By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice
In schools across Colorado, the waste during a lunch period might be astounding — on average a school-age child throws away 67 pounds of food annually. One bill in the Colorado House aims to limit it.
House Bill 25-1059, by Republican Rep. Ron Weinberg and sponsored in the Senate by Democrat Sen. Janice Marchman and Republican Sen. Janice Rich, asks school officials to establish policies by which it can reduce waste in school cafeterias and food preparation facilities.
The bill will be heard Wednesday, Feb. 5, in the House Education Committee upon adjournment of the House in Room 0107.
School policies may address “food waste diversion and aversion initiatives, including composting and share tables,” which the bill indicates would permit students to return whole food or beverage items. They could then be redistributed to other students or to local nonprofits, the bill continues.
Limited immunity from civil and criminal liability would be extended to “school personnel and local education providers that supervise food and beverage redistribution,” the bill reads.
Additionally, because college sports fans are so (not) enthralled with NIL programs, the House Education Committee will hear HB25-1041, a bill by Democrat Rep. Lesley Smith and Democrat Sens. James Coleman and Judy Amabile, concerning student-athletes’ name, image and likeness expansion. A significant measure in the bill is a repeal of the current prohibition on a student-athlete “entering into a contract if it conflicts with a team contract,” the bill summary reads. In other words, if Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes were to contract with one almond company, Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter could have contracted with another.
In the House Health & Human Services Committee, HB25-1068, by Republican Rep. Scott Bottoms and sponsored by Republican Sen. Mark Baisley, will be heard at 1:30 p.m. in Room 0112. The bill relates to protections for medical malpractice insurers relating to gender-affirming care provided to minors.
In the Senate Judiciary Committee also on Wednesday, Feb. 5, SB25-060, by Republican Sen. Marc Catlin and Democrat Sen. Dylan Roberts and sponsored by Democrat Rep. Chad Clifford, seeks to solve obstruction of 911 dispatch centers by individuals repeatedly calling without a cause. The bill will be heard at 1:30 p.m. in the Old Supreme Court.
SB25-062, by Democrat Sens. Nick Hinrichsen and Mike Weissman and sponsored by Democrat Reps. Michael Carter and Shannon Bird, will also be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill seeks to prevent a municipal judge from sentencing a person who fails to appear to a jail term. “The bill prohibits a person’s failure to appear from forming the basis of a municipal criminal charge,” the bill summary reads.
SB25-075, by Democrat Sen. Julie Gonzales and sponsored by Democrat Reps. Cecelia Espenoza and Jennifer Bacon, seeks to change current law related to a license to sell vehicles in Colorado. The bill will additionally be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill would change a 10-year period, by which a permit could be revoked for conviction or a “nolo contendere (no contest)” plea on certain crimes, to a three-year period.
“The bill allows the board to revoke or deny a license only if the board determines that the licensee or applicant has not been rehabilitated and creates an unreasonable risk to public safety or the sale of a motor vehicle,” the bill summary reads.