68th Colorado General Assembly

The Sixty-eighth Colorado General Assembly was the meeting of the legislative branch of the State of Colorado, from January 12, 2011 until January 9, 2013. In the 2010 midterm elections, the Republican Party won a slim majority in the Colorado House of Representatives, while the Democratic Party kept their majority in the Colorado Senate.

Major events and legislation

Change in partisan balance Republican victories in the 2010 midterm elections resulted in a one-seat majority in the Colorado House. 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. 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."

Budgetary measures 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.

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. 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. The House and Senate overrode the partial vetoes on May 11, 2011.

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. 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.

2012 Special session The 68th Colorado General Assembly was also noteworthy for having a Special Session, the first since 2006.

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. However, this action also resulted in 30 unrelated bills dying without a floor vote. The delay resulted in nationwide media attention and triggered a special legislative session which cost taxpayers an estimated $23,500 per day.

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. Most remaining measures followed normal procedures, however.

Composition of Senate during 68th Colorado General Assembly

Leadership PositionSenatorPartyDistrictPresidentBrandon ShafferDemocratic17President pro TemporeBetty BoydDemocratic21Majority LeaderJohn P. MorseDemocratic11Assistant Majority LeaderLois TochtropDemocratic24Majority Caucus ChairMorgan CarrollDemocratic29Minority LeaderMike KoppRepublican22Assistant Minority LeaderBill CadmanRepublican10Minority Caucus ChairMark ScheffelRepublican4Minority WhipScott RenfroeRepublican13

Members of the Colorado Senate District Senator Party Residence 1 Greg Brophy Republican Wray 2 Kevin Grantham Republican Canon City 3 Angela Giron Democratic Pueblo 4 Mark Scheffel Republican Sedalia 5 Gail Schwartz Democratic Snowmass Village 6 Ellen Roberts Republican Durango 7 Steve King Republican Grand Junction 8 Jean White Republican Steamboat Springs 9 Kent Lambert Republican Colorado Springs 10 Bill Cadman Republican Colorado Springs 11 John Morse Democratic Colorado Springs 12 Keith King Republican Colorado Springs 13 Scott Renfroe Republican Greeley 14 Bob Bacon Democratic Fort Collins 15 Kevin Lundberg Republican Fort Collins 16 Jeanne Nicholson Democratic Golden 17 Brandon Shaffer Democratic Longmont 18 Rollie Heath Democratic Boulder 19 Evie Hudak Democratic Westminster 20 Cheri Jahn Democratic Wheat Ridge 21 Betty Boyd Democratic Lakewood 22 Tim Neville Republican Littleton 23 Shawn Mitchell Republican Broomfield 24 Lois Tochtrop Democratic Thornton 25 Mary Hodge Democratic Aurora 26 Linda Newell Democratic Littleton 27 Nancy Spence Republican Centennial 28 Suzanne Williams Democratic Aurora 29 Morgan Carroll Democratic Aurora 30 Ted Harvey Republican Parker 31 Pat Steadman Democratic Denver 32 Irene Aguilar Democratic Denver 33 Michael Johnston Democratic Denver 34 Lucía Guzmán Democratic Denver 35 Joyce Foster Democratic Denver

Composition of the House during 68th Colorado General Assembly

Leaders Position Name Party Residence District Speaker of the House Frank McNulty Republican Highlands Ranch 43 Speaker pro Tempore Kevin Priola Republican Brighton 30 Majority Leader Amy Stephens Republican Colorado Springs 20 Assistant Majority Leader Mark Waller Republican Colorado Springs 15 Majority Caucus Chair Carole Murray Republican Castle Rock 45 Majority Whip B.J. Nikkel Republican Loveland 49 Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino Democratic Denver 2 Assistant Minority Leader Nancy Todd Democratic Aurora 41 Minority Caucus Chair Lois Court Democratic Denver 6 Minority Whip vacant Democratic n/a n/a

Members

District Representative Party Residence 1 Jeanne Labuda Democratic Denver 2 Mark Ferrandino Democratic Denver 3 Daniel Kagan Democratic Denver 4 Dan Pabon Democratic Denver 5 Crisanta Duran Democratic Denver 6 Lois Court Democratic Denver 7 Angela Williams Democratic Denver 8 Beth McCann Democratic Denver 9 Joe Miklosi Democratic Denver 10 Dickey Lee Hullinghorst Democratic Boulder 11 Jonathan Singer Democratic Longmont 12 Matt Jones Democratic Louisville 13 Claire Levy Democratic Boulder 14 Janak Joshi Republican Colorado Springs 15 Mark Waller Republican Colorado Springs 16 Larry Liston Republican Colorado Springs 17 Mark Barker Republican Colorado Springs 18 Pete Lee Democratic Colorado Springs 19 Marsha Looper Republican Calhan 20 Amy Stephens Republican Colorado Springs 21 Bob Gardner Republican Colorado Springs 22 Kenneth Summers Republican Lakewood 23 Max Tyler Democratic Golden 24 Sue Schafer Democratic Wheat Ridge 25 Cheri Gerou Republican Evergreen 26 Andrew Kerr Democratic Lakewood 27 Libby Szabo Republican Arvada 28 Jim Kerr Republican Littleton 29 Robert Ramirez Republican Arvada 30 Kevin Priola Republican Brighton 31 Judy Solano Democratic Brighton 32 Edward Casso Democratic Thornton 33 Donald Beezley Republican Broomfield 34 John Soper Democratic Westminster 35 Cherylin Peniston Democratic Westminster 36 Su Ryden Democratic Aurora 37 Spencer Swalm Republican Centennial 38 Kathleen Conti Republican Littleton 39 David Balmer Republican Centennial 40 Cindy Acree Republican Aurora 41 Nancy Todd Democratic Aurora 42 Rhonda Fields Democratic Aurora 43 Frank McNulty Republican Highlands Ranch 44 Chris Holbert Republican Parker 45 Carole Murray Republican Castle Rock 46 Salvatore Pace Democratic Pueblo 47 Keith Swerdfeger Republican Pueblo West 48 Glenn Vaad Republican Mead 49 B.J. Nikkel Republican Loveland 50 James Riesberg Democratic Greeley 51 Brian DelGrosso Republican Loveland 52 John Kefalas Democratic Fort Collins 53 Randy Fischer Democratic Fort Collins 54 Ray Scott Republican Grand Junction 55 Laura Bradford Republican Grand Junction 56 Christine Scanlan Democratic Dillon 57 Randy Baumgardner Republican Winter Park 58 Don Coram Republican Montrose 59 Paul Brown Republican Durango 60 Tom Massey Republican Poncha Springs 61 Roger Wilson Democratic Glenwood Springs 62 Edward Vigil Democratic 63 Jon Becker Republican Yuma 64 Wes McKinley Democratic Walsh 65 Jerry Sonnenberg Republican Sterling

68th Colorado General Assembly

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