HB10-1155: Precious
Metals TABOR Reserve
Gold and silver would support the TABOR reserve, based on
HB10-1155 sponsored by Rep. Kent Lambert (R-CO Spgs). Lambert wanted the state to buy precious metals, such as
gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, as long term assets to store in a vault
in the state Capitol.
The bill required the state to take precious metal severance
tax and invest it in precious metals.
This would involve about $1 million in precious metal purchases this year,
and $2 million for next year. The
money would be stored in a safe in the treasurer's office in the Capitol and
would be available for viewing by the press at least once a year. The state
could consider selling tickets to the press to further boost revenues. Rep Joe
Miklosi (D-Denver) calculated that $1 million in precious metals could be put
in a shoebox. The bill was
postponed indefinitely.
HB10-1137: People
First Language In Laws
The
"People First" language bill, sponsored by Rep. Bob Gardner (R-CO Spgs), requires
the state to use "People First" language when referring to people with
disabilities as people with disabilities rather than disabled people. This wording is not to be confused with
the Jefferson County Democratic Party motto, "Putting People First." Rather, the
bill demonstrates the legislature's belief that words matter. It passed
unanimously.
HB10-1088: Devolve
State Commuter Highways To Local Governments
To
save state money, Rep. Glenn Vaad (R-Mead) wanted to pass control of urban area
highways to local governments. Easy for him to do as he lives in decidedly
un-urban eastern Colorado. Once legislators grasped the idea of devolution,
they saw trouble. The City of
Lakewood protested. It would have
to take care of C-470, Wadsworth, Sheridan, and Kipling, and said it wasn't qualified. West metro area residents sighed in
relief that the city recognized its limitations, as traffic on all these
thoroughfares is already jammed by construction projects. The bill was postponed indefinitely.
HB1--1018: Reduce
Waste Tire Stockpile Risks
Colorado
has lots of throw-away tires piling up. Rep. Marsha Looper (R-Calhan) and Dianne
Primavera (D-Broomfield) say the rubber has hit the road and the state needs to
clean up its act. According to DC
consultants, Colorado is at the bottom of the heap in tire recycling and
disposal. The state has over 50
million waste tires, enough to insulate lots of environmentally correct homes
for rich people in the mountains.
Apparently Colorado has become the Africa of tire dumping for the US, as
many of the waste tires come from other states. To combat the pile up, the bill requires the use of a decal
program to track tires. The bill
passed unanimously.
Kiley Larsen and Paula
Noonan, CCW
This post was published on February 2, 2010. Permalink »
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