In the News...

Local Lawmakers see 80 Percent of their Bills Pass

Monday, May 17 2010

The Pueblo Chieftain
By: Patrick Malone
May 16th, 2010

DENVER — With the conclusion of the Colorado General Assembly's 2010 session last week, all the bills have been reconciled.

Some passed, some failed. Eying a breakdown of the pass-fail ratio of local lawmakers isn't exactly a scientific approach, and it certainly doesn't take into account every factor. Some of those are the ease with which feel-good resolutions are passed, or the challenge that lawmaker accept when they run a particularly polarizing bit of legislation.

But looking solely at the number of bills sponsored and their outcomes, the following is a scorecard of how local lawmakers' proposals fared during the recently concluded legislative session. Each of the bills that listed an area lawmaker as a prime sponsor was taken into account.

Rep. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, introduced 10 bills. Six passed, and four failed. One was later revived when Gov. Bill Ritter signed an executive order mirroring it. One of Pace's failed bills from the previous session experienced a similar resurrection.

Rep. Buffie McFadyen, D-Pueblo West, introduced 13 bills. Eight passed, and five failed.

Rep. Wes McKinley, D-Walsh, introduced eight bills. Three passed, and five failed.

Rep. Ed Vigil, D-Fort Garland, introduced seven bills. Six passed, and one failed.

Rep. Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs, sponsored 27 bills. Twenty-four passed, and three failed. Massey tackled the tough question of medical marijuana reforms, and pushed through legislation at an exceptional rate for a lawmaker in the minority party.

Rep. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs, who represents a portion of Fremont County, sponsored eight bills. Six passed, and two failed. Like Massey, he overcame partisan hurdles to pass the majority of his bills.

Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, sponsored 30 bills. Twenty-six passed, and four failed. Because he served on the Joint Budget Committee, many of Tapia's bills were associated with balancing the budget and parceling out funds after that had been accomplished.

Sen. Ken Kester, R-Las Animas, sponsored 11 bills. Ten passed, and one failed. Like Massey and Gardner, he experienced a high success rate despite his affiliation with the minority party.

Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, who represents a portion of the San Luis Valley, introduced 30 bills. Twenty-seven passed, and three failed. Many of Schwartz's proposals dealt with renewable energy and environmental concerns and had the support of Gov. Bill Ritter's office.

Of the 144 bills introduced by area lawmakers, 116 passed, giving the Southern Colorado delegation an 80-percent pass rate.