DENVER A Republican lawmaker backed away Monday from his second attempt to pass an Arizona-style immigration law.
Rep. Randy Baumgardner, R-Hot Sulphur Springs, previously killed his own Arizona-style bill that would have let police stop suspected illegal immigrants. He recently introduced a scaled-down version, House Bill 1309.
On Monday, Baumgardner asked the House Agriculture Committee to delete most of his new bill. It now merely tells employers to produce documents that their employees are legal, and requires state regulators to report to the Legislature on their audits of employers.
The last-minute rewrite irritated Eddie Soto, who drove from Durango to testify against HB 1309.
Is that normally the way the Legislature works? You throw a bill away and then come up with a new bill? It doesnt seem democratic, Soto said.
The new version of HB 1309 passed 8-5 and passed the full House 48-17 on Wednesday morning.
Also Monday:
One of former Gov. Bill Ritters favorite government offices would see major changes under a bill the House Agriculture Committee approved 8-5.
HB 1312 changes the Governors Energy Office from a group focused on renewable energy to a smaller office that will promote all forms of energy, including gas and oil.
The sponsor, Rep. Jon Becker, R-Fort Morgan, said Gov. John Hickenlooper supports his plan, but no one from Hickenloopers energy office testified Monday.
Environmentalists came out in large numbers to oppose the bill, but Republicans like Rep. Ray Scott of Grand Junction saw it as a chance to promote traditional energy. The state government should back natural gas cars, Scott said.
Weve missed the target, in my humble opinion. The largest polluter in this state is Mother Nature, number one, automobiles, number two, Scott said.
The bill is now headed to the House Appropriations Committee.
A bipartisan group introduced a bill to repeal last years Amazon tax on Internet sales. HB 1318 would require out-of-state retailers to notify their customers that they owe use taxes, which are the same as sales taxes and are levied on customers who buy goods from out of state.
But the bill would take away the state revenue departments ability to subpoena business records and enforce the tax.
A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Legislators have rejected a proposal to give tax credits to parents who send their children to private school.
The House Appropriations Committee declined to advance House Bill 1048 on Tuesday, after its sponsor said he needs another year to work on the idea.
The lack of action effectively killed the bill.
I think its a great idea. It should save the state money. Obviously, a lot of people dont like it, Rep. Spencer Swalm, R-Denver, said.
His bill would have offered income tax credits of about $3,000 to parents who send their kids to private school.
Children would have to attend public school for at least one year to qualify for the credit, which would equal about half the cost to the state of each public school student.
Swalm said fewer students in public schools would mean a lower bill for the state, but Democrats called his reasoning too simplistic.
A bill to cut business personal property taxes died 3-2 in the Senate State Affairs Committee on Monday. The House had previously passed HB 1141, which aimed for a two-year suspension of the tax. Local governments opposed it because they would have lost $190 million a year.
Reach Joe Hanel at joeh@cortezjournal.com.