole as well as limits on capacity of gun
magazines. While Americans continue to be disappointed on the federal
level on this issue, Colorado is leading the way on solutions to the
vexing problem of gun violence in America.

Committed gay and lesbian couples and their families

In 2012, the Republican-controlled Colorado House used shady
procedural rules to shut down debate in that chamber to prevent
passage of civil unions for committed gays and lesbians in our state.
Then-Speaker Frank McNulty did this because he knew the bill would
pass with bipartisan support if he allowed a vote. Statewide outrage
over the actions of Republican leadership led directly to massive
losses in the legislature for Republicans last year, and the retaking
of the legislature by Mark Ferrandino and a new progressive majority.
With obstructionist Republicans swept from power, civil unions passed
into law easily this year--a good step forward toward full equality
for our state's LGBT citizens.

Voters in 2013 and beyond

Passage of the Voter Access and Modernized Elections Act will
greatly benefit current and future Colorado voters. This bipartisan
election reform bill makes voting easier for more legally eligible
Colorado citizens. The bill resolves problems that have cropped up
with "inactive" voters, and helps ensure every Coloradan gets the
opportunity to vote conveniently and securely. Right-wing opponents of
the bill relied on falsehoods and baseless conspiracy theories to
conceal their true motivation--fewer people voting.

The Future

Some great things are happening for Coloradans of the future.
School kids, college kids and people who like clean air and good
energy jobs are all winners. After years of devastating recession and
over $1 billion in cuts, public education funding in Colorado is
slowly recovering. But the state is so far behind the curve now that a
lawsuit recently found Colorado's education system to be fundamentally
unequal and woefully underfunded. This year, a bold new plan for
funding our public schools has emerged, and voters will go to the
polls in the fall to approve a ballot measure to solve this
longstanding problem. A bill passed this year to allow undocumented
graduates of Colorado high schools to attend college at in-state
rates, ensuring the investment we've already made in these children is
not wasted, and that all Colorado students can reach their potential.
A bill extending the benefits of clean renewable energy to rural
Colorado is still another way Colorado progressives are looking to the
future.

Progressive women

Progressive women led the way this session and their
victories were all of our victories. With a record number of women in
leadership positions, it was women who fought to get landmark gun
safety legislation passed, to push civil unions across the finish line
and to better Colorado's economy while making sure kids and schools
weren't left behind. This year's gun safety bills were sponsored by
progressive women, like Rep. Rhonda Fields who lost her son to gun
violence, and Sen. Morgan Carroll, who represents the area of Aurora
including the movie theater where a dozen people were gunned down last
July. In response, progressive women legislators were subjected to
disgusting personal threats of violence and sexual assault. Thanks to
speedy intervention by law enforcement, arrests have been made in some
of these threat cases--and thanks to the perseverance of progressive
women, common-sense gun safety is the law in Colorado.

Legislative leadership

This year's progressive legislative leaders, Senate President
John Morse and House Speaker Mark Ferrandino, as well as Majority
Leaders Senator Morgan Carroll and Rep Dickie Lee Hullinghorst and
President Pro Tem Senator Lucia Guzman and Speaker Pro Tem Rep Claire
Levy (a record number of women in leadership positions) presided over
the most productive and rewarding legislative session that anyone can
remember. Communication between leadership, legislators, and the
Governor's office this year allowed for much better success in getting
bills passed and signed into law. Huge victories like civil unions,
gun safety, and education funding would not have been possible without
both chambers working together to get things done--a marked contrast
to the last two years of divided control and political stagnation at
the Colorado Capitol.

State employees

After years of pay cuts, hiring freezes, and doing more with
less, state employees are finally receiving a modest 2% across the
board raise, with the possibility of additional increases for the
highest performers. This is critical not just to public workers, but
to the communities across Colorado that depend on them economically.
Another bill passed the legislature granting firefighters more say in
safety issues on the job. It took a progressive legislature to remind
us how public workers contribute a double-value to Colorado--providing
services while generating private sector jobs and contributing to our
economic recovery.

Crowdsourced journalism

More than ever, the Colorado political press is under
pressure to deliver quality and objective news coverage of state
politics with fewer staff and resources than ever. It's a tough job,
but fortunately, news gathering has changed with the advent of social
media streaming out of the Capitol from both sides. The easy
availability of source material provided by social media and the
ability for every stakeholder to make their voice equally part of the
debate, has given hard-pressed journalists a powerful new tool: for
not just meeting deadlines, but supplying quality journalism to
citizens and voters. In turn, activists and stakeholders can push back
against deficient and biased news coverage in ways they never could
before.

LOSERS

Haters

As progressives worked this year catching Colorado up after
years of stagnation under a divided legislature, the influence of
bigotry and intolerance plummeted. The Colorado Civil Union Act passed
this year with bipartisan support after Colorado voters took away
power from intolerant Republican legislative leadership in 2012. After
years of trying, the legislature finally passed the ASSET bill
providing in-state tuition to undocumented graduates of Colorado high
schools. And a radical Republican bill to ban all abortions was not
only defeated, but ridiculed in the press as a throwback. As Colorado
has changed in recent years, and the divided legislature failed to
keep pace, progressives never gave up--and this year, that patience
and perseverance finally paid off. Once powerful, the forces of
intolerance are weaker than ever in Colorado.

Gun nuts

After tragic mass shooting incidents in Aurora, Sandy Hook
and elsewhere in 2012, the call grew louder to enact common sense
measures to reduce the scourge of gun violence that takes the lives of
an estimated thirty-three Americans every day. Colorado's progressive
majority in the General Assembly and Gov. John Hickenlooper answered
the call, and introduced a slate of sensible legislation to enhance
public safety while protecting the rights of law-abiding Coloradans to
own guns. The gun lobby and Republican legislators responded with an
avalanche of misinformation, in some cases flat out lies about what
these bills actually do. These falsehoods and scare tactics filled the
Capitol with angry mobs and prompted death threats to those carrying
the bills. Colorado progressives held together and passed legislation
to strengthen background checks and limit high-capacity magazines.
Other bills protect victims of domestic violence from gun-wielding
partners and require concealed-carry courses be taken at least partly
in-person. Polling overwhelmingly shows the public supports this
legislation.

GOP outreach

In the wake of another stinging electoral defeat in Colorado
last year, many Republicans nationwide realized that it is time to
stop alienating the fastest growing segments of the electorate: young
voters, women voters, and Hispanic voters. Instead of taking that
advice, Colorado Republicans launched a campaign to ban abortions even
in cases of rape or incest. They mostly opposed the ASSET legislation
for fair tuition, and stood by as civil unions for gays and lesbians
passed without their help. Continued opposition to common sense
progress proves once again that Republicans have learned nothing from
repeated losses in Colorado.

Secretary of State Scott Gessler

Secretary of State Scott Gessler could go down in history as
the worst and most partisan Secretary of State Colorado has ever had.
Elected in 2010, Gessler's time in office has been marked by repeated
instances of partisan favoritism in enforcing election law, brazen
disregard for the rights of voters, and naked attempts to stack the
deck in Colorado elections to favor his fellow Republicans. This year,
Gessler led the dishonest right-wing opposition to the Voter Access
and Modernized Elections Act, a bill to make it easier for more people
to vote securely. Gessler's testimony against this bill was even
counteracted by Republican county clerks--the people whose job it is
to carry out elections in this state. The same people who helped write
the bill and debunked the over-the-top claims from Gessler and
right-wing legislators. Gessler proved that the real objection to this
bill was political--that right-wing extremists don't want to make
voting easier because they fear the results will drive them out of
office.

Sen. Greg Brophy

Always one of Colorado's most controversial right-wing
legislators, Sen. Greg Brophy made headlines this year when he vowed
to disobey a new law limiting gun magazine capacity to fifteen rounds.
A rumored gubernatorial candidate in 2014, Brophy has repeatedly
sparked controversy by claiming that the poor spends their money on
"cigarettes and air conditioning" instead of health care, or telling
contraceptive coverage supporter Sandra Fluke that he doesn't "want to
buy your booze or your birth control." Brophy's vow to disregard a law
passed by the legislature should disqualify him from higher office
because it is an affront to our democratic process.

House Minority Leader Mark Waller

House Minority Leader Mark Waller has a reputation as a
good-faith mediator, but he was unable to get control of his radical
caucus. Waller was publicly criticized by fellow Republicans including
Rep. Amy Stephens for failing to mount a vigorous enough opposition to
the civil unions bill that passed this year. Waller's future political
aspirations will always have a black mark from his role in the 2012
shutdown of the legislature, and in 2013 he ineffectively presided
over an obstructionist, radical caucus that he could not control.

Assistant House Minority Leader Libby Szabo

Rep. Libby Szabo's radical-right voting record is no secret,
but this year she brought relations in the General Assembly to a
horrifying new low. Appearing on FOX News' O'Reilly Factor, Szabo
actually accused House Speaker Mark Ferrandino of protecting child
predators even though Colorado already has life sentences for these
crimes! Curtis Hubbard, Denver Post opinion editor, condemned these
attacks on Speaker Ferrandino, saying they "should offend all
Coloradans."

Colorado county sheriffs

In the debate over gun safety legislation this year, a number
of elected county sheriffs in Colorado joined in dishonest right-wing
attacks against these bills. County sheriffs lent an undeserved
credibility to the extreme and false claims about gun safety
legislation proving they are politicians first--and public safety
officials second. One county sheriff, El Paso County Sheriff Terry
Maketa, was forced to retract baseless claims of "intimidation" at the
state capitol over a bill to raise county sheriff salaries. Sheriffs
may be great at enforcing the law in their counties, but when it comes
to politics, they're not ready for prime time.

Colorado's public health and environment

There was one issue on which not enough progress was made
this year, and that is the growing need to protect Colorado's land,
water, and communities from the harmful effects of "fracking" for oil
and gas. Numerous important pieces of legislation, including bills to
reduce conflicts of interest among oil and gas regulators and to
remove industry-friendly loopholes from statewide water testing
standards, were killed under pressure from the industry and Gov. John
Hickenlooper. Looking ahead, Gov. Hickenlooper must be held
accountable to communities demanding better from the state--and a
balance must be struck that allows safe development of natural
resources without compromising public health.

Independence Institute

The right-wing Independence Institute severely damaged their
reputation during the gun safety debate. Appearing in a video widely
circulated among conservatives and covered in local media,
Independence Institute director Jon Caldara absurdly claimed that gun
safety legislation would mean that "almost all guns in Colorado will
never be able to get a magazine again." The Independence Institute's
"research director," Dave Kopel, claimed that proponents support "a
lifetime ban on gun possession for anyone who has ever been arrested
for a drug offense." This is a blatant falsehood at both the state and
federal level. It will take time for the full extent of the
Independence Institute's false claims about these bills to be
understood, but the credibility of this once-influential organization
has been permanently damaged.

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