Is Speaker Mark Ferrandino hearing voices?  That’s the only explanation we here at the Peak have for his comments earlier this week in The Denver Post.

Continuing their belief that, if they don’t talk about their progressive agenda in 2013, Colorado will forget it ever happened (Platform: Amnesia 2014™). Democrats claim there’s no need to revisit last year since they offered everyone a chance to compromise last year.   Here Ferrandino talks about the compromise they offered last year during the renewable energy mandate debate:

“We were willing to make compromises last year, but the other side walked away from the table after a week-and-a-half of negotiations.” [the Peak emphasis]

The problem with this statement?  No one’s quite sure who “the other side” Ferrandino is referring to.  House Minority Leader Mark Waller thinks Ferrandino might be referring to the co-ops:

Former House Minority Leader Mark Waller, R-Colorado Springs, said Ferrandino must be referring to the co-ops because his caucus was shut out of the process entirely.

But when we check in with co-ops via their blog, Colorado Rural Electric Association Blog, they claim they are frustrated with the Renewable mandate, not because it increases their renewable standard, but because they had no input on it:

While CREA opposed SB 13-252, we did not oppose the idea of increasing the RES from 10% to some higher standard, so long as we were involved in a legitimate stakeholder process where our ideas and concerns could be addressed. Unfortunately, that did not occur last year. [the Peak emphasis]

“Wait, if I didn’t talk to him, and you didn’t talk to him, who talked to him?!  …THE PHONE CALL IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE!!!”

The co-ops go into further detail on why they no-showed at the repeal hearing, and further how much of a joke Hickenlooper’s commission was.

We did not testify in support of SB 14-035 since we are not in favor of a wholesale repeal of SB 13-252 [because open to higher rates but want to contribute to shaping of them]. However, during the hearing on the bill, some witnesses testified that it wasn’t necessary because the SB 13-252 advisory committee appointed by the Governor determined last summer that the requirements of the bill could be met. Of course, the committee also voted 8-4 to make changes to SB 13-252 to mitigate its impacts on consumers, but the ground rules of the committee required a unanimous vote for any recommendations to be adopted. [the Peak emphasis]

So let us get this right, this special panel Hickenlooper convened to make sure the renewable mandate isn’t too horrible, decides by a 2 to 1 margin that it is and Speaker Ferrandino still believes he can get away with saying this:

“If someone can come up with an idea that is going to improve a bill or a law we passed last year, that it’s not going to gut the intention of it and either it will be stronger or easier to implement, I’m always open to it,” he said.

Sorry Speaker Ferrandino, even the voices in your head aren’t buying that one.