Colorado: Evan Dreyer

Lower-level criminals could face less jail time under a sweeping prison sentencing reform lawmakers plan to unveil today, saying the proposal will cut incarceration costs.

Sen. John Morse's bill would lower penalties for nonviolent, property and drug offenses — some to the point of eliminating jail time altogether. It also would dial back the range on some felony sentences to pre-1985 levels and relax laws that put those on probation behind bars for minor mistakes.

District attorneys say the bill would encourage crime and that there's not enough time left in the legislative session to consider the 46-page overhaul of sentencing law.

Republicans in the state Senate made an unsuccessful, last-ditch attempt Tuesday to change proposed new rules for oil and gas drilling before conceding that the fight in the legislature is basically over.

The operatic end to the epic legislative battle came on the day the Senate gave initial approval to the rules, which are backed by Gov. Bill Ritter and are intended to protect the environment and public health from drilling's side effects. Critics say they go too far.

Republicans had hoped to woo some moderate Democrats to make changes to the rules Tuesday. They offered an amendment that would have increased certain protections for drinking water and raised fines for some violations in exchange for stripping out a number of regulations that Republicans oppose, such as rules they say don't give property owners sufficient authority to overrule wildlife protections on their land.

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.

A bill requiring new homes and houses for sale to have carbon-monoxide detectors is headed to Gov. Bill Ritter's desk.

The House passed the bill Wednesday on a 42-19 vote after approving some minor amendments from the Senate, sending it on to Ritter. His spokesman, Evan Dreyer, said the governor would sign the bill.

"Tragically, and perhaps avoidably, we lost a number of Coloradans this winter to carbon-monoxide poisoning," Dreyer said. "This legislation will save lives and prevent these types of deaths from happening in the future."

House Bill 1091 would require that all homes built after July 1 or put up for sale on or after that date have carbon-monoxide detectors installed.