Thread: Owens: Session must fix court’s wrongs

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June 29, 2006

Owens: Session must fix court’s wrongs

Initiative 55 unfairly tossed, governor says

By KYLE HENLEY THE GAZETTE

DENVER - A special General Assembly session on immigration will begin July 6, setting up a partisan chess match that figures to be as much about election-year politics as public policy.

Gov. Bill Owens on Wednesday set the agenda for the session by outlining a six-page “call” that asks lawmakers to address a broad range of immigration-related issues and a couple of other topics during the expected weeklong session.

“The primary responsibility for addressing illegal immigration is at the federal level,” Owens said, noting that Congress has not passed comprehensive immigration reform. “In the interim, the states will have


to take the reins, and illegal immigration will be the focus of my call for a special session.”

The session is being called in response to the Colorado Supreme Court decision to toss out a proposed ballot measure — Initiative 55 — that would have asked voters to ban state and local governments from providing services to undocumented aliens.

The court, which reaffirmed its decision Monday, said the proposed citizen initiative addressed more than one topic, which is prohibited under the state constitution.

The governor claimed the court denied voters a chance to debate the issue and wants lawmakers to place something similar on the November ballot.

The main point of the session, he said, is to right the court’s wrong so Coloradans can have a full debate on the issue.

But immigration and the special session have taken on political overtones.

Many observers believe Owens wants the session because Republican candidates stand to gain if Initiative 55 or something similar is on the ballot.

“They can use it as a rallying cry for conservative parts of the party and encourage turnout by making it one of the most salient issues,” said Floyd Ciruli, a Denver pollster. “The alternative is not attractive — talking about the war in Iraq or gas prices.”

Wednesday, however, Democratic leaders pulled the political rug out from beneath Owens and the GOP, announcing they’d engineered a compromise with the proponents and opponents of Initiative 55.

Defend Colorado Now, the backers of Initiative 55, in conjunction with Keep Colorado Safe, the opponents, agreed to drop calls for a legislative referendum as long as lawmakers approved a new series of laws.

The new statutes would be patterned after laws passed in Georgia that ban the state government from giving illegal immigrants services and crack down on businesses that hire illegal immigrants.

“I’ve all of a sudden doubled the impact of anything I would get from a vote of the people in November,” said former Gov. Dick Lamm. “How could I not say yes to that?”

Lamm is a Democrat and the figurehead of Defend Colorado Now.

Owens declined an offer this week to join the compromise.

But his agenda for the session leaves room for lawmakers to approve something akin to the deal, and it also allows them to refer a measure like Initiative 55.

Owens said he left a referred measure on the agenda in case the compromise “didn’t pass. It’s an option.”

The governor denied his decision was founded in electionyear politics or an effort to benefit GOP candidates.

“If I wanted that, I wouldn’t have made the call so reflective of what both parties have asked for,” he said. “If I wanted to do that, I would have given them (Democrats) a take-it-or-leave-it proposal.”

The two candidates for governor, however, reacted in a decidedly political way.

“This is a very significant issue,” Democrat Bill Ritter said. “The most important thing is that the Legislature has a full debate, and they do something that is substantive.”

Ritter supports the proposed compromise.

Republican Bob Beauprez, however, wants the special session to produce an Initiative 55-type measure on the November ballot.

“It is a question that ought to be in front of the voters,” Beauprez campaign spokesman John Marshall said. “That is the issue at hand. It ought to go to voters and let them debate and decide this issue.”

Ciruli said it is too soon to determine which party will win the politic fight.

“The Democrats are prepared to give on some substantive issues for the sake of removing immigration as a rallying cry and leaving themselves vulnerable in November,” he said. “This is all about who can frame the issue and who can get the advantage by framing it.”

CONTACT THE WRITER: 1-303-837-0613 or kyle.henley@gazette.com

AGENDA

The special session will start July 6 and is expected to take from three days to more than a week. Here is a look at the issues Gov. Bill Owens put on the agenda. Lawmakers do not have to consider everything listed on the governor’s outline, but they cannot entertain bills that go beyond its scope.

- Ban government from giving services to illegal immigrants.

- Require employers to verify the immigration status of new employees and punish those that hire illegal aliens.

- Require Coloradans to show proof of citizenship to register to vote.

- Strengthen laws that deal with human trafficking.

- Refer a measure to the November ballot that bans government from giving services to illegal immigrants.

- Give the Colorado Supreme Court 30 days to handle cases dealing with citizen initiatives.

- In response to a recent court ruling, change the laws dealing with common law marriage to raise the age of consent. An appeals court recently determined a boy as young as 14 and a girl as young as 12 could consent to marriage under the common law statute.

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