Colorado: Dreyer

Gov. Bill Ritter said Monday that a potential $300 million cut to Colorado colleges is off the table, though he offered no guidance on how to solve the state's shortfall as the Senate moved forward with a plan that taps money from a workers' compensation insurer.

College officials greeted the news with cautious optimism but said they're not safe until additional funds are found to balance the state's $17.9 billion budget.

Ritter's announcement, the first time he has publicly stated his position on a major budget proposal this year, came as senators approved the budget and critics accused Ritter of "hiding under his desk" during a crisis.

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.

Gov. Bill Ritter suffered a quiet loss Tuesday when the Senate gave initial approval to a bill that would repeal a program created by the first bill he signed into law.

The Colorado Cares Rx Program was created in 2007 as a way to help low-income Coloradans access affordable prescription drugs. Ritter gave it special status by making the bill that created it the first he signed as governor.

At the time, sponsors said the program would help more than 250,000 Coloradans, and Ritter called it a "significant step in containing health care costs for so many Coloradans."

But Sen. Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood, said Tuesday that the program never came together as lawmakers intended.

Senate Republicans blasted Gov. Bill Ritter on Friday, accusing him of going on a junket to support a bloated stimulus package.

Ritter's spokesman, Evan Dreyer, blasted right back, calling the criticism "nothing more than political posturing."

The governor's trip to the East Coast lasted less than 24 hours.

"We don't have time for this nonsense," Dreyer said. "In case they hadn't noticed, the country's in a recession."

Ritter was one of four Democratic governors invited to a Democratic Congressional retreat in Williamsburg, Va.

Dreyer said Ritter left for the retreat Thursday night and was scheduled to fly back Friday afternoon.

"I hope you will reconsider your decision to support the so-called stimulus package and, more importantly, your decision to attend - and thus endorse - this junket," Senate Republicans wrote in a letter initiated by Sen.