From Rep. Kevin Lundberg:
1. My Legislative Success
2. Regulations and Fees for Private Higher Education
3. Sexual Orientation Bill for 2008
4. “Referendum C” on Steroids
5. Legislature Approves a Billion Dollars of Debt
6. The 2008 Session is Over

5/8/08
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1. In the final days of the legislature several of my bills and 
resolutions were approved. They included a resolution concerning 
healthy forests (HJR 1033), a bill setting up a fund for the State 
Forest Service to fight the bark beetle infestation (HB 1318) and SB 
246, opening the way for better discounts for prescription drugs in 
Colorado. I and Rep Jahn sponsored this bill in the House. It 
completes the work we started last year on modifying the Unfair Trade 
Practices Act to allow discounting of gas, drugs and other “loss 
leader” sales.

2. SB 167 is a comprehensive bill giving the department of higher 
education a great deal of control over private institutions of higher 
education. I carried several amendments, trying to carve out some 
liberties for religious schools and put a cap on the fees they can 
charge all schools. All were defeated. The religious exemption 
amendment died on essentially a party-line vote. SB 167 passed both 
houses

3. Senate Bill 200 is the latest in a long line of bills seeking to 
expand political correctness. SB 200 does this by adding sexual 
orientation to the list of groups covered under ‘civil rights’ 
legislation.  Sexual orientation is defined as: “A PERSON’S 
ORIENTATION TOWARD HETEROSEXUALITY, HOMOSEXUALITY, BISEXUALITY, OR 
TRANSGENDER STATUS OR ANOTHER PERSON’S PERCEPTION THEREOF.” SB 200 
prohibits any business from any such “discrimination”. An example 
given in the debate: a wedding photographer, to conduct business in 
Colorado, will not be able to decline to shoot a “wedding” on the 
basis of sexual orientation of the couple. This bill also penalizes 
“discrimination” (or communication of “discrimination”) at any place 
of public accommodation - another way of saying any place where the 
public is free to come. We were able to force through an amendment 
exempting churches and other religious organizations, but the bill 
still applies to all other places of public accommodation. This is 
just the latest example of identity politics making government shove 
their agenda into public policy.

4. In State Affairs HCR 1014 was killed. This was the ballot question 
that would have permanently ended TABOR refunds and put government on 
an even bigger spending spree than they currently enjoy. Speaker 
Romanoff’s HJR 1014 would have mandated that all TABOR refunds for 
the tax payers be rerouted to the State Education Fund. This scheme 
allows the General Assembly to replace money that they are 
constitutionally obligated to give to K-12 education with money taken 
from our TABOR refund checks. HJR 1014 was nothing more than 
Referendum C on steroids, a permanent tax increase disguised by words 
about education revealing nothing more than a legislature incapable 
of controlling it’s impulse to spend other people’s money.

But wait, there’s more… Romanoff is now trying to put this on the 
ballot through an initiative petition. Stay tuned, it may be back.

5. In the last two weeks the legislature put the state in about a 
billion dollars of debt. SB 206 authorized loans of about 
$400,000,000 for a new home for the Colorado Supreme Court. SB 233 
then gave our state colleges and universities the authority to borrow 
another $400,000,000! These two measures will take over a billion 
dollars to repay. Neither of the measures will ask the people for a 
vote to approve these loans, which the constitution clearly requires.

6. I end on as positive a note as I can find: The 2008 session is over!

This legislature will not be able to create any more taxes, fees, or 
regulations for Colorado’s citizens and businesses. Nor will they be 
setting any more policies that assumes the whole “global warming” 
debate is a settled issue and consequently demands we shut off our 
energy development and cripple our economy in deference to this yet 
to be proven theory.

This legislature will also not be running any more measures that 
redefines the family, replaces the family with more government 
programs or strips away any more of the few remaining public policies 
that still support the notion of a free society. In a free society 
individuals are responsible for themselves and parents have the 
primary authority to raise their own children as they see best. In 
2008 the Colorado General Assembly did not give much credence to 
these ideals, but I assure you I will continue to work for these 
principles of good government.

From. Senator Dave Schultheis:

Let me begin by thanking so many of you for your support this session. The issues we deal with at the capitol can be extremely trying and arduous, but your emails and calls have been a real encouragement this year. 

It would delight me to tell you that this has been a successful session, but from one who truly believes that more government is not the answer to all our issues, I cannot. In fact, from my perspective, the people of Colorado lost in several areas: 

Illegal Immigration: 

Despite a growing need for some type of immigration reform, Democrats killed nearly every bill that dealt even remotely with the illegal immigration crisis we have in Colorado. At least thirteen bills, designed in some way or another to deal with the consequences or stem the tide of illegal immigration, were killed by the Democrats in the legislature this session. In fact, in nearly every budget area one can see the cost of our refusing to address this critical issue.  One major example is that an estimated 50,000 children, either themselves illegally resident in Colorado, or now citizens of illegal parents, cost the state taxpayers approximately $400 million, not to mention the added strain on teachers and test scores at many schools. 

The most effective way to end the influx of illegal immigration into Colorado is to eliminate the jobs that are causing them to come.  As a result, I sponsored SB08-083, Fair & Legal Employment Act,  that would have required employers to enroll in the federal E-verify program.  In addition, I sponsored and passed SB08-139, which requires the Department of Labor and Employment to inform employers, quarterly, that it is unlawful to hire illegal aliens and that the E-verify program is available. 

Healthcare: 

Democrats desire is to cover all of Colorado’s uninsured, (including those in Colorado illegally) in what they consider an attempt to “fix” the healthcare “crisis.” However, on numerous occasions this year they introduced bills that instead would have increased the cost of healthcare and made it harder for the average Coloradan to remain insured. Several bills pandered to lawyers, like Senate President Peter Groff’s SB08-164 , or attempted to raise fees on citizens, like Democrat, Senator Morse’s bill to increase auto registration fees, SB08-011. 

Transportation: 

Under Democrat leadership, many bills were passed that prevented large funds from going to transportation needs in order to pay for other less-critical issues. Now, the Dems are complaining about a transportation crisis which they tried to fix by raising fees on annual vehicle and trailer registration, SB08-244 , to fund transportation infrastructure and bridge repair rather than funding such an important issue with General Fund dollars. My sense is that the Democrats are planning to starve transportation until Referendum C money is scheduled to terminate so that they can build a case for continuing to keep taxpayer refunds after the expiration of Ref C’s current time-out. 

K-12 Education 

This was a so-so year for K-12 educations. With the hard work of Republicans and assistance from the Senate President we were able to provide additional funds for charter schools and charter school capitol construction projects.  I am really pleased to have voted for the amendment to make that happen. On the opposite end of the spectrum, a bill by Rep. Douglas Bruce, HB08-1145, which would have required that Colorado 12^th graders receive 20 hours of classroom instruction in the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence and that they be given copies of both, was killed in Committee.

On top of all of this a number of my bills were defeated that would have been a benefit to the state of Colorado. Among those bills were SB08-045, Intellectual Diversity In Higher Ed, which would have called for more diversity in our higher education system.

Pro-life issues 

Staying true to my pledge to run a pro-life bill each year I am in public office, I introduced SB08-095, Abortion Informed Consent And Ultrasound, which would have required an abortion provider to inform a woman that she had a right to an ultrasound.  Testimony on behalf of this bill was numerous and very touching, but in the end, the bill was killed in the first Committee.  It was a sad day for the unborn.

Other bills of mine that passed and were sent to the Governor this year: 

SB08-101, created a license plate to commemorate the 50th anniversary of NORAD.  While this may not seem too important to some, it was of paramount importance to the North American Air Defense Command that is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the U.S’ partnership with Canada.  

SB08-106, will ensure a stronger legal review process when determining parental visitation rights for released sexual offenders. 

This has been a difficult session for those of us who want to see government limited, who take a stand for pro-life and want emphasis on the importance of family and matters of faith. Although, it is hard to see your bills killed, I reaffirm my commitment to the principles that have guided me through all my years in office. I will continue to do what is right no matter if it is popular or not. 

It continues to be a real honor serving as a state Senator and I look forward to serving you again next year. I pray you all have a blessed and meaningful summer.  

For a Better Colorado,