By Rocky Mountain Voice Staff
State Rep. Richard Holtorf, the whip of the Colorado House’s Republican Conference, offered review of the recently closed Colorado legislative session in a press statement this week.
“My last year in the state legislature had ‘some good, some bad, and some ugly’,” he said. “I am immensely proud of the work I’ve done serving on the Colorado House Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources, and Health & Human Services committees. I would like to thank my family, ranch hands, legislative aids, colleagues, and most of all voters, who helped me serve 16 of the 21 counties in [Colorado’s 4th District] over the past five years.”
He was first appointed to serve out the completion of Kimmy Lewis’ term in central and southeast Colorado, and then was elected to House District 63.
Here’s (unedited) perspective from Holtorf on the session:
The Good: During this 74th General Assembly session, I successfully shepherded 9 bills through both the House and Senate to the governor’s desk out of 10 bills proposed. That is a 90% success rate despite being outnumbered 2 to 1 by Democrats!
I am most proud of House Bill 1142 that reduced income tax on Social Security checks for individuals aged 55 to 65 years old.
As minority whip, Holtorf rallied only 19 Republicans in the House, called ‘The Mighty 19’, to negotiate, amend, delay and outright block several extreme far-Left Democratic bills, including a complete assault weapon ban and mandatory firearm insurance.
The Bad: My one bill that did not pass would have repealed four ‘sanctuary’ laws in Colorado and reversed the enticements for illegal immigrants to flood into the state. The Mighty 19 could not stop other immigration-related or a multitude of gun-related bills.
The Ugly: I lament the passage of many bills that allowed harm to children and young adults. Moderate Democrats must wake up to the fact the extreme far Left in their party sets the Democratic agenda. How can any reasonable adult vote for bills that allow bulimic 15-year olds to remove a feeding tube against their parents’ wishes and doctors’ orders so they can commit suicide or allow pedophiles to prostitute and abuse kids aged 1-5 years with only a small fine. That’s obscene!
In addition, every bill Democrats passed tried to reduce the TABOR refunds to pay for extreme bills. As a father of 5 daughters and grandfather of 2, these bills abusing our youngest generation really bother me and they should bother you too! Colorado is the tip of the spear for the Democratic extremists. They will try to pass these same obscene laws nationally.
One reason I am running for Congress is to warn and rally support of reasonable, caring adults from all parties across the nation. I have seen the far-Left’s tactics first-hand and devised counterstrategies that The Mighty 19 used with some success in the Colorado House. I could stop even more obscene bills in the U.S. House with better odds. Right now, Eastern Colorado needs proven, strategic thinkers and leaders representing them in Washington, DC.