Colorado: Cory Gardner

Hundreds of business people gathered outside the Capitol Monday to urge lawmakers to vote against legislation that would drain $500 million from a workers' compensation insurance fund to help balance the state budget.

The opponents, who included Pinnacol employees, insurance agents who sell Pinnacol coverage and some business owners with policies, gathered on the west side of the Capitol.

A Pinnacol employee with a bullhorn led the crowd in chants, including "Shame on Shaffer," a reference to Senate Majority Leader Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, the sponsor of one of the bills that target Pinnacol money.

Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, pointed behind him and told the crowd that "we should be scraping the gold off the dome before we raid your money.

You use it to go shoe shopping in your bare feet. You use it to book your vacation while at work.

Why not also use the Internet to register to vote?

You just might be able to, under a bill chugging through the state legislature.

House bill 1160 would allow people to register to vote, request a mail-in ballot or change their voting address online through what bill proponents say will be a highly secure website run by the Colorado secretary of state's office. The bill would not allow people to cast votes online.

The bill won final approval, with broad bipartisan support, in the state House on Monday and next faces at least three votes in the state Senate.

At a Monday press conference, a bi-partisan coalition of Colorado lawmakers called on Gov. Bill Ritter to reject new “job killing” oil and gas rules slated for a vote in the House later this week.

In 2007, the legislature approved a series of bills that required the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to adopt new regulations for oil and gas drilling throughout the state. Critics allege the new regulations promulgated by the commission threaten the private property rights of surface owners and that the environmental protections required are too strict. Rep. Steve King, R-Grand Junction, called the rules "175 pages of job killing bureaucracy.

Senate Minority Leader John Penry is apparently beginning to seriously engage in discussions about running for Governor, and may soon file paperwork to make it official. Penry is doing this quietly while he tries to gauge support for a potential run against Gov. Bill Ritter, and trying to keep this quiet is probably the smartest thing Penry has done in months.

Our prediction? Penry doesn't actually end up running for Governor in 2010. And here's why...
Penry has long been touted by Republicans as a "rising star" in the Party, but like many "rising stars" who have come before him (from both parties), Penry's just not ready to move from "rising" to actual "star.