Colorado Democrats are trying to slowly kill a bipartisan bill in the Colorado legislature that would raise the penalty on drug dealers who sell drugs that result in death.
“I never would have thought that a bill that will improve public safety and combat illegal drugs would be delayed due to political games,” said bill sponsor Senator Byron Pelton in a recent Colorado Politics op-ed. “However, that is exactly what is happening.”
Pelton’s legislation passed out of the state Senate with bipartisan support in March. It was then introduced in the House and assigned to the House Judiciary Committee chaired by Democratic Representative Mike Weissman.
“Over a month later, and only seven days away from Sine Die, SB23-109 is still waiting to be heard in House Judiciary,” said Sen. Pelton.
Senator Pelton isn’t alone in his belief that the bill is being “delayed due to political games.”
“What’s the hold up here? If Representative Weissman plans on killing this bipartisan bill by not giving it a hearing on time, he should have the courage to say so,” Michael Fields, President of Advance Coloradosaid in a recent statement.
“Thousands of Coloradans have lost their lives to drug dealers who have no regard for human life,” Fields continued. “If Representative Weissman wants to stand with those dealers and not give this bill a chance in his committee, then Coloradans need to know.”
In his Colorado Politics op-ed, Sen. Pelton highlighted the human cost of Colorado Democrats attempting to run out the clock on his bipartisan bill:
“While House leadership and the chair of the House Judiciary Committee continue to hold up this bill, the drug overdoses in the state of Colorado continue to increase. Dozens of Coloradans are dying weekly; this is not a matter that can just be continuously kicked down the road day by day. Colorado is currently facing a drug epidemic fueled by soft-on-crime policies enacted by this legislature. This bill makes our message clear: drug dealers who peddle illegal drugs on our streets will face the fullest extent of the law.