Thread: CO-Immigrants' tuition bill may get a reprieve

Immigrants' tuition bill may get a reprieve
By Tim Hoover

Posted: 04/01/2009 12:30:00 AM MDT
Updated: 04/01/2009 01:00:32 AM MDT


A bill that would allow illegal immigrants to get in-state tuition might make it out of a Senate committee early today because of one GOP lawmaker's absence — a situation Republicans called a little too convenient.

Senate Bill 170, sponsored by Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, had appeared destined for failure on a 5-5 vote in the Senate Appropriations Committee, which was to meet Friday morning.

Though Democrats hold a 6-4 majority on the committee, Sen. Moe Keller, D-Wheat Ridge, had said she would not support the bill, meaning it was likely to die on a tie vote.

But Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, the chairman of the panel, on Tuesday called a committee meeting for 7:30 this morning.

The extra meeting today means a vote on Romer's bill could take place without Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, who last week said he had family business that would require his absence from the Senate until Thursday. With Harvey gone, the bill could pass on a 5-4 vote.

The bill would allow students who have attended a Colorado high school for at least three years and graduated to get the in-state tuition rate at public colleges and universities. After a contentious debate last month, the Senate referred the legislation to the Appropriations Committee after Republicans raised concerns about its potential costs.

Supporters have said the bill has no impact on state revenue, but Keller's opposition was seen as the death knell for the measure.

Tapia, a supporter of Romer's bill, said he scheduled the meeting today because the committee, which did not meet last week, faced a large bottleneck of bills. He said the committee is likely to meet Thursday as well.

"Bills have backed up an awful lot," Tapia said. "I tried to put as many bills as possible on the (committee's agenda)."

Republicans, though, said the timing of today's meeting was fishy in light of Harvey's absence.

"The bill is coming up before other bills that have been on the appropriations (schedule) for a while," said Sen. Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, also a member of the panel. "It does strike me as very suspicious."

Harvey, reached by phone, said he had gone to Florida to help his wife prepare to put her father, who has Alzheimer's disease, in a facility in Colorado.

"They (Democrats) are taking advantage of my personal family issues to reschedule the committee hearing and push the bill through," he said.

Kopp said he would offer a motion in today's meeting to postpone consideration of the bill until Harvey returned to Denver.

Would Tapia agree to that?

"Are they going to want to delay every other bill that they think they can stop?" he asked in response. "I don't know what I would do. I would have to think about that."

He said he recognized Republicans might be suspicious of his motives.

"I can imagine that the Republicans may think this is kind of a stealth thing," Tapia said. "My job isn't to send bills (to the committee schedule) with the intention of killing them."

Tim Hoover: thoover@denverpost.com

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_12041505

Harvey, reached by phone, said he had gone to Florida to help his wife prepare to put her father, who has Alzheimer's disease, in a facility in Colorado.

"They (Democrats) are taking advantage of my personal family issues to reschedule the committee hearing and push the bill through," he said.

There is nothing the traitors will not do to push their agenda through!!!

Coming out of committee, then it will be vote on. INTERESTING

Thank you Senator Harvey for keep us informed. I hope some voting for this bill have sealed their career in public service as ended.

This is an email I received from Ted Harvey yesterday.:

I’ve just been informed of a development on SB 170, the bill to give in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.

Originally, the bill was scheduled for a vote this Friday in the Senate Appropriations committee, but it has now been rescheduled for a vote this Wednesday at 7:30 am in Senate Committee Room 356.

I do not believe that this rescheduling was a coincidence – I recently informed by colleagues in the Senate that I will be out of town this Wednesday and Thursday for an unavoidable family emergency. Now Senate Bill 170 has been rescheduled for a vote on Wednesday, when I cannot be present to cast a “noâ€

butterbean email from Sen. Harvey

My staff will let you know how the vote tomorrow morning goes. I will do my best to defeat this bill if it makes it to the Senate floor.

THE TRAITORS RAMMED IT THROUGH!!! THEY COULD CARE LESS ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND WHAT WE THINK!!!

Tapia is a fraud and traitor who does not deserve to represent the American citizens of Colorado! Do not the citizens of Colorado realize they deserve better than some traitor ram rodding a bill through on the absence of a full committee!