COLORADO GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONVENES TO SAME OLD BUDGET BUT BRAND NEW LEADERSHIP
by Laurie Batchelder Adams

Winter 2005

On Wednesday, January 12^th, the Colorado General Assembly convened with as much fanfare and controversy as you might expect with new leadership in both houses. Following an upset election last November, Democrats rule both chambers: Representative Andrew Romanoff (D-Denver) is Speaker of the House and Senator Joan Fitz-Gerald (D-Boulder) is the Senate President. While both houses and parties have verbalized their commitment to at long last sort out the state budget short-falls and constraints, most expect to see a dynamic session between now and May with many new and well-contested bills outside the fiscal arena. Some predict the environment (and possibly even the solid waste field) will receive more attention than in previous years.

Off to an interesting start – two solid waste bills were introduced in the first week. Rep Jim Riesberg (D-Weld) sponsored HB05-1011 which will exempt trash and recyclable haulers from existing covered load regulation if the materials transported “will not escape the vehicle” (heavy scrap metal was citied as an example). A second transportation bill, HB05-1126 was introduced by Rep Mike May (R-Douglas) to increase regulation on haulers of waste passenger tires. The bill would also modify existing regulation, requiring waste tire haulers to become licensed next year and transport their loads only to approved facilities or sites (under penalty of $2,000 per day). Both bills have been assigned to the House Transportation & Energy Committee for consideration.

Updates on these bills can be found at www.leg.state.co.us

< 2004 Chapter Meeting

Chapter Seeks Advertisers>