Dear Senators Cadman and Morse and Representatives Levy and Witwer:
I am extremely interested in the outcome of your ethics investigation regarding Senator Abel Tapia and the Colorado State Fair. I would ask that you expand your investigation to include all legislation that Senator Tapia has touched with respect to the Colorado State Fair. I will be including below an email which I sent to Vince Vigil, the Chair of the Colorado State Fair Board Authority, on March 17, 2008 regarding the disposition of HB08-1129 which would have prohibited the Colorado State Fair from mandating 4-H and FFA children to obtain a 'premises registration' in the very controversial National Animal Identification System (NAIS) in order to show a market animal at the Colorado State Fair. Senator Tapia is the Chair of the State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee who killed this very popular bill. The Colorado State Fair is a division of the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) which has entered into several performance-based cooperative agreements with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) totaling several million dollars to 'enhance' premises registration in the NAIS which is supposed to be a voluntary system. I believe the CDA has chosen to 'enhance' premises registration by mandating it on children who wish to participate at the Colorado State Fair. An overwhelming majority of adult Colorado livestock producers (approximately 74%) have NOT chosen to voluntarily participate in the National Animal Identification System for a myriad of reasons including the belief by many that this system is repugnant to the Colorado and United States Constitutions.
I am quite concerned with the Colorado State Fair Board's apparent disregard for the State Administrative Procedure Act in its rule making process and am interested to know if they are following state procedures with respect to every aspect of their management of the Colorado State Fair including the acceptance of bids from contractors. The State Fair Board is setting policies and rules that affect the livelihood and well-being of hundreds of people. I am wondering who, if anyone, is overseeing the actions of the Colorado State Fair Board Authority.
I am asking that the following email be read at the meeting of the Colorado State Fair Board of Commissioners to be held on March 27, 2008. I am also asking that copies of this email be given to each of the Fair Board Commissioners and made a part of the official record.
Dear Commissioners:
As you know HB08-1129 was introduced in the Colorado House of Representatives on January 15, 2008 and assigned to the Agriculture, Livestock & Natural Resources Committee. On January 23, 2008 this bill was heard in the Agriculture Committee and passed in a bi-partisan vote of 8 to 4 to the full House. On January 29, 2008, this bill passed with an overwhelming bi-partisan vote of 47 to 18 out of the House. To our dismay, this bill was not sent to the Senate Agriculture Committee but rather the State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee which is comprised of three Democrats and two Republicans with the chair residing in or near Pueblo, Colorado. This bill was killed in a party-line vote of 3 to 2 by this committee by postponing it indefinitely on March 3, 2008. I witnessed this hearing and, in fact testified in favor of the bill. I waited from 1:30 in the afternoon until approximately 7:00 p.m. to give testimony. I was the last person to be called and was gaveled down by the chair of the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee and testimony was closed without the chair asking any of his colleagues if they had any questions of me. I was not allowed to give my entire testimony. In an effort to educate my 15-year-old-daughter on legislative proceedings, she accompanied me to this hearing. She certainly received an education in partisan politics at its worst. It was obvious to everyone present that the votes had been counted prior to our arrival to give testimony.
In all, 57 votes were counted in favor of this bill and 25 were counted against. There were over twice as many votes counted in favor of this bill as were counted against this bill. I am wondering how the majority will of the people was best served by the three Senators in the State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee who chose to kill this bill.
This issue is far from over. While the Colorado State Fair Board of Commissioners may be much better connected politically than are the children of the state of Colorado, the fact remains that children should not be used to further a very controversial political agenda. Despite the contrived outcome of HB08-1129, right is still right and wrong is still wrong.
Leellen Koroulis (CO)
01/15/2008 Introduced In House - Assigned to Agriculture, Livestock, & Natural Resources
01/23/2008 House Committee on Agriculture, Livestock, & Natural Resources Pass Unamended to House Committee of the Whole
01/28/2008 House Second Reading Special Order - Passed
01/29/2008 House Third Reading Passed
02/04/2008 Introduced In Senate - Assigned to State, Veterans & Military Affairs
03/03/2008 Senate Committee on State, Veterans & Military Affairs Postpone Indefinitely
This information is prepared as an informational service only and should not be relied
upon as an official record of action taken by the Colorado General Assembly.
Colorado Independent CattleGrowers Association (CICA) is a grassroots cattle producer organization, representing cattle growers on a state and national level. CICA's voting membership is comprised only of cattle producers. Membership dues are $50 annually. To join contact Kimmi Lewis at 719.384.4093 or email at mvrkim@rural-com.com
Good Neighbor Committee
P.O. Box 155 - La Salle, CO 80645
info@goodneighborlaw.com
| Good Neighbor Law© 2006 |