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Colorado General Assembly
68th Colorado General Assembly
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate House of Representatives
History
Preceded by	67th Colorado General Assembly
Succeeded by	69th Colorado General Assembly
Leadership
President of the Senate	Brandon Shaffer (D)
Speaker of the House	Frank McNulty (R)
Structure
Seats	100
Political groups	Democratic Party Republican Party
Meeting place
Colorado State Capitol, Denver
Website
http://www.leg.state.co.us/

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

Members of the Colorado Senate

Composition of the House during 68th Colorado General Assembly

Leaders

Members

See also

• List of Colorado state legislatures

References

1. "Colorado General Assembly Session Calendar, January 12, 2011" (PDF).
2. "Colorado General Assembly Session Calendar, January 9, 2013" (PDF).
3. "Colorado General Assembly Session Calendar, January 12, 2011. Roll call section" (PDF).
4. ^ "Denver Post - Colorado State House 2010 Election Results". Archived from the original on 2011-08-14. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
5. "The Colorado Statesman: InnerView with Pat Waak - Dem party chairwoman reflects on 'sobering' election results". Archived from the original on 2012-11-01. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
6. "The Colorado Statesman: Leadership changes at Legislature". Archived from the original on 2013-03-26. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
7. "Denver Post: Highs and lows under the Colorado Capitol dome". May 13, 2012.
8. "Legislative documentation: Role of the Joint Budget Committee". Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
9. "JBC documentation - Long Bill Overview and Narrative" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
10. "The Colorado Statesman: Gov. Hickenlooper signs first budget; vetoes eight footnotes". Archived from the original on 2013-03-22. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
11. "House Journal - Summarized History for Bill Number SB11-209".
12. "FY 2012-2013 BUDGET PACKAGE AND LONG BILL NARRATIVE" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
13. "Gov. Hickenlooper signs budget bill for next fiscal year".
14. "Summarized History for Bill Number HB12-1335".
15. Hoover, Tim (April 29, 2012). "Colorado legislators cheer budget, but some parts still draw critics". Denver Post.
16. "State of Colorado: Prior Session Information".
17. ^ "Colorado Civil Unions: House Republicans Block Bill From Going To Vote; Bill Dies In House". Huffington Post. May 8, 2012.
18. "Republicans kill civil unions in Colorado". USA Today. May 14, 2012.
19. "Colorado civil union bill dies - lawmakers reach impasse after Republican filibuster". Associated Press. 9 May 2012.
20. Bartels, Lynn; Hoover, Tim (May 9, 2012). "Hickenlooper calls for special session in fallout over failed Colorado civil-union bill". Denver Post.
21. Hoover, Tim; Ingold, John (May 14, 2012). "Colorado civil unions bill dies in "kill committee"". Denver Post. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013.
22. "Colorado Civil Unions Legislation Assigned to 'Kill' Committee". Bloomberg News.
23. "Same-sex unions: Fate of Colorado measure may be sealed". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 15, 2012.
24. "2012 House Special Session Bill Tracker".

External links

• Official Colorado General Assembly Website Includes links to state Constitution and statutes.

See also

• Outline of Colorado
• Index of Colorado-related articles
• State of Colorado
  • Law and government of Colorado

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