Republicans in the Colorado state legislature ended the year’s legislative session with a protest, marching out of the room in unity after sitting through a legislative year on the sidelines.
With a two-thirds Democratic majority in the state Senate and House of Representatives, Republicans resorted to filibusters and stalling tactics to delay the passage of certain bills throughout the 120-day session.
“What we saw through this session is … an overwhelming amount of power,” Minority Leader Rep. Mike Lynch said. “It makes it really hard to find out how we can still contribute to our districts. We were out of tools.”
One such filibuster ran for 18 hours. Colorado law dictates that a filibuster can last as long as a person can talk, and no other work in the chamber can be done while it is going on. But the speech during the filibuster must be connected to the bill the legislature is trying to pass. Read more…