68th Colorado General Assembly

Republican victories in the 2010 midterm elections resulted in a one-seat majority in the Colorado House.{{cite news |url=http://data.denverpost.com/election/results/state-house/2010/ |title=Denver Post - Colorado State House 2010 Election Results |access-date=2013-04-21 |archive-date=2011-08-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814080229/http://data.denverpost.com/election/results/state-house/2010/ |url-status=dead }} Three centrist Democrats from swing districts—Joe Rice, Sara Gagliardi, and Dianne Primavera—who had brokered bipartisan agreements in the 67th Colorado General Assembly were replaced by Republican challengers, leading to early fears of partisan gridlock.{{cite web |url=http://coloradostatesman.com/content/992346-innerview-with-pat-waak |title=The Colorado Statesman: InnerView with Pat Waak - Dem party chairwoman reflects on 'sobering' election results |access-date=2013-04-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101181806/http://coloradostatesman.com/content/992346-innerview-with-pat-waak |archive-date=2012-11-01 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.coloradostatesman.com/content/992290-leadership-changes-legislature |title=The Colorado Statesman: Leadership changes at Legislature |access-date=2013-04-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130326100843/http://coloradostatesman.com/content/992290-leadership-changes-legislature |archive-date=2013-03-26 |url-status=dead }} However, the two-year-long 33-34 partisan division also resulted in numerous temporary coalitions, prompting the Denver Post to editorialize in 2012 that "on balance, this year's regular session of the legislature was a success."{{cite news |url=http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_20596947/editorial-highs-and-lows-under-dome |title=Denver Post: Highs and lows under the Colorado Capitol dome |date=May 13, 2012 |archive-date=May 15, 2012 |access-date=April 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515082051/http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_20596947/editorial-highs-and-lows-under-dome |url-status=live }}

The primary constitutional duty of the General Assembly is to pass an annual appropriations measure. Frequently called "the budget" by the press or "the long bill" by legislative staffers (owing to its enormous number of pages and considerable complexity), the annual appropriation is one of the most-watched measures in any given session. The bill is drafted by the Joint Budget Committee (JBC), which is a bipartisan committee made up of House and Senate members and advised by staffers and economists.{{cite web |url=http://www.tornado.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/jbc/jbcrole.htm |title=Legislative documentation: Role of the Joint Budget Committee |access-date=2013-04-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006043203/http://www.tornado.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/jbc/jbcrole.htm |archive-date=2014-10-06 |url-status=dead }}

SB11-209 was the 2011-2012 budget, passed by the 68th General Assembly in April 2011. It made an appropriation of $18 billion, of which $7 billion was from the state's General Fund.{{cite web |url=http://www.tornado.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/jbc/2010-11/11LBNarrative.pdf |title=JBC documentation - Long Bill Overview and Narrative |access-date=2013-04-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208082851/http://www.tornado.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/jbc/2010-11/11LBNarrative.pdf |archive-date=2016-02-08 |url-status=dead }} The state's governor, John Hickenlooper, vetoed several sections of the budget measure, arguing that the legislature had overstepped its constitutional authority by making staffing decisions in the bill.{{cite web |url=http://www.coloradostatesman.com/content/992782-gov-hickenlooper-signs-first-budget-vetoes-eight-footnotes |title=The Colorado Statesman: Gov. Hickenlooper signs first budget; vetoes eight footnotes |access-date=2013-04-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130322235934/http://coloradostatesman.com/content/992782-gov-hickenlooper-signs-first-budget-vetoes-eight-footnotes |archive-date=2013-03-22 |url-status=dead }} The House and Senate overrode the partial vetoes on May 11, 2011.{{cite web |url=http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2011a/csl.nsf/billsummary/DC3B69581E48C9C0872578640051CC26 |title=House Journal - Summarized History for Bill Number SB11-209 |access-date=2013-04-21 |archive-date=2016-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306033047/http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2011a/csl.nsf/billsummary/DC3B69581E48C9C0872578640051CC26 |url-status=live }}

HB12-1335 was the 2012-2013 budget passed by the 68th General Assembly in late April 2012. The bill made a total appropriation of $20 billion, of which $7.7 billion was from the state's General Fund.{{cite web |url=http://www.tornado.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/jbc/12LBNarrative.pdf |title=FY 2012-2013 BUDGET PACKAGE AND LONG BILL NARRATIVE |access-date=2013-04-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208082811/http://www.tornado.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/jbc/12LBNarrative.pdf |archive-date=2016-02-08 |url-status=dead }} Because of ongoing bipartisan agreements in the legislature, the measure achieved the broadest support and highest number of "yes" votes of any Colorado budget since 1995.{{cite web |url=http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/GovHickenlooper/CBON/1251622221066 |title=Gov. Hickenlooper signs budget bill for next fiscal year |access-date=2013-04-21 |archive-date=2013-01-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119034627/http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/GovHickenlooper/CBON/1251622221066 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2012a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont/71B7629D0B804A4687257981007F15F7?Open&target=%2Fclics%2Fclics2012a%2Fcsl.nsf%2Fbillsummary%2F82FF8E2EE7DEFECA8725794B0077750B%3Fopendocument |title=Summarized History for Bill Number HB12-1335 |access-date=2013-04-21 |archive-date=2016-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306033519/http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2012a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont/71B7629D0B804A4687257981007F15F7?Open&target=%2Fclics%2Fclics2012a%2Fcsl.nsf%2Fbillsummary%2F82FF8E2EE7DEFECA8725794B0077750B%3Fopendocument |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=http://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_20505881/colorado-legislators-cheer-budget-but-some-parts-still |title=Colorado legislators cheer budget, but some parts still draw critics |work=Denver Post |first=Tim |last=Hoover |date=April 29, 2012 |archive-date=May 8, 2013 |access-date=April 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508084527/http://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_20505881/colorado-legislators-cheer-budget-but-some-parts-still |url-status=live }}

The 68th Colorado General Assembly was also noteworthy for having a Special Session, the first since 2006.{{cite web |url=http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2013A/cslFrontPages.nsf/PrevSessionInfo?OpenForm |title=State of Colorado: Prior Session Information |access-date=2013-04-21 |archive-date=2013-02-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130212031709/http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2013A/cslFrontPages.nsf/PrevSessionInfo?OpenForm |url-status=live }}

On the second-to-last day of the 2012 legislative session, Speaker of the House Frank McNulty and a group of Republican legislators engaged in a parliamentary filibuster intended to prevent an up-or-down vote on a civil unions bill. At the time, it was reported that a majority of the House, including five Republicans, supported the measure. Delaying the civil union bill until adjournment resulted in the bill's expiration.{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/colorado-civil-unions-bil_n_1500536.html |title=Colorado Civil Unions: House Republicans Block Bill From Going To Vote; Bill Dies In House |work=Huffington Post |date=May 8, 2012 |archive-date=March 30, 2014 |access-date=April 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330061922/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/colorado-civil-unions-bil_n_1500536.html |url-status=live }} However, this action also resulted in 30 unrelated bills dying without a floor vote.{{cite news |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-05-14/gay-marriage-Colorado-Republicans/54964500/1 |work=USA Today |title=Republicans kill civil unions in Colorado |date=May 14, 2012 |archive-date=2013-10-05 |access-date=2013-04-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005044132/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-05-14/gay-marriage-Colorado-Republicans/54964500/1 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/colorado-civil-union-bill-dies-lawmakers-reach-impasse-062021971.html |agency=Associated Press |title=Colorado civil union bill dies - lawmakers reach impasse after Republican filibuster |date=9 May 2012 |access-date=14 January 2017 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305055035/http://news.yahoo.com/colorado-civil-union-bill-dies-lawmakers-reach-impasse-062021971.html |url-status=live }} The delay resulted in nationwide media attention and triggered a special legislative session which cost taxpayers an estimated $23,500 per day.{{cite news |url=http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20582571/fallout-legislative-implosion-over-colorado-civil-union-bill |work=Denver Post |title=Hickenlooper calls for special session in fallout over failed Colorado civil-union bill |first1=Lynn |last1=Bartels |first2=Tim |last2=Hoover |date=May 9, 2012 |archive-date=October 4, 2013 |access-date=April 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004214052/http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20582571/fallout-legislative-implosion-over-colorado-civil-union-bill |url-status=live }}

In the first special session of the 68th General Assembly, Speaker McNulty assigned the civil unions bill to the State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee which functioned as a "kill committee," permanently avoiding a vote by the House.{{cite news|url=http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20619943/colorado-civil-unions-backers-dont-have-high-hopes |work=Denver Post |title=Colorado civil unions bill dies in "kill committee" |first1=Tim |last1=Hoover |first2=John |last2=Ingold |date=May 14, 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204174004/http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20619943/colorado-civil-unions-backers-dont-have-high-hopes |archivedate=February 4, 2013 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-14/colorado-civil-unions-legislation-assigned-to-kill-committee.html |work=Bloomberg News |title=Colorado Civil Unions Legislation Assigned to 'Kill' Committee}}{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-colorado-civil-unions-20120514,0,2854846.story |work=Los Angeles Times |title=Same-sex unions: Fate of Colorado measure may be sealed |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515190253/http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-colorado-civil-unions-20120514%2C0%2C2854846.story |archivedate=May 15, 2012 }} Most remaining measures followed normal procedures, however.{{cite web |url=http://www.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2012B/csl.nsf/BillFoldersHouse?openFrameset |title=2012 House Special Session Bill Tracker |access-date=2013-04-21 |archive-date=2013-01-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130129121352/http://www.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2012B/csl.nsf/BillFoldersHouse?openFrameset |url-status=live }}

{{portal|United States|Colorado}}

• List of Colorado state legislatures
• Outline of Colorado
• Index of Colorado-related articles
• State of Colorado
• Law and government of Colorado

{{reflist|2}}

• [http://www.leg.state.co.us Official Colorado General Assembly Website] Includes links to state Constitution and statutes.

{{Clear}}

{{United States legislatures |state=expanded}}

{{Colorado |collapsed}}

68th

Category:Bicameral legislatures

colorado

colorado

Category:2011 in Colorado

Category:2012 in Colorado