DENVER (KDVR) — The second regular session of the 74th General Assembly adjourned on Wednesday with lawmakers ending their task of acting on 374 bills.
Key measures involved gun ownership and sales, affordable housing, college tuition and cannabis industry regulations.
Gun ownership and sales
A bill that would ban the sale and transfer of semiautomatic firearms was tabled after one of its sponsors, Sen. Julie Gonzales, emphasized the measure needed more time for debate. The bill cleared the house in April in a 35 to 27 vote.
The gun lobby told FOX31 their supporters initiated 65,000 calls, 150,000 emails and gathered 210,000 petition signatures to let their voice be heard by lawmakers.
“They haven’t run this many bills against gun rights since 2013,” Rocky Mountain Gun Owners spokesperson Ian Escalante told FOX31.
Escalante said his group will fight any upcoming legislation they believe will unfairly limit and threaten business owners.
“That would’ve banned pretty much all firearms. Right now anything that was semiautomatic with a pistol grip, attached magazine, threaded barrel, muscle break, or could be readily converted, to take any of those, any of the following I just mentioned, would be banned. That would pretty much put every gun shop out of business,” said Escalante.
Another measure allows the State Department of Revenue to oversee gun dealers.
“It allows the Department of Revenue to create their own police force and enforcement task force,” said Escalante.
The Colorado Ceasefire organization disagrees, saying more oversight can reduce illegal activity.
“We need to have the gun dealers following the law,” said Eileen McCarron of Colorado Ceasefire.
McCarron told FOX31 that research conducted by the group shows illegal activity was discovered in half of 32 Colorado Springs stores.
“That will help deter straw purchases and also illegal sales that are going on at gun dealers,” said McCarron.
The organization also supports legislation designed to prevent gun theft and bolster security requirements for gun owners.
The house also passed legislation requiring liability insurance for gun owners. The gun lobby told FOX31 the goal for the next session is to repeal the state permit for gun shops.
Affordable housing bill passes
Legislators gave the green light on measures that fund research for finding solutions to Colorado’s affordable housing problem and preserve the current number of affordable homes.
FOX31 spoke to renters who applaud the effort due to high rent and home prices.
“It is a great idea. I mean it is hard out here for everyone, I barely make it as it is” said renter Will Vigil.
College students to get tuition help
Other bills that passed include one that, if signed into law, would provide two years of free tuition for students attending in-state schools if their families make less than $90,000 a year.
Lighter restrictions for marijuana industry
A bipartisan bill allowing less regulation in the marijuana industry passed in the Senate, designed to lighten restrictions and extend the time to renew licenses. Colorado Cannabis Business Association spokesperson Mason Tvert of Colorado Leads told FOX31 the legislation is necessary because the industry has grown and advanced beyond its beginning stages.
“We need to have laws and rules that are based on the evidence rather than on what people feared back then,” said Tvert.
Tvert also emphasized that the significant tax revenues generated by the cannabis industry should be considered.
“We’ve seen these business revenues go down and as a result, tax revenues have gone down and the state is hurting from that, so we need to ensure that these businesses are not over-investing into dealing with all of these burdensome regulations,” said Tvert.
Other bills that passed before the end of the session include one to improve wildfire mitigation in rural areas.
