Colorado & Denver News

by Karlyn Tilley
DENVER (AP) ― Skipping the traditional opening speeches, Colorado lawmakers on Thursday plunged directly into a proposal barring some state services from illegal immigrants as they opened a special session amid a heated election-year debate.

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee approved a measure requiring state and local agencies to verify the legal status of people over age 18 before they get certain non-emergency services, but during debate in the full Senate later, lawmakers voted 22-13 to approve a more restrictive ballot initiative that had been disqualified by the state Supreme Court.

That proposal, offered by Sen. Ken Kester, R-Las Animas, was slated for a final Senate vote Friday after several Democrats led by Sen. Ron Tupa of Boulder voted with Republicans for the substitute. Tupa said he had hoped to delay action to give him more time to talk to his constituents and city and county officials.

"It's just a delaying tactic," he said. "I am supremely confident the bill will not go through both houses," Tupa said.

Many Democrats fought Kester's substitute measure, saying legislators could pass significant immigration reform more efficiently than voters could through a ballot initiative.

"When the vote was denied by the Supreme Court, we took it upon ourselves to do something to respond to those people who signed the petition and Senate Bill 1 does that," said Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont.

Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver, initially said he'd ask the Senate to reconsider the approval of Kester's amendment, but changed his mind, saying changes could be made Friday.

"It's one of those things, you sleep on it and when you wake up in the morning, you think of a way to put it back together," he said.

Earlier Thursday, the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee also approved a plan by GOP Gov. Bill Owens that would require people applying for jobs to provide a valid driver's license or identity card.

Owens expressed concern after the first day of action on a flurry of bills, saying two key measures lacked substance. Owens said a measure requiring proof of citizenship to vote (Senate Bill 7) would allow voters to present a utility bill, a bank statement or other easily obtainable document to be able to cast a ballot. He said another measure (Senate Bill 1) imposing restrictions on public benefits was amended to allow a broad exemption "to protect the health, life and safety of the public."

"Like a dog without teeth, these bills are a whole lot of bark with very little bite," Owens said in a statement. The Senate later removed the "health, life and safety" exemption.

Owens called the Democratic-controlled Legislature back after the state Supreme Court disqualified a proposed ballot issue that would have cut off most state services to illegal immigrants, saying it violated a rule requiring ballot initiatives to deal with only one subject.

Nearly 50 bills were introduced and lawmakers worked past 10:30 p.m. for a session expected to last only a week, making some lawmakers worry about rushing. "I'm a little bit concerned about the scholarship, doing this in such a short time," said Sen. Tom Wiens, R-Castle Rock.

Owens also wants them to pass legislation setting a deadline for the Supreme Court to rule after reviewing ballot initiatives. Owens accused justices of deliberately delaying their decision on the immigration proposal until it was too late for backers to start over.

Court administrators released statistics Thursday showing that since 2004, the high court has taken between eight and 60 days to rule on ballot proposals after all briefs were filed, depending on whether written opinions were required and whether dissenting justices issued their own opinions.

The court took 60 days to issue majority and dissenting opinions on the immigration ballot proposal. The court ruled on June 12 that the proposal could not be on the November ballot because it addressed two subjects and the state constitution allows only one.

A measure to raise to 18 the minimum age for common-law marriage won tentative approval in the Senate. Lawmakers proposed the bill after a state court ruled that girls as young as 12 and boys as young as 14 can marry.

(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)