From Education News Colorado: A bill that proposes changes in how districts handle turnaround schools drew lots of interest in the Senate Education Committee but was pulled off the table Thursday at the sponsor’s request. Witnesses supporting the bill included critics of the Denver Public Schools’ reform plans in Far Northeast Denver and the Colorado Education Association. Opponents included officials of the Department of Education and leaders of education reform groups. The 14 witnesses were equally divided pro and con.

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From The Durango Herald: Soft drinks, under a House Republican plan, would get back the tax exemption they lost last year. Much of the debate about House Bill 1162, by Rep. David Balmer, R-Centennial, revolved around the state’s finances, not the bulging waistlines of the population that some health experts blame on soft drinks.

From The Denver Post: A bill that would restore a sales tax exemption on soda cleared a House committee today over the objections of Democrats who said it would blow a $12 million hole in the state budget. The sales tax exemption on soda was one of a slew of tax breaks that were suspended or removed last year by a Democratic-controlled legislature in an effort to generate more than $100 million in revenue to help balance the state budget.

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The Denver Post: Three Democrats joined with Republicans on Thursday in passing a bill that reduces the late fee for registering a vehicle from up to $100 to possibly nothing, depending on the county.
House Bill 1084 makes the late fee $10, to be imposed at the discretion of the county clerk, which is the system Colorado had before 2009.

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From The Denver Business Journal (subscription): After scoring two big legislative victories in 2010, car dealers are back, pushing a bill this year that would supersede contracts they have with vehicle manufacturers — and allow them to rebuke requests that come more than once every 10 years for them to improve their facilities. Chrysler and General Motors argue that House Bill 1188 interferes with contract law and hurts their attempts to be profitable as they emerge from bankruptcy.

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From The Colorado Statesman: Democrats’ latest effort to pass a bill granting instate tuition to undocumented students moved through two committees in the past week and was approved along party-lines both times. Senate Bill 126, sponsored by Sen. Angela Giron, D-Pueblo, and Sen. Michael Johnston, D-Denver, was reviewed and approved by the Senate Education Committee on Feb. 17 and by the Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 22. The bill is now before the Senate Appropriations Committee for further action.

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The Colorado Independent: With the help of a female model packing heat, the bill that could allow Coloradans to conceal their handguns without permit on private K-12 school grounds and across most other areas of Colorado passed out of a House committee Thursday with bipartisan support. The bill, if signed into law, would make it legal for those who pass the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) instant criminal background check, conducted when purchasing a handgun, to be able to also conceal a handgun without a concealed weapons permit.

From The Denver Daily News: The House Judiciary Committee yesterday was busy backing one piece of legislation that would allow citizens to carry a concealed weapon without a permit and another piece of legislation that would permit victims of some crimes the right to meet face-to-face with their offender.

From The Durango Herald: A House panel voted Thursday to allow people to carry concealed guns without a permit. House Bill 1205, by Rep. Chris Holbert, R-Parker, mimics laws in Arizona and Alaska that allow people who can legally possess guns to carry them concealed, whether or not they have a special permit.

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From The Denver Post: A bill expected to save taxpayers $1.5 million dollars by consolidating housing voucher programs sailed through a committee hearing with a unanimous vote.

From The Colorado Independent: State Rep. Crisanta Duran, D-Denver, steered her bill to consolidate state resources past the House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee Thursday, with the committee passing it without objection. “We are bringing forward this program today so that we can consolidate duplicate programs in government in order to make it more efficient,” Duran told the Colorado Independent. “As the result of this bill, $1.5 million will be invested in local communities for affordable housing. So we are making sure that the disabled community, the homeless community and veterans are able to have more resources by consolidating these programs.”

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From The Denver Post: A bill that would have allowed for more taxi cab competition died this morning in Senate Appropriations on a party-line vote.

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From The Denver Post: The Senate today gave initial approval to a bill banning the use of face-down restraint techniques by employees of the Department of Human Services. Senate Bill 49 drew inspiration from the “needless, inhumane deaths” of several Coloradans over the past few years, bill sponsor Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, said.

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From The Sterling Journal-Advocate: This week, Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, got past one of the biggest hurdles a Senate Republican faces in the 2011 session: getting a bill out of the Democratic-controlled Senate. The Senate on Monday approved Brophy`s Senate Bill 11-012, which would allow students in public schools to keep their life-saving medication on hand, instead of having it locked up in a nurse`s or principal`s office.

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