SENATE PRESIDENT CREATES SELECT COMMITTEE ON CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM

DENVER—Today Senate President Peter Groff (D-Denver) announced the creation of a Select Committee on Constitutional Reform to begin a substantive legislative discussion on untangling contradictory provisions in Colorado’s State Constitution.

Senate President Pro-Tem Abel Tapia (D-Pueblo) will serve as chairman of the committee along with Senator Brandon Shaffer (D-Longmont), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Select Committee will work with former legislators who have a unique understanding of Colorado’s constitutional quagmire, including former U.S. Senator and CU President Hank Brown, former Senate President Stan Matsunaka, former Senate Majority Leader Norma Anderson and former Senator and JBC member Penfield Tate.

The Select Committee will also thoroughly review the recent constitutional study and 12 recommendations proposed by the University of Denver’s constitutional panel.

“A constitution should be the moral guidepost by which a state’s progress and journey are measured. A constitution should be a thoughtful list of principles and obligations of citizens,” Groff said. “However, Colorado’s has become a laundry list of detached and contradictory provisions offered by special interest groups who wanted to add their special twist to the constitution.”