Colorado: Nancy Spence

In Tuesday's Senate Transportation Committee meeting senators voted 4-3 to indefinitely postpone a bill that would have prevented railroad companies from exercising their right to use eminent domain. The bill was in response to CDOT's forthcoming proposal to relocate freight rail away from the Front Range and to eastern Colorado in order to facilitate the implementation of passenger rail systems in the metro area. Trapped in the middle of this legislation were railroad companies, who expressed little desire to relocate or use eminent domain.

Senate Bill 63, sponsored by Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, and Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, would prohibit railroad companies from condemning land through eminent domain.

From GOP propaganda "news" site Coloradosenatenews.com:
This week's debut features GOP Senate Whip Nancy Spence, of Centennial, urging the General Assembly not to cut the state's property tax homestead exemption for senior citizens. Spence tells viewers that the exemption, which can offer substantial property-tax savings to seniors who have lived in their current homes at least 10 years, "is one way Colorado recognizes the contributions of its many senior citizens over the years."

"Suspending or repealing that important allowance in state law would be an insult to the very Coloradans who have done so much for our state," Spence says in the video.

Sounds really compelling, doesn't it? Problem is that reduction of the homestead exemption has been done before, in 2003--in a budget compromise that Nancy Spence voted for.

Amid talk of where the Republican Party should be headed following a generally poor performance in the 2008 general election, former University of Colorado regent Jim Martin wrote the Grand Junction Sentinel proposing that a new moderate political party be formed in Colorado.

"Today's Republican Party is history," Martin wrote in the letter.

State Sen. Josh Penry (R-Grand Junction) appears set to be elected Senate Minority Leader at Thursday's Senate Republican caucus, said state Sen. Greg Brophy (R-Wray).

Brophy will be named assistant Senate minority leader, he said, while state Sen. Mike Kopp (R-Littleton) will be elected Republican Caucus Chair and state Sen. Nancy Spence will become Minority Whip.

Brophy said all of the positions have been decided on and didn't expect any contested leadership positions during the caucus on the third floor of Legislative Services Building Thursday morning.