Democrats gutting immigration compromise

From the Republican Study Committee of Colorado (RSCC):

DENVER, CO: General Assembly Democrats are forcing a last minute bill through the legislature that would weaken provisions of the employer identification law, HB06-1023, passed during last summer’s special legislative session. Members of the Republican Study Committee of Colorado (RSCC) are leading the charge against this change.

The measure, HB07-1314, sponsored by Representative Mike Cerbo (D-Denver) and Senator Peter Groff (D-Denver), extends rule deadlines for the Department of Revenue applicable to the identification of those who receive state benefits. The measure could also allow non-secure documents to be used as valid forms of identification.

The bill is expected to have a 3^rd reading vote in the Senate tomorrow, but even on its current fast-track the measure won’t reach Governor Bill Ritter’s desk until the end of the week, failing to properly extend the March 1^st deadline outlined in HB06-1023.

Read their full press release here.

Money quote:

“HB07-1314 is a backdoor attempt by the Democrats to reverse last session’s immigration identification laws through bureaucratic technicalities and procedural double speak,” said Lambert.

State Senate GOP Continues to Flex Muscle

This morning Senator Dave Schultheis (R - Colorado Springs) and Senator Greg Brophy (R - Wray) pulled a fast-one on the gun grabbers in the Colorado State Senate.

John Morse's SB07-34, which would have completely gutted Colorado's conceal carry law, was up for a second reading vote. SB07-34 was fast tracked out of committee and has been laid over for the past several weeks.

It was brought up on second reading today, but Schultheis and Brophy were able to pass a "strike below" amendment, which changed the bill language to allow Colorado to recognize all conceal carry permits issued to legal residents of the United States. The amendment passed with three Democrats voting in favor of the amendment.

Due to the drastic change in fortunes of his bill, Morse asked for the bill to be laid over again. The tough choice in front of Morse and Majority Leader Ken Gordon will be whether or not to kill the now good bill in the senate or try to "fix" it in the house.

We can only hope that the week continues to go poorly for the Majority Party.

[UPDATE]
Brophy and the Minority Press Office take a couple of shots at Morse, here. (See money quote below)

- Box of .45 shells: $14

- CCW Permit: $100

- Protecting the Constitution while taking a high-profile Dem out to the woodshed: Priceless...

Some of Morse's fellow senators dubbed the development an embarrassment to him and the Democrat leadership. Morse, a rookie legislator serving in his first elective office ever, watched in silence as his first bill was manhandled by critics--including three members of his own party--and rewritten into the opposite of what he intended.

“He never saw it coming,” said Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray. “The next time that Senator Morse wants to take away the rights of law-abiding citizens, he’d better get up a little earlier in the morning." [Emphasis added]