Colorado Politics   A look at Colorado politics

Congressman Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, released a document Wednesday that he said exemplifies how one Colorado conservative organization was unfairly targeted by the IRS during an application for non-profit status.

“This document demonstrates the type of burdensome and politically motivated scrutiny placed on conservative groups,” Gardner said. “Those responsible must to be held accountable and fired. Even that, however, will never fully right this wrong or make these groups whole again.”

The document, which can be viewed here, is redacted but shows the type of follow up questions the IRS asked of companies mostly seeking social welfare status known as 501 (c) (4). That status allows non-profits to be politically involved but it cannot be the primary focus of the organization.

The Denver Post reported Wednesday that at least two conservative groups – The Western Slope Conservative Alliance and The Colorado Tea Party Patriots – had their applications delayed by fact-finding questions asked by the IRS.

The social welfare status became widely used as a way for corporations and interests to support a campaign with unlimited funds. The most well known 501 (c) (4) is Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS which spent more than $71 million on political activities during the presidential election.

The IRS has apologized for targeting non-profit applicants with conservative or Tea Party sounding names for additional scrutiny while approving liberal applications without additional questions or follow up.

“This document demonstrates the type of burdensome and politically motivated scrutiny placed on conservative groups,” Gardner said.  “This group also had its information illegally leaked to the media, which is an outrageous violation by IRS employees.  Those responsible must to be held accountable and fired.  Even that, however, will never fully right this wrong or make these groups whole again.”

Gov. John Hickenlooper this week summed up this year’s legislative session, which saw a series of landmark bills passed by Colorado Democrats.

Lawmakers wrap up their four months of work today during sine die – adjournment without a day set for another meeting.

First thing Wednesday morning the Senate passed on third reading two marijuana bills that regulate the legal sale of adult recreational pot and also put two special taxes on the November ballot for voters to approve.

Both bills – House Bill 1317 and 1318 – now head over to the House this afternoon where they will consider a number of changes the Senate made to the bills.

A quick concurrence will mean the House and Senate wrap up their business early today, but if lawmakers cannot agree it will go to a conference committee to hash out their differences.

Also still pending on the final day of session is HB 1267 which sets new fines for pollution and other violations by the oil and gas industry.

The bill raises the maximum daily fine for violations from $1,000 to $15,000 for some of the worst spills and contamination. However, the House and Senate were unable to agree on what the minimum fine should be. Currently the minimum fine is zero, Sen. Matt Jones, D-Louisville, urged his colleagues to accept a compromise that set the minimum fine at $2,500.

“I think the last thing our constitutents of Colorado want us to do is pass a law that looks like it’s really going to do something but really is not,” Jones said. “The pattern of fining here shows that nothing has changed. I think this is a good compromise. We tried to get to a better one but we couldn’t get there… I would appreciate if you would support this so we could hold the worst polluters accountable.”

But Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, urged lawmakers to reject the House’s minimum compromise of $2,500 and stick to the Senate plan to keep the minimum fine at zero.

“To raise fines by a factor of 15 from $1,000 to $15,000 per day, if that does not get bad actors attention I don’t know what would,” he said.

Lawmakers ultimately rejected the amendment that came out of a conference committee, throwing down and ultimatum that the House accept a zero minimum fine or else the bill will die.

Despite a long debate that stretched past midnight Tuesday, Senate Democrats passed an election reform bill that creates same-day voter registration, relies on mail-in ballots and moves away from neighborhood precincts.

House Bill 1303 had already passed the House without a single Republican supporting it, and it did the same on second readings in the Senate early Wednesday morning. The bill must be heard on third reading in the Senate, and then must go back to the House for consideration of changes made in the Senate.

Under House Bill 1303 Colorado voters would be able to register to vote up until election day, including at any voting center before casting a ballot. It’s a major change as voters must now register 29 days before election day.

But aside from that major change, the bill completely shifts the way elections are conducted in the state. Instead of having neighborhood polling centers – known as precincts – the state will move to a few full-service voting centers in each county. Every registered voter will receive a ballot in the mail that they can mail back, drop off at a voting center or the voter can cast a new ballot in person at any voting center.

“I believe it is our responsibility to do everything we can to ensure some basic form of engagement,” said Sen. Angela Giron, D-Pueblo. “Voting is the hallmark of our democracy we need to make it simpler, more accessible and convenient to voters in Colorado.”

Senate Minority Leader Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, countered that the bill would make elections more accessible for voter fraud, errors and issues.

“My county clerk is extremely concerned,” Cadman said of El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Wayne Williams. “Colorado had the third highest voter turn out in the nation in 2012. Apparently people are not being inhibited from getting registered and voting.”

On Tuesday, April 30, a pair of gay Democratic state senators were practically counting the seconds until midnight, when the Denver county clerk’s office would begin issuing licenses for civil unions to homosexual couples.

Gazette political reporter Megan Schrader on the latest happenings at the state Capitol. Recently, she said, it’s all been about marijuana.

After months of work from the governor’s task force and a special legislative committee, the third and final marijuana bill was introduced Monday in the Senate.

Senate Bill 283 is full of issues that both the task force and the joint select committee agreed on unanimously. Read the full bill here.

Voters legalized adult use, possession, sale and growing of marijuana last November, but left lawmakers to regulate the new industry. The first legal retail sales of marijuana could begin as early as Jan. 2014 when existing medical marijuana stores can get licenses to open up to the general public in separate stores or to convert their medical shops to recreational stores.

Among the proposed regulations in the Senate Bill are: bans on smoking marijuana similar to the prohibitions of cigarettes in public spaces and creates a public consumption law similar to the open container violation for alcohol.

Two other bills regulating marijuana have been introduced in the House. House Bill 1318 would put two special marijuana taxes on the ballot in November for voter approval: a 15 percent excise tax (a tax on doing business) and a 15 percent sales tax. The second bill, House Bill 1317, contains all of the more controversial recommendations coming out of committee including how the industry will be structured and regulated.

The chief of the U.S. Forest Service told Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colorado, that he expected to issue contracts for seven new next-generation air tankers to fight wildfires across the nation but stopped short of assuring the Senator that there wouldn’t be another delay in the process.

The U.S. Forest Service currently has between nine and 12 air tankers in commission to fight wildfires, down from 44 tankers a year ago. Much of the fleet was grounded after safety concerns were raised when wings fell off two of the Vietnam War era planes.

“Given we’re facing another potentially sever fire season, what can you do to ensure me we’re going to have the next generation of air tankers in the air for the next fire season,” Udall asked Chief Tom Tidwell in a Senate committee hearing.

“In addition to the legacy air tankers, in the next few weeks, we’ll issue the contract for up to seven next generation aircraft,” Tidwell said. “In addition to that we’ll continue to rely on the MAFFS units and aircraft down from Canada and Alaska.”

Tidwell said that between aircraft from Canada, the  MAFFS – Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System aircraft – which are retrofitted planes from the National Guard used to fight fires, he was confident there would be about 25 large tankers to fight forest fires this season.

A bill failed in committee that would have required the state to purchase the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, a 236,000 acre stretch of land owned by the U.S. Government in southern Colorado and return the land to the original owners.

Sen. Larry Crowder, R-Alamosa, proposed Senate Bill 37 in an attempt to return the land to residents in Baca, Bent, Crowley, Kiowa, Las Animas, Otero, or Prowers counties.

“This legislation is only the first step in returning the land to the rightful owners,” said Crowder in a media release. “As a veteran, I believe the purpose of the military is to protect our private property rights. I will continue to pursue all possible legislation as well as alternatives to make sure the land is returned to the control of the local community.”

After several years of not being used, Fort Carson soldiers began training on the site this year. Read military reporter Jakob Rodgers story here.

A bill that would bring a fleet of firefighting airplanes to Colorado, along with establishing a force to deploy those slurry bombers will be heard Thursday afternoon at the Capitol.

Senate Bill 245 was introduced late this session by by a Democrat and Republican in the Senate concerned about the state’s reliance on an aging federal fleet of air tankers that fight fires across the nation.

Lawmakers attempted to set aside money for the program in the budget but were unsuccessful. The bill creates the Colorado Firefighting Air Corps, but doesn’t establish how the program will be funded other than setting up an account that can accept grants and donations. A fiscal note – estimating the cost of the program – has not been introduced yet.

Read more about the proposal here and watch the bills authors speaking about the bill.