We've seen a few examples the last two years of policies rejected by the voters reemerging as bills in the Legislature. Some of the same-sex partner benefits which one would assume had been rejected by voters in the past have been percolated through the legislature so that a growing number of pieces of proposed legislation rejected on the ballot has made it way into law through the legislature.
Such is Senate Bill 180 whose philosophy has been soundly rejected in Grand Junction and Fort Collins but passed by the legislature and now awaits the governor's signature.
This law if signed would interpose a collective bargaining unit between the elected representatives of the citizens and their firefighters and eventually, their police officers and emergency services workers.
And for those who think this might be all hunky-dory for the average firefighter it will probably end up being anything but as they see another layer of bureaucracy ladled over their everyday existence.
Oh and wait until the dispatchers form their own union as part of negotiations with city government. It will be real fun. Let's see how much trouble the governor thinks he is in next year as he decides whether to sign this or not.
SB-180- If signed into law, SB-180 will create a state mandate on local governments for collective bargaining with fire departments and districts, including Grand Junction. This is both a significant unfunded mandate on local governments as well as a major preemption into local control and home rule authority.
