68th Colorado General Assembly
# 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

| Position | Senator | Party | District |
| - | - | - | - |
| President | Brandon Shaffer | Democratic | 17 |
| President pro Tempore | Betty Boyd | Democratic | 21 |
| Majority Leader | John P. Morse | Democratic | 11 |
| Assistant Majority Leader | Lois Tochtrop | Democratic | 24 |
| Majority Caucus Chair | Morgan Carroll | Democratic | 29 |
| Minority Leader | Mike Kopp | Republican | 22 |
| Assistant Minority Leader | Bill Cadman | Republican | 10 |
| Minority Caucus Chair | Mark Scheffel | Republican | 4 |
| Minority Whip | Scott Renfroe | Republican | 13 |

### 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 |
