Thread: Colorado - Special session may be called

http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1318385

June 14, 2006

Special session may be called


By KYLE HENLEY THE GAZETTE

DENVER - Colorado lawmakers will likely be called back for a special session to address illegal immigration, Gov. Bill Owens said Tuesday, a day after a Colorado Supreme Court ruling bumped an illegal immigration initiative from the November ballot.

The Democrats, who control both houses of the Legislature, have approved some immigration-related bills during the regular session this year, but they killed a bill that was nearly identical to the measure kept off the ballot by the high court.

That measure would have barred any government agency in Colorado from providing services to illegal immigrants. The only exception would have been for medical services and public education — both required by federal law.

The court said the proposed amendment to the constitution — called Initiative 55 — violated a requirement that initiatives address only one subject.

Owens said the ruling was “inconsistent, irresponsible and, yes, it was arrogant.”

“The idea of a special session was something I hadn’t even considered until yesterday morning,” he said, adding the Supreme Court’s decision “may leave me no other choice.”

The backers of Initiative 55 and Attorney General John Suthers have asked the court to reconsider the ruling. Owens said he will wait to see if the court acts before he calls for a special session, but he gave no deadline for making a decision.

The governor has the authority to convene a special session, and to limit the agenda.

While Initiative 55 did have some bipartisan support, the uproar over the court’s decision has come almost exclusively from within the GOP.

Republican leaders in both the House and Senate have called for a special session. Both Republican candidates for governor, Congressman Bob Beauprez and Marc Holtzman, support the move.

“Coloradans are being denied a chance to vote on one of the most crucial issues of our time — whether to subsidize a tidal wave of illegal immigration — because our state’s highest court says that simple proposal amounts to two subjects,” said Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs.

“If we can resolve this issue in time for the election by calling a special session, then I’m all for it. This matter is too important not to address. This isn’t just about fending off illegal immigration; it is also about shoring up the democratic process and preserving the citizens’ right to petition government.”

Though a special session could give Republican lawmakers another shot at passing the measure that was killed during the regular session, only the court could restore Initiative 55 to the November ballot.

Democrats aren’t as hot on the idea of a special session. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter declined to comment on the issue, but Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Coal Creek Canyon, said that “being called back in with little time to debate can only be seen as poor public policy.”

She noted that lawmakers passed eight bills dealing with immigration during the regular session with strong bipartisan support. The bills banned human smuggling; barred state contractors from hiring undocumented aliens; banned cities and counties from giving sanctuary to illegal aliens; and created a special unit within the Colorado State Patrol to enforce immigration laws.

Some observers said that calls for a special session may have less to do with public policy than with the political benefits Colorado Republicans may gain from keeping a hot-button issue in the spotlight.

Colorado State University political science professor John Straayer noted that it is not shaping up to be a good election year for Republicans.

President Bush is unpopular and GOP leaders in Congress have been linked to a variety of scandals. Holtzman and Beauprez are embroiled in a nasty primary fight, while Ritter, the sole Democratic candidate for governor, is picking up steam and voters.

Democrats took control of both the Colorado House and Senate and won a U.S. Senate seat and a U.S. House seat in 2004.

“Republicans are doing everything they can to get on the front page, get those television cameras rolling and excite the base,” Straayer said.

Owens denied that his decision, if he makes it, to call a special session would have anything to do with politics.

“I understand it is an election year,” he said. “I can assure you I have a policy difference of opinion with the Supreme Court on this issue.”

CONTACT THE WRITER:

1-303-837-0613 or

kyle.henley@gazette.com

Thank you for posting this, I was going to post a similar article.
What a bunch of CRAP!