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Special session on table
Owens to meet with parties' leaders to defuse showdown

By April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News
June 20, 2006

Democratic state lawmakers on Monday moved forward with their plan to call a special session, even as GOP Gov. Bill Owens said he would meet with leaders of both parties Wednesday to try to find common ground.

Owens hopes to avoid a political showdown over whether he or Democratic lawmakers will make the call and set the agenda for a looming special session to deal with illegal immigration.

The hot-button issue is expected to dominate the November election.

"I think (Democrats are) aware they're not going to have enough votes to make the call," said Dan Hopkins, spokesman for the governor. "Going forward, the governor's intent is to get input from legislative leaders on the subject matter of a special session if he decides to call one."

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers vowed they would not back down from their competing plan to call the legislature into special session - despite Republican lawmakers' pledge to stick by Owens and deny Democrats the 15 GOP crossover votes they would need to call the session.

Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald spent Monday making phone calls and shoring up the Democratic caucus support for a special session.

Fitz-Gerald said at their Wednesday meeting that she plans to challenge the governor and GOP leaders to provide evidence on which state agencies are providing services to people who are here illegally.

"We need answers to that question before we go into a special session half-cocked," said Fitz-Gerald, D-Coal Creek Canyon. "I don't know how we, as lawmakers, can justify giving him money and people for enforcement if they can't identify a widespread problem."

Owens' announcement of the talks comes a week after the Colorado Supreme Court set off a political firestorm when it tossed an initiative off the November ballot that would deny illegal immigrants many taxpayer-funded state services.