Capitol Wrap: The young, the old — and salamanders!

Posted on: 4:59 pm, February 23, 2012, by Eli Stokols, updated on: 05:26pm, February 23, 2012

DENVER — The state Capitol was abuzz with young people on Thursday — many of them attending a hearing on a bill to make the Tiger Salamander Colorado’s official state amphibian — and also with older folks, who showed up in droves to protest four bills affecting the pensions of state employees.

And both groups left relatively happy.

Holbert bows to protest, kills his PERA reform bill

The retirees who packed a House Finance Committee hearing Thursday morning rejoiced when Rep. Chris Holbert, R-Parker, surprised everyone and killed his own bill that would have changed the health care plans for retired state employees.

Holbert, who told the Denver Post that he got the idea for the bill from the right-leaning Independence Institute, explained his decision as a response to a wave of emails protesting his proposal, which could have dropped an estimated 34,000 retirees and 5,000 of their dependents who are eligible for Medicare from the health care program for state employees.

Action was delayed on another bill, also opposed by many of the retirees, that aimed to fix a loophole that allows some workers to “hit the PERA lotto” by paying into the system for most of their careers based on a lower salary before retiring with a pension based on a much higher salary from a better job toward the end of their careers.

House Bill 1150, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Priola, R-Henderson, would require an employee’s pension be based on seven years of the highest salary, rather than three years.

Salamander bill slithers along

More than 150 schoolchildren got a visit from Gov. Hickenlooper, who lauded their involvement with a bill to make the Tiger Salamander the official state amphibian, before watching that bill sail through a Senate committee on a unanimous vote.

The Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy Committee voted 7-0 in favor of the bill, which now heads to the full Senate for a vote.

“Who knew that we didn’t have a state amphibian? You guys figured that out,” Hickenlooper told the children in the Old Supreme Court chamber before the committee hearing.

“You did the research, the lobbying, you provided testimony. I think it’s beyond cool. And it’s a great example of why Colorado is better than other states, because we have kids like you.”