Session Marked by Partisanship and Race to Expand Government

House Republican Leader Mike May, R-Parker, today summed up the 2009 legislative session by saying that the Legislature and the Ritter Administration have failed to meet their responsibilities to manage the government.  
“It is astonishing that Democrats have found ways to expand government bureaucracy even in the midst of a recession,” May said. “The mismanagement of Colorado’s state government that we have seen from this governor has reached new heights.”
Republican lawmakers have been critical of the many Democrat backed proposals to raise fees, expand government bureaucracy, and push through their social agenda. May says these Democrat initiatives are going to hit Coloradans hard.
“The real story about this session is that Colorado families are going to see a major increase in their cost of living in the form of increased fees and taxes,” May said. “Pair that with the Democrats race to shut down the energy industry and embolden labor unions and we have a recipe for continued job losses.”
May is referring to Governor Ritter’s push to approve new rules on Colorado’s oil and gas industry, rules that many industry leaders say will lead to a drop in energy industry activity in the state.
“Where has the governor been on leading this state out of the recession?” May said. “The lack of leadership from the first floor of the capitol has set the second floor adrift. If we are going to get Colorado back on track, we are going to have to do a lot better.”
Many Republicans could not remember a session as marked by partisanship. As examples, they cited partisan gridlock on transportation, the removal of a key government spending cap and a Democrat push to expand their social agenda.
“Republicans went into this session hoping to work on getting Colorado out of this recession, what we got was exactly the opposite,” May said. “It was discouraging to see the Democrats raise taxes and fees this year by close to $1 billion dollars, even as families struggle to make ends meet in a shrinking job market.”