http://www.coloradonewsagency.com Covering the Capitol Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:36:08 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Lawmakers decided Wednesday against letting homes and businesses put some of their own wastewater to use again as a conservation measure. Rep. Randy Fischer, D-Fort Collins, sponsor of House Bill 1003, told members of the House State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee that graywater—water previously used for non-organic purposes such as ... http://www.coloradonewsagency.com/2012/02/02/reuse-your-own-water-house-panel-says-no/ “Who owns the wind?” If that isn’t the title of a country song about a drifter who loves ‘em and leaves ‘em, it ought to be. But in Colorado and elsewhere, who owns the wind is no longer a whimsical question. It’s becoming important politically because of the increasing number of turbines ... http://www.coloradonewsagency.com/2012/02/02/lawmakers-seek-to-harness-the-wind%e2%80%94legally-speaking%e2%80%94and-tie-it-to-the-land/ A pending proposal at the Capitol seeks to safeguard personal information of crime victims as well as proprietary details of businesses that could be divulged, and perhaps misused, under Colorado's open-records laws. The author of the legislation says such information, not intended for public eyes, can come up in some ... http://www.coloradonewsagency.com/2012/01/31/lawmaker-seeks-tighter-safeguards-for-personal-info-gathered-by-investigators/ Split along party-lines, a Senate committee today killed a GOP plan to give budget-strapped cities the same kind of leeway in funding costly employee pensions that the legislature gave the state government a couple of years ago. Senate Bill 16 would have allowed municipal governments to reduce their contributions for their ... http://www.coloradonewsagency.com/2012/01/30/budget-flexibility-for-cities-dies-in-legislative-committee/ Lawmakers are once again considering a measure allowing undocumented immigrant students to pay in-state tuition at Colorado's college and universities. The measure, heard Thursday by the Senate Education Committee, squeaked by  on a party-line vote with majority Democrats voting in favor of the proposal. Senate Bill 15, nearly identical to last ... http://www.coloradonewsagency.com/2012/01/27/in-state-tuition-for-undocumented-immigrant-students-moves-forward-once-again/ After learning that some cities are taxing grocery sales at convenience stores but not at supermarkets, a legislative panel OK'd a measure Wednesday making clear that local governments must levy taxes on a level playing field. Senate Bill 94, sponsored by Sen. Mary Hodge, D-Brighton, and Rep. Libby Szabo, R-Arvada, clarifies ... http://www.coloradonewsagency.com/2012/01/26/legislation-curbs-local-grocery-taxes-at-convenience-stores/ The patron saint of lost causes, legislative division, was former state Rep. Jerry Kopel, D-Denver, who died last week at 83. He understood that bureaucracy at the state level doesn’t usually grow because bureaucrats want more power for its own sake.  It grows because businesses, trades and professions are always asking ... http://www.coloradonewsagency.com/2012/01/26/who-needs-competition-when-the-statell-protect-you-just-ask-the-music-therapists/ A panel of lawmakers gave preliminary approval today to a measure seeking to create a stronger nexus between higher ed and jobs in Colorado. House Bill 1061, by Rep. Daniel Kagan, D-Greenwood Village, dubbed the Skills for Jobs Act, directs the Department of Higher Education to work with the Department of ... http://www.coloradonewsagency.com/2012/01/25/proposal-aims-at-a-college-to-jobs-career-path/ Less frequent audits of vehicle emissions testing stations was approved by all but one member of the Senate Transportation Committee today at the Capitol—but only after that lone dissenter argued the state should do away with the program all together. Senate Bill 12, sponsored by Sen. Steve King, R-Grand Junction, and ... http://www.coloradonewsagency.com/2012/01/25/audit-bill-raises-ire-anew-over-auto-emissions-testing/ A measure to allow concealed guns on college campuses—and to eliminate the need for a concealed-carry permit anywhere in the state—was nixed at the Capitol Monday in the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee. Sponsored by Sen. Tim Neville, R-Littleton, Senate Bill 25 would have granted all law-abiding Coloradans, including ... http://www.coloradonewsagency.com/2012/01/24/dems-beat-gop-in-committee-duel-over-concealed-carry/