Legislative Update 4-13

Posted by Nick Colglazier on Apr 14, 2012 in Legislative, State Affairs | 0 comments

It was a week of number crunching as the House focused on the state budget. Throughout the week republicans and democrats pored through the long bill. It was a busy week where much was accomplished.

The budget, more commonly referred to as the long bill, was introduced late last week. After its introduction it passed through committee and its various sections were presented to the corrisponding committees. The next day the two parties caucused to discuss the numerous amendments to the long bill. Over forty amendments were drafted which lead to a marathon session starting on Wednesday afternoon that carried well into the evening.

After much hard work and with both parties coming together, the house passed the budget by an unprecedented 64-1 margin. Because of some good econimic news there was more money available than expected which allowed the JBC to not cut funding for education and restore planned cuts to higher education. Even the Department of Agriculture recieved a little more money which will help relive some of its cash funded operation.

All in all, it was a good budget that members of both parties could support. The long bill will now headnover to the senate where it will go through the process one more time.

In addition, the end of the week holds the Colorado State Assemblies for both the democrats and republicans. Here the parties will gather to hear from their elected officials, select candidates running for office in Colorado and elect delegates to their respective national conventions held later this year. It should be an exciting weekend indeed.

Remember to check in on the Colorado Farm Bureau Facebook page and follow @agrilobby tweets to get the latest updates and the bill tracking list to see all of the legislation CFB is following. I hope y’all have a great weekend. Take care!