DENVER • Sixty down. Sixty to go.That was what lawmakers celebrated Saturday, when the state General Assembly marked its halfway point.“Of course, I tell new members that when we hit day 60, it’s all uphill from here,” joked Rep. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs.The session, which adjourns May 9, has been relatively tame compared to past sessions, say several lawmakers.Though some bills have made for big battles, such as civil unions for homosexuals, per-diem pay increases for lawmakers, several legislators have even described the first 60 days as collegial.“I’ve been pleasantly surprised on how collaborative the session has been,” said Sen. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs.King said he’s been able to work with Democrats on many of his signature education issues that he’s known for, including promoting charter schools.Freshman Rep. Mark Barker, R-Colorado Springs, agreed with King. He said his first session last year was “like putting out fires.” This year isn’t nearly as divisive, he said.Other El Paso Republicans weren’t so quick to pat Democrats on the back. House Majority Leader Amy Stephens, R-Monument, and Rep. Mark Waller, R-Colorado Springs, said their counterparts haven’t made things easy.“Let’s go back to the beginning of the session: ‘Oh, they’re going to kill all our bills, oh,’ all the whining,” said Stephens. “We have not seen this happen. We’ve seen 50 percent of bills go through.”Waller said while the two parties agreed that the top priority of the session is job creation, they haven’t reached much common ground. Several pieces of the Republican jobs agenda are expected to meet their doom in the Senate. Many GOP measures have, however, sailed through the Legislature.The three bills Waller has introduced were easily approved in both the House and Senate.Despite his early success, Waller said, he and other Republicans are playing defense.“Any session where we don’t pass bad legislation is a good thing for the state of Colorado, and we certainly have not passed bad legislation this year,” Waller said.Four bills shunned by the GOP were penned by one of Waller’s El Paso County neighbors — Rep. Pete Lee, D-Colorado Springs.Lee complained that only one of his five bills had survived the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, while his other four were good ideas ignored by the GOP. The one that passed, a relatively innocuous measure to help nurses, was approved 63-1. Waller was the lone dissenting vote.“There is more partisanship in an election year, and that doesn’t serve the best interests of the state and the people,” said Lee. He’s facing his first re-election bid against a Republican in a newly-drawn swing district.Many of the bills approved by both chambers have been smaller tweaks and changes in the law to help make the government more efficient or to protect  residents. In 2012, bills that even hint at controversy face quick deaths. That’s the price of having a split Legislature.The partisan divide means writing the state budget this year will be difficult. Last year, the two parties struck deals on the budget, but this year there are no hints of dealmaking. Instead, Republicans and Democrats are digging in for a fight.One example commonly cited by both Republicans and Democrats is the Senior Homestead Exemption, a property tax break for seniors that would carve $94 million from the state budget.The tax break was taken away at the height of the recession as the state sought to balance its books. It’s set to return this year, but Democrats want to delay it for another year. Republicans, however, vehemently want it to expire.“Where’s the bill that gets rid of it? Because that’s what it takes,” said Senate Majority Leader John Morse, D-Colorado Springs. “We haven’t done that, and likely won’t do it, because it won’t pass the House. But in this case, the House has to introduce a budget, so where’s your $94 million in cuts?”Waller and Stephens said delaying the return of the Homestead Exemption is a deal-breaker.“We’re not going to tax seniors. We’re not. The speaker and I have been very clear,” said Stephens.All the other members of the El Paso delegation agreed that the budget was going to be the top issue for the second half of the session.Sen. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, a member of the Joint Budget Committee, said he’s worrying about the tenuous state of the national and world economies.“There are still a lot of concerns about the economy,” Lambert said. “Everything from inflation to what’s going on in Europe and the stock market and other things. We’re by no means out of this yet.”Other legislators from El Paso said they’re pretty satisfied with how the session is progressing. There have been successes and defeats for all of them, including legislative leaders.Senate Minority Leader Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, lost a bill that would have made it harder for state agencies to create rules for themselves. He has a couple that are still alive, though — one to help the state opt out of federal regulations and another to crack down on state agencies that want to issue mandates to local governments.Sen. King has so far been the most successful legislator from El Paso County. He sponsored an education measure that has passed the Senate and House, to raise the age of teens who can attend resident camps. And his five other Senate bills are alive and kicking.Sen. Kevin Grantham, R-Canon City,  saw a gun rights bill defeated. He still has a few others that are waiting to be heard in committee, including one to make it easier for businesses to obtain water and air quality permits.Rep. Janak Joshi, R-Colorado Springs, is carrying one of the delegation’s more controversial bills that will almost certainly die in the Senate — a measure to create new felonies for violently causing a woman to miscarry. The bill’s informal title is “Fetal homicide,” but many Democrats have said it chips away at abortion rights.

Photo by Gazette File