By Tyler Wilcox

The already charged partisan atmosphere surrounding the Colorado legislature devolved to the point of schoolyard name-calling between Republicans and Democrats last week. The issue at stake is whether the identities of donors to a group called Research and Democracy—which paid for mailings for 10 Democratic House members—should be disclosed under the Colorado Open Records Act.

The battle kicked into high gear last Thursday when House Majority Leader Alice Madden, D-Boulder, sent a letter to the 30 House Republicans warning them that if their party continues its constant demands for Democratic financial records, she will begin requesting an equal amount of Republican financial records. The opening of her letter was titled "Mutually Assured Distraction," a play on the "mutually assured destruction" tactics of the Cold War-era.

"Not out of any sense of retribution, but as a cry for help to restore some sense of sanity to the legislative session, I am going to issue each of you identical requests every time I or one of my Democratic colleagues gets a frivolous request," Madden said.

In response, the Republicans huffed and puffed, accusing Madden of wasting taxpayer dollars on "a temper tantrum." By the end of Friday, Madden had taken back her requests for Republican financial records, saying she felt her point had been made.

But House Republicans are still calling for Democrats to reveal their secret donors. "Requests under the Colorado Open Records Act are not an 'abuse of process' or frivoulous, but a legal tool established by lawmakers, such as yourself, in order to ensure transparency and accountability in government," they stated in a press release responding to Madden's letter. "If you all would comply with our requests, there would be no more—plain and simple."

So do the Republicans have a point? Should these so-called secret donors be revealed? Not according to the Colorado Open Records Act, says Sen. Ron Tupa, D-Denver, who has carried bills to revise the state statute.

"As I understand it, [Research and Democracy] is a private nonprofit organization," he says. "The Open Records Act only applies to public entities. The law is clear as to what information is public for campaigning, for donations and for candidate committees. As I understand, the mailings in question were not candidate mailings... They were not advocating for or against the election of anybody. They were informational only, and [as a result] are protected by the First Amendment. It's a free-speech issue, not a campaign issue. I'm not convinced by the Republicans that this needs to fall under the Open Records Act, or at least what the Supreme Court says it is. Until you expressly advocate for or against voting for somebody, it's protected by the U.S. Supreme Court."

Tupa believes that the issue is worthy of discussion, but thinks the way it's been handled in the legislature is off the mark.

"I'd suggest that the Republicans, instead of wasting time with an open-records request that doesn't pertain to these types of mailings, introduce legislation that tightens the language in law of what is considered electioneering [and] campaigning. The Republican requests are going to be fruitless, because the [Democrats] don't have to turn over the info, nor should they. The law doesn't require it. So instead of spending time going back and forth, [House Republicans] should spend their time instead trying to tighten the language of the law. If they think the funding for these types of communications should be public, then they should run legislation to require it."

Briefs

LOCAL

Losers speak out

A residence hall adviser at the University of Colorado's Darley South in William's Village reported finding anti-Semitic and racist graffiti scrawled on a residence hall wall and drinking fountain. A swastika and the words "Ha Ha KKK" were reportedly found together with sexually explicit language and profanity. The adviser contacted the CU police department, which is investigating the case. The incident marks the latest in a series of events targeting blacks and Jews at CU.

Man guilty of child sex assault

Stephen Peter Carrillo, 25, was found guilty on March 6 of kidnapping and sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl. According to the girl's testimony, Carrillo offered her a ride to school, then took her to his home in Longmont, where he made her bathe, shave her legs and then forced her to perform a variety of sex acts. Carrillo is also accused of assaulting the girl's younger brother and sister. He was convicted of sexual assault on a child while still a juvenile. He now faces the possibility of life behind bars.

STATE

Bill aids adjunct faculty

Colorado's Senate Education Committee approved a bill that would enable adjunct faculty at the state's colleges and universities to buy into the state's health insurance plan. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Ron Tupa, D-Boulder, Rep. Tom Plant, D-Nederland, and Rep. Angie Paccione, D-Fort Collins, would enable adjunct faculty working at least part-time to enroll in the state's health and dental insurance plans at their own expense. Further, it would mandate a study of the financial impact to the state should Colorado expand health benefits to include adjuct faculty.

Adjunct faculty are often hired into temporary positions on contracts that are renewed year to year. Though many have doctorates, few receive benefits and many are drastically underpaid. The bill as originally written would have given health-care benefits to adjunct faculty teaching a minimum of 15 hours a year who had been working for the state for a minimum of three years. The bill now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee for consideration.

If it walks like a wolf...

State wildlife officials say they've documented the second wolf sighting in Colorado since the animals were reintroduced to Idaho and Yellowstone National Park in 1995. Wildlife officers filmed the animal near Walden, located about 140 miles northwest of Denver, after receiving a tip from a landowner. According to biologists who have watched the video, the animal looks and behaves like a wolf.

NATION

Wal-Mart opts for Plan B

After refusing to carry emergency contraception, Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, announced on March 3 that it now plans to sell Plan B, known as the morning-after pill, effective March 20.

The change of heart comes after Massachusetts ordered Wal-Mart to stock Plan B in response to a lawsuit filed by three Boston women and an announcement by the attorney general of Connecticut that the state's health-care plan might eliminate Wal-Mart pharmacies from the list of pharmacies available for its participants.

"We expect more states to require us to sell emergency contraceptives in the months ahead," state Ron Chomiuk, vice president of pharmacy for the company, in a press release. "Because of this, and the fact that this is an FDA-approved product, we feel it is difficult to justify being the country's only major pharmacy chain not selling it."

The retail giant, which has about 3,400 pharmacies, is often the only source of prescription medications in rural America.

South Dakota bans abortion

South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds signed legislation on March 6 banning abortion in his state in all cases except to save a woman's life. The law is an attempt by anti-abortion activists in that state to set up a legal challenge to Roe v. Wade in hopes the new right-leaning Supreme Court will overturn the landmark 1973 decision.

The bill would charge any doctor who performs an abortion with a crime unless the procedure was necessary to save the woman's life. The measure cannot go into effect until and unless the U.S. Supreme Court upholds it. Mississippi has a similar law on the books that would make abortion illegal should Roe v. Wade be overturned.

Planned Parenthood, which operates the only abortion clinic in South Dakota, has stated its intent to challenge the new law.

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