The Colorado state Senate deserves credit for diverting $150,000 from the state budget that was earmarked for Gov. Bill Ritter’s legal defense fund and putting the money toward a much better use: funding the state's wildfire abatement efforts.
WiensState of CO
Senate Republicans and a few Democrats who were brave enough to cross the aisle passed the amendment proposed by Sen. Tom Wiens, R-Castle Rock.
After the amendment was passed yesterday, Sen. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, told The Denver Post: “I about fell over in the back there.”
As Face The State reported earlier this week, the original allocation was slipped into the state's "Long Bill" - the legislation that includes the state budget - and was dedicated to pay legal bills associated with a lawsuit Ritter has voluntarily engaged in against a taxpayer coalition seeking to overturn a mill levy "freeze" he championed during the last legislative session. The coalition believes the "freeze" amounts to an unconstitutional tax increase.
While a step in the right direction, the battle over diverting the money from Ritter’s legal defense is far from over. The budget and all its amendments still have to be reconciled by the Joint Budget Committee and signed by Ritter. Let’s hope that the JBC and Ritter are smart enough to leave today’s amendment alone.