Colorado Lawmakers Special Session Day 1

The Governor convened a special session at Colorado’s capitol today (Monday). State lawmakers came to fix what Governor John Hickenlooper says is an error in a bill passed earlier this year. He wants lawmakers to restore taxes to arts and transit, but as Bente Birkeland reports, it appears nothing will change.

A small percentage of recreational taxes are not going to places like the Denver Zoo and regional transportation district. The funds were accidentally cut in a separate bill to fund rural hospitals. Democrats say it’s a simple fix to what was a bipartisan bill that had unintended consequences. But Republicans such as Senate President Kevin Grantham say calling a special session was rushed. And on Monday the Senate defeated a bill to fix the problem.

GRANTHAM: “We were expecting the time to look at this and vet this for the next three and a half months.  Throwing it at us as here as a so-called emergency. I don’t think it is warranted.”

RTD says it’s losing 500 thousand dollars each month that it would otherwise collect but says there are no immediate plans for any cuts or changes in bus and rail routes.  The Democratic House  will try to pass a fix on Tuesday but then that would still need to pass the Republican controlled Senate.

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