Contact Lance Cayko
Cell 303.775.7406
Email CommunicationsDirector@LPColorado.org
Website www.LPColorado.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 3/13/19
Democrats Refuse to Read by Mike Lopez
It seems that once a year, we hear about a bill that is well over 2,000 pages long. Assuming you are like the majority of people, you wonder how our lawmakers can read 2,000 pages of a bill while reading and voting on everything else that happens during the legislative session. This week we saw such a bill come to the State Senate for a vote. Senate Republicans asked for a full reading of the law—a practice that is required, but apparently uncommon—which was then characterized as “gamesmanship” and “Trumpian” by Rep. Leslie Herod, the vice chair of the Committee on Legal Services.
Three hours into a reading that was projected to take 60 when done by living, breathing human-beings, Democrat Senators decided that they would comply with the request for a full reading, but would have computers do the reading at a pace that was unintelligible to anyone. Even with the assistance of computers, it took several more hours to finish a full reading of the bill. This is not surprising, given that a single sentence in the bill—regulating the sale of real estate— contains over 400 words.
To her credit, Rep. Herod did also say that “Coloradans deserve better,” and we do deserve better. We deserve better than to have laws that are 2,000 pages long. We deserve to know that our elected representatives are reading and understanding the laws that they are signing. For all anyone knows, the regulations on barbers and cosmetologists—buried in the 2,000 pages of text—may have mandated a minimum number of mullets and a maximum amount of dye that can be used on hair in a given day.
Joking aside, the bills that are voted on at the capitol do have serious implications for all of us living in the state. If our legislators aren’t reading what they are signing, we are left completely unprotected from whoever writes these laws. Thankfully, a Denver District Court judge issued a restraining order on Democratic Senator Leroy Garcia, which forbids the Senate leadership from using the same tactic if a full reading of a bill is requested. It remains to be seen what will happen with the lawsuit that Senate Republicans have against Senator Garcia, though we do know that until the 19th, our lawmakers have to physically read bills.
The Libertarian Party of Colorado firmly believes that lawmakers should be required to physically read the laws that they sign—without exception—as is outlined by the State Constitution. Senator Garcia does not agree with this stance, and instead claims “Senate Republicans have decided to employ unprecedented partisan tactics, abuse taxpayer dollars, and waste time that could be spent working for the people of Colorado.” If the Senator truly believes that reading bills is a “waste of time,” especially those which regulate professions and occupations, perhaps he himself should find a different occupation.
To be fair, the Colorado Constitution does not require that elected officials be present when bills are read. This is a problem in and of itself as well, and needs to be addressed as soon as possible. We, as citizens, should demand more of our legislators. We should demand that they know what they are voting on and signing into law. We need to be able to hold our legislators accountable. If they are incapable or unwilling to truly represent us, then they need to be removed from office.
# # #
Michael Lopez is a freelance writer, entrepreneur, and libertarian who is dedicated to protecting the union that our founders established for us. You can read more of his thoughts at www.deadletters.org
# # #
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Lance Cayko at 303.775.7406 or email at CommunicationsDirector@LPColorado.org.
