By: State Rep. Mark Larson

I love it when constituents get fired up from reading my articles and participate in our state legislature. This week a local citizen and friend took exception to what was happening to the Telemarketer No Call List Bill (March 10, 2001 Life in the Legislature) and sent a somewhat damning email to House Speaker Doug Dean (R) Colorado Springs, expressing her extreme displeasure with his wanting to send SB-93 to the State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee to have it killed. The Speaker presented the email to me on the floor asking to see the article.

In the ensuing visit to the Speaker's office we discussed the article. The Speaker challenged some of the points I had made and suggested that I had not been completely accurate. For this I apologized and promised to mention in this week’s article. For the record, the Speaker and I did not totally agree on what was actually discussed, but if I misunderstood or misrepresented anything he said, I apologize.

I closed the meeting offering to work on the issues the Speaker perceived to be damaging to the telemarketers. I am not certain there is middle ground on several of his concerns, but I have always attempted, and indeed believe I have a reputation for, working with everyone concerned on my bills. This bill will be no different.

Thinking this ordeal behind me, I quickly found out the continuing ramifications of publicly taking exception with the Speaker. A couple weeks ago and long before the telemarketing fracas, I requested and received late bill status to draft and introduce a bill that would create the Division of Oil and Public Safety within the Department of Labor. This not too complicated bill is needed since the Oil In-spection Sec-tion, for various reasons, no longer fits within the Di-vision of Labor. Late bills require the approval of the Speaker and Majority Lea-der to proceed.

Soon after my discussion with the Speaker over last weeks article, I delivered this late bill to the Chief Clerk. Normally, the Speaker would sign it, a bill number would be assigned and it would be "read across the desk" on introduction. Normally.

It appears the Speaker will not soon forget my insolence. Otherwise, I would assume that my late bill, which he authorized previously, would have been on its way to committee. Now he is holding the bill up, I guess to demonstrate his displeasure with me and, since we are already passed the halfway point in the session, everyday the bill delays lessens its changes of making it through the system. Friday, I suggested that if the Speaker still had a significant problem with me, that a new sponsor be found so that this worthy bill could proceed. I was informed that he would consider it.

One other issue concerning the Speaker's power in the legislature might interest readers. A Senate bill I agreed to sponsor in the House (SB-27) came over a couple weeks ago. The bill made it though committee unscathed and is awaiting debate on the Second Reading calendar.

Unfortunately, the Senate sponsor of this bill tangled with one of the Speaker's bills in her committee in the Senate with the results not being what the Speaker desired. Consequently, the bill I agreed to carry for the senate sponsor, Foreclosure Notification to Cosigners of Mortgage Loans, may be doomed to sit in the House until the session is over and die.