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Douglas County legislators prepare for '08 session

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Contributed by: Joseph Kirchmer/YourHub.com on 12/11/2007

Douglas County legislators are preparing for another flurry of legislative activity at the Capitol for the '08 session, but at least one local official has his eyes on a bigger stage.

State Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, made it official last month by announcing his candidacy for Congressional District 6, which is currently held by Tom Tancredo. Tancredo, who currently is running for president, announced he would step down from his Congressional seat in October.

Harvey, who has served five years in the state house and one year in the state senate, said he doesn't feel his run for Congress will impact his agenda this session, which focuses heavily on illegal immigration.

In fact, he says it's the other way around.

"I think the legislature will take time away from me running for Congress," he said. "I understand the responsibilities of the legislature. My first and foremost responsibility is serving my district. That's my first priority. After that, I'll be able to work on my campaign."

Harvey's agenda includes at least two bills aimed at illegal immigration. The first would require people filing for a business license to prove they're U.S. residents and the second would provide more funding for a special unit of the Colorado State Patrol that focuses specifically on illegal immigration issues.

Harvey said he would like to see the unit's personnel bumped up from 25 to 50 officers, noting the officers would focus primarily on illegal immigration, including drug trafficking and identity theft.

"I want to beef that unit up and expand their area of responsibility," he said.
Harvey also is carrying "right to work" legislation that would prohibit workers from being forced to join a union, which he said is largely in response to Gov. Bill Ritter's recent executive order that allowed state employees to unionize.

A similar measure will be on the November 2008 statewide ballot.

State Sen. Tom Wiens, R-Castle Rock, briefly flirted with a run for Congress, but ultimately backed out. Wiens will introduce legislation this session to help improve school safety.

"Right now, the only thing in state statute that schools are required to to do in terms of school safety is run fire drills," he said. "We've seen a dramatic increase in our ability to protect our children and I'm working on legislation that would help facilitate the sharing of information and technology among school districts."

Wiens also said he will once again play "defense" against Democratic legislation that he says hinders the business community.

"We've seen a lot of legislation that attempts to regulate business that is so vague that it does nothing but generate litigation that ends up benefitting lawyers," he said. "The motto for last year's session should have been if it ain't broken, legislate until it is."

Wiens also said he will work on the state's wildfire preparedness plan.

Meanwhile in the House, State Rep. Mike May, R-Parker, will continue his role as Minority Leader as he attempts to regain Republican control after his party was swept out of the majority in 2004. House Republicans have rolled out their agenda in recent weeks, which focuses on illegal immigration, health care, transportation and education.

May says the Republican's agenda focuses on "real solutions" to the state's problems.

"We're focused on solving the state's problems as opposed to the other side who are just focused on setting up more committees to study our problems," May said.

May is working on a bill with his colleagues that would make sure that tax revenue from auto-related purchases is spent on maintaining and enhancing the state's transportation infrastructure.

The other two bills he will carry deal with technical changes relating to the relationships that exist between cities and counties, particularly unincorporated areas.

State Representatives Victor Mitchell, R-Castle Rock, and Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, both will begin their second year at the Capitol.

Mitchell's bills include: a bill that would allow high school graduates that graduate in the state of Colorado to qualify for in-state tuition, even if they haven't lived in the state for one year or more; a bill that would extend the tax check off on state income tax returns that benefits people with Alzheimer's disease; a measure that would eliminate fees needed to release a deed of trust; and a bill that would help streamline school building inspections.

"They're not the most glamorous bills, but they're all good policy," Mitchell said.
Mitchell had a relatively quiet freshman session, passing only one bill, a measure designed to help locate people who wander and get lost.

McNulty is coming off a successful '07 session in which he saw four of his five bills signed into law.

His legislative agenda this year includes a bill that would allow local governments to store plats electronically as opposed to keeping paper records; a measure that would encourage the use of more hydro-electric power; a bill that would require residents to provide proof of citizenship to vote; a bill that would allow high school students to take more upper division courses for college credit and a bill for the Department of Health that would clean up language as it relates to the term "hazardous waste."

"For me, the most important bill is requiring proof of citizenship to vote," McNulty said. "

GET TO KNOW YOUR DOUGLAS COUNTY REPRESENTATIVES

State Sen. Ted Harvey (R)
Profession: Business owner
Web site: www.tedharvey.com
E-mail: ted.harvey.senate@state.co.us

State Sen. Tom Wiens (R)
Profession: Businessman/ rancher
Web site: www.tomwiens.com
E-mail: tom.wiens.senate@ state.co.us

State Rep. Mike May (R)
Profession: CPA (retired)
Web site: www.mike-may.org
E-mail: mike.may.house@state.co.us

State Rep. Victor Mitchell (R)
Profession: Entrepreneur
Web site: www.victormitchellforcolorado.com
E-mail: victor.mitchell.house@state.co.us

State Rep. Frank McNulty (R)
Profession: Attorney
Web site: www.frankmcnulty.com
E-mail: frank.mcnulty.house@state.co.us

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