From the Radio Free Michigan archives ftp://141.209.3.26/pub/patriot If you have any other files you'd like to contribute, e-mail them to bj496@Cleveland.Freenet.Edu. ------------------------------------------------ March 13, 1995 DUKE (719) 481-9289 (303) 866-4835 By Charles R. Duke State Senator - District 9 It is sometimes said that watching legislation being made is like watching sausage being made -- if you ever get a chance to watch the process up close, you would never want to have anything to do with it. More often than not, legislation usually represents the considered opinion of one special interest group or the other attempting to use the force of government to hammer its competitors or siphon tax dollars to someone's pocket. House Bill 1111 was a good example of such a bill. It would have allowed Colorado to "opt out" of national deregulation for branch banking. "State sovereignty!" was claimed by the bill's proponents, hoping to garner votes from those who favor that national movement. "Local control!" was the chant as the bill was jockeyed through the legislative hoops by Sen. Dave Wattenberg and Rep. Bill Martin, the bill's sponsors. Governor Romer has vetoed the bill and it is unclear whether the veto will be sustained. It takes a two-thirds vote of both houses, 24 votes in the Senate and 44 votes in the House to override a gubernatorial veto. The bill passed with 23 votes in the Senate and 46 votes in the House. Although a weak case could be made about state sovereignty and local control, this bill was about neither of these two primal issues. At its root was a well-organized and well- financed group of independent bankers, who feared an intrusion into their territories by out of state banks. This is like having the piranha warn you about the dangers of sharks. Almost all states now allow full branch banking by both resident and non-resident banks. The result is convenience for the customer, with competition keeping service plentiful and rates reasonable. The votes are not likely to be as favorable should a veto override be attempted. It is difficult for Democrats to vote against a gubernatorial veto. Another example is House Bill 1198 by Rep. Jack Taylor and again Sen. Dave Wattenberg. This bill would prohibit a beer retailer from buying his products from the wholesaler of choice. Instead, the retailer would be forced to buy from a wholesaler who has the assigned territory. Promoted by the alcohol distributors, of course, it's hard to imagine a bill more anti-competitive than this one. The mere suggestion that a beer wholesaler should have an assigned territory is offensive to those of us who favor free-market solutions. If this should become law, the next step could be a Certificate of Need being required before a new supplier could open and then a Public Utilities Commission regulation to set prices and stamp out competitors. Finally, a large cadre of regulators to make sure everybody follows the rules. Any solution here other than an unrestricted free market solution is a bad one. This bill is not only still alive, but is astonishingly on its way to the Governor for signature. On the other hand, a bill I sponsored to suspend the horrendous auto emission program, as both Pennsylvania and Texas have done, was killed primarily based on the votes from two Republicans, Senators Dottie Wham and Sally Hopper. These are the same two Republicans who have also figured prominently in the votes killing all concealed-carry bills so far both this year and last. Sen. Wham was again the deciding vote to kill my bill to collect federal gas taxes at the state level and keep it if the feds tried to sanction our highway money for unconstitutional reasons. Because Democrats are in the minority on all committees and in both houses, they can neither pass nor kill a bill without Republican help. Because Republicans have the leadership in both houses, the Republicans alone decide whether or not a bill gets a favorable committee assignment. Specifically, Senate President Tom Norton makes assignments for the Senate and House Speaker Chuck Berry makes assignments for the House. In the Colorado Senate there are 19 Republicans and 16 Democrats, but there are more liberal Republicans than there are conservative Democrats. This fact alone is responsible for putting a liberal spin on many bills which pass the Senate. Similarly, conservative bills, especially bills which push the envelope of conservatism, have a very difficult time making it. Bills which fail or pass should never be considered a measure of a legislator's effectiveness. We consider over 750 new bills every year and wind up passing over 300 new laws for you to live under. The passage or failure of a legislator's own bills comprise less than five percent of the total job. Rather, the success or demise of a bill comes about through the actions of a few. Any significant change in overall philosophy must first come about at the ballot box. End ------------------------------------------------ (This file was found elsewhere on the Internet and uploaded to the Radio Free Michigan archives by the archive maintainer. All files are ZIP archives for fast download. E-mail bj496@Cleveland.Freenet.Edu)