Colorado: Groff

It's just 39 steps to his new digs, but Brandon Shaffer carefully wrapped framed family photos in newspaper, placed them in a box and readied them for the short trip down the hall to the Senate president's office.

Twelve years in the Navy will do that to you, the Longmont Democrat said Wednesday as he packed up his office and conferred with the new chief of staff.

"After a while, it becomes a mind-set," Shaffer said, neatly lining up the contents of emptied drawers and bookcases. "You like things done with military efficiency."

The GOP admits it's not certain what to expect from Shaffer, known for being more precise and meticulous than his predecessor and who issued pink slips to some legislative staffers after becoming president.

Democratic Sen. Jim Isgar has applied for a regional agricultural job in the Obama administration, setting the stage for the biggest game of legislative musical chairs in recent history.

Isgar would resign if he got the job of state rural business-development director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But he said he would like to finish the session, which must end by May 6.

"I don't know if I'll get it," Isgar said. "But I think (the appointment) could happen in the next few weeks."

Isgar, of Hesperus could be the fourth Democrat to exit this year. Rep. Anne McGihon has resigned, and Democratic Sens.

The Colorado Senate moved forward tonight with a plan to tap $500 million from a workers' compensation fund to balance the state budget, a move Republicans compared to a Venezuelan-style takeover of a private company.

Even some Democrats had concerns about whether the plan to take a portion of Pinnacol Assurance's assets would work or was fair to businesses. The quasi-governmental agency offers guaranteed workers' compensation insurance, and Republicans have argued that because the insurer's assets were funded by businesses paying insurance premiums, the state should keep its hands off the money.

They also said that because Pinnacol was likely to challenge the move in a lawsuit, the money would be tied up in court so long it would be unavailable to balance next year's budget.

The Colorado Constitution needs major surgery - in the form of a constitutional convention - to untangle conflicting provisions added over the years, some lawmakers say.

Driving consideration of what one legislative leader calls "the nuclear option" are provisions that govern state spending. One amendment limits state spending, while another requires more spending for schools.

"You can't do an algebraic formula," state Rep. Don Marostica, R-Loveland, said of those two provisions, and several others that govern how the state spends its money. "The math doesn't work."

Marostica is a member of the Joint Budget Committee, which drafts the annual state spending bill. He recently sought advice from staff attorneys on whether the legislature can call a constitutional convention limited to financial issues.