Below is a summary of the bills pending in this year's Colorado General Assembly which potentially effect the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender persons in Colorado. These are bills which Equal Rights Colorado is either actively supporting, actively opposing, or monitoring.
Equal Rights Colorado's lobbying activities include coordinating hearing testimony for bills we support or oppose; communicating with state senators and representatives regarding our position on bills; and working with legislators to draft bills that promote the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender persons in Colorado.
The status of these bills will be updated throughout the session so you can monitor a bill's progress through the legislative process. We will also post the dates, times, and locations of hearings for these bills on our calendar and will periodically email "Action Alerts" to our members informing them of important activity on a bill.
Please take a look at the Calendar to see when a hearing will be held.
2009 Legislation
Introduced by Sen. Jennifer Veiga and Rep. Mark Ferrandino, SB 09-88 will allow state employees to apply for health insurance for their domestic partners. Already one-third of all states, 17 Colorado cities and five Colorado counties offer health insurance for their employees' same-sex partners. SB 88 would allow the State of Colorado to catch up, while reducing the number of uninsured and helping our state government recruit and retain talented workers. More and more private companies are offering these benefits, recognizing the importance in a good benefit package to keep competitive.
This bill has passed fully through the Senate and the House and is on the Governor's desk awaiting signature.
HB 1260 - "Designated Beneficiaries" bill - SUCCESS!!
Introduced by Rep. Mark Ferrandino and Sen. Jennifer Veiga, HB 1260 - “Designated Beneficiaries Agreements" - will provide a new tool for estate planning, giving Coloradans access to a new, low-cost and convenient method for making plans for end-of-life decisions, inheritance, and other protections related to health care and medical emergencies.
This bill has passed fully through the House and the Senate and was signed by the Governor on April 9, 2009.
|
