Telemarketer no-call bill in midst of political wrangle

Telemarketer no-call bill in midst of political wrangle

April 17, 2001

Life in the Legislature
By State Representative Mark Larson

I hope readers of my column have not tired of hearing about the ongoing trials on SB-93, the "Telemarketer No-Call List" bill I am carrying in the House. Previous articles have reported that all sort of political games playing have plagued this bill. Last week the bill came over to the House from the Senate virtually unscathed. Such may not be the case in the House.

Readers will recall my angst at the Speaker promising to send the bill to the State, Veteran and Military Affairs Committee, commonly known as the Speakers kill committee. I originally requested the bill go to the Business Affairs and Labor Committee because I sit on that committee and felt the bill would get a fair shake there. The Speaker rejected my request and, at the time, gave no indication that he would budge from his decision. In fact, I came away from the original meeting quite disgusted, as was reflected in my next articles.

The Speaker read my article and, after a so-called visit to the woodshed (one-on-one in the Speaker's office), which ended up being a lively exchange of opinions, I promised the Speaker that I would work with those who opposed the bill, attempting to take into account their varying concerns. I apologize for the vitriolic articles that challenged the Speaker's authority while suggesting that he really didn't give me any credit for being able to adequately address his and others concerns, thus limiting my options. I left that meeting feeling that I had my work cut out trying to reach compromise, if that was possible.

I immediately scheduled a meeting with the opposing lobbyists as well as the bills supporters. After a couple hours, I felt I had three or four worthy amendments in mind that addressed the oppositions concerns while not giving away the farm. Mean-while, supporters of the bill had mounted an extensive campaign of phone calling, advertisements and mailings to each of the State, Vet-erans and Military Af-fairs committee Republi-can members, three of whom admitted already committing to vote against the bill. Mailings went to residents who live in the members district, e-mail went to those who had already signed up on the no-call list (including the Speaker's Mom), and senior phone trees all swung into action. I understand the heat was on in Colorado Springs... and it was getting pretty hot!

Meanwhile, and while I was attempting to work for compromise, the bill came over from the Senate. It sat in the Speaker's office for more than three days which is in violation of the rules. Once I pointed this out to the Speaker, he immediately assigned the bill to ... get this, the Business Affairs and Labor Committee!... not State, Veteran and Military Affairs, as he had informed me earlier.

Now the rest of the story. My relief in finding out that the bill had been allowed to go to the Business Affairs and Labor Committee soon turned to disgust. Those who are helping me lobby for the bill, quickly found out that all the Republican committee members had committed to kill the bill, either by directly promising to the Speaker or claiming outright dislike of the bill. It seems that the Speaker held up the bill long enough to do some heavy arm twisting of the Business Affairs and Labor Committee. Disheartened, I went to one member of the committee I highly respect and asked if this was true. This member was straightforward and said that a commitment indeed had been made. When I asked if this person had read the bill before committing, the response was "no."

And so it goes. This tremendously popular bill will be heard in the Business Affairs and Labor Committee on Tuesday morning. Supporters have enlisted the seniors and constituents of committee members in a last ditch effort to change their representative's mind. I was extremely disappointed that not one member came to me before committing against my bill. There for a minute, I thought the Speaker would work with me to reach compromise. I thought he would let the bill live or die based on it's merit in committee. I thought... well, that's the problem, I must learn that all is fair in love and ... politics. The Speaker really wants this bill killed. Perhaps calls from all over the state to all of the Republican members of the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee will change their minds!

Mark Larson is a state representative from Cortez. He can be reached at the Capitol by phone, (303) 866-2914; by fax, (303) 866-2218; or by email at mlarson@qwest.net . He also has a web site at www.larsoncolorado.com .