Colorado senators are gearing up for what they anticipate will be a long day later this week as two of the session’s most contentious bills debut on the Senate floor.

The floor debate on both Senate Bills 003 and 005 has been delayed several weeks in a row as sponsors continued negotiations with stakeholders. Now, they say the discussions have reached a point where they are ready to be heard on the floor — and Thursday is shaping up to be the big day.

Guns and labor 

Senate Bill 003 —  sponsored by Sens. Tom Sullivan, D-Centennial, and Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, and Reps. Andrew Boesenecker, D-Fort Collins, and Meg Froelich, D-Englewood — would prohibit selling and purchasing firearms with detachable magazines. The bill passed through committee on a party-line vote, but it has received significant opposition from gun owners around the state, Republicans, and some Democrats.

Senate President James Coleman, D-Denver, praised Sullivan and Gonzales for what he described as their efforts to educate their colleagues in the caucus on the bill and any incoming amendments. He also mentioned discussions with Gov. Jared Polis, who has expressed concerns that the bill could unfairly affect law-abiding gun owners who use firearms for hunting and sport.

“I would classify them as good,” Coleman said when asked how discussions with the governor are going. “We’re still working on the amendments, to my knowledge, but I think we’re close.”

Coleman acknowledged that several Democratic lawmakers, including Sens. Nick Hinrichsen of Pueblo, Marc Snyder of Colorado Springs, and Dylan Roberts of Frisco, have voiced opposition or reservations about the bill, arguing that it’s too far-reaching and does not have their constituents’ support.

“We have members in our caucus who have offered different perspectives, and the sponsors have been very receptive of that,” said Coleman. “We go back and forth and we share perspectives, but if the people of Colorado are watching, they’ll see that we are, I think, having a real conversation about concerns and how to get the bill to the best place and we’ll vote how we vote.”

Worker Protection Act

Senate Bill 005 would repeal provisions in the 80-year-old Colorado law requiring a second election for employees to establish a “union security” agreement at their workplace. Once agreed to by the company and the union, non-union workers would be required to pay a fee to the union. The bill is sponsored by Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, D-Denver, Sen. Jessie Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge, and Reps. Javier Mabrey, D-Denver, and Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver. 

Rodriguez said the business and labor communities have been in extensive talks since the bill was announced in November, and he feels those conversations are finally heading in the right direction after a rocky start.

“Conversations have been going back and forth, offers have been made on both sides; one side goes one direction, one side goes the other direction, and we’re trying to find a happy middle,” he said.

Rodriguez believes both sides are beginning to realize that, if they don’t compromise, the bill will not become law.

Polis has stated he will only sign the bill if it has the support of both business and labor.

“There’s a lot of stuff happening, so I don’t want to make a commitment to what the governor’s gonna do, but he has been involved with conversations and he’s really helped bring businesses to the table to try to find the compromise, so that’s been good news,” he said, adding that he believes the majority of Democrats in the Senate will vote in favor of the bill

Maintaining decorum

With both bills inciting lengthy, sometimes fiery debate in their respective committee hearings, Coleman and Rodriguez are expecting the same on the Senate floor, especially for Senate Bill 003, which Rodriguez called Republicans’ opus for the session.  

“Their base wants them to fight for this,” he said, adding that Thursday will be the chamber’s “first big test” of the session.  

Coleman expressed his gratitude for Minority Leader Paul Lundeen of Colorado Springs and the rest of Republican caucus, whom he said have always kept things professional, even in the most heated debates. 

“They are very professional in the way that they engage when it comes to some things that are controversial,” he said. “I really appreciate the maturity in our entire chamber. I anticipate that on Thursday we’ll have a spirited discussion on two really important pieces of policy, and we’ll get through it.”

When asked if there was any strategy behind scheduling both bills on the second day, Rodriguez said it was purely a scheduling decision. 

“We were going to do SB 5 Thursday and moving SB 3 just became a thing,” he said, adding that it makes more sense to have one late night instead of two. 

Lundeen said long days are nothing new to his caucus. He said he couldn’t speculate on whether the majority has any strategy in mind when deciding to put both bills on the calendar for the same day. 

“We take the calendar as it’s presented,” he said. “We’re serious about the policies that we’re debating and these are two big policies that will deserve some serious conversation and we will bring our perspectives to those bills and it will take as long as it takes.”

The debate will be broadcasted live on the Colorado Channel.