You ain't seen nothin' yet

You ain't seen nothin' yet

May 1, 2001

Life in the Legislature
By State Representative Mark Larson

Just when I thought there would be no more questionable rules usage, a Denver legislator comes up with a dandy. If readers thought the Speaker's sidestepping of the rules on my bill was something, they ain't seen nothin' yet!

Rep. John Witwer, (R-Evergreen), had a bill scheduled in the Innovations and Technology Committee last Wednesday. SB-61, "Medical Records Confidentiality" has been a fairly controversial measure that has been heavily amended by members hanging previously failed legislation on it. As long as a bill has a broad title, all kinds of mischief can happen to it. This bill was a prime example, but still not deserving of what happened next.

On Monday, two days before the bill was calendared to be heard, a committee member moved a "Supermotion" to pass the bill to the Committee of the Whole for Second Reading. When a Supermotion is made, all else stops, the vote is taken and the bill either passes or fails right then and there ... no debate ... no amendments ... and no testimony. As was intended, the motion failed and the bill was killed. This very seldom-used motion is entirely legal under the rules but how it was used is yet another issue.

What was entirely inappropriate about this action was that the bill sponsor was not even in the room! As unbelievable as it may seem, the committee chairman, a vocal opponent of the bill, orchestrated the Supermotion and allowed the bill to be killed without the sponsor even knowing it was being heard, two days before it was scheduled and without all the members of the committee being in the room. Incredible! No, I would say unscrupulous!

Naturally, this occurrence caused a rift among House Re-publicans. We caucused to discuss how and why this happened, especially since it was between members of the same party! After much discussion, Rep. Steve John-son (R-Fort Collins) fairly well summed it up. "While we are discussing the reasons [this committee] could do this, shouldn't we be discussing whether they should have done this?" Rep. Johnson was right on target. No matter how passionately a member hated this bill, in my opinion, there is no excuse for his and the committee's actions.

I am saddened and embarrassed at some of the procedural games-playing that is going on in this legislature. Did the committee have the procedural authority to kill this bill? Yes, they did. But in the name of common courtesy, integrity and in the spirit of statesmanship, some members should take a good long look in the mirror and ask themselves if what they are doing is in any way justifiable. They need to ask themselves if what they are doing, for whatever reason, is not the very example of why citizens have developed such a distaste and disregard to the system. If we cannot respect each other, act civilly and be above board, then who is to set the example?

This win-at-any-cost style of questionable leadership dishonors every constituent I represent, whether Republican, Democratic, Independent or Libertarian. This member's (and others) actions have set the tone for the remainder of this session, as well as the next session. I was equally saddened to hear one member's comment near the end of the caucus, "What goes around, comes around." This emasculation of our system has got to stop.

I will continue to keep my promise to my constituents that I will vote on a bill based solely on that bills merit, regardless of who is carrying it, regardless of party politics and regardless of motive. I will continue to meet each member fairly, be open and honest, to his or her face, and not plot behind their backs. I want to assure you that a vast majority of members DO operate in this fashion. Perhaps we can influence the recalcitrant few.

I promise to write about something light and positive very soon. All is not bad with the legislature. I have merely tried to point out the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) interactions behind the scenes.

Mark Larson is a state representative from Cortez. He can be reached at the Capitol by phone (303) 866-2914; by fax (303) 866-3318; or by e-mail at marklarson@qwest.net . He also has a web site at www.larsoncolorado.com