Government bureaucrats who issue new regulations disguised as health rules, in a pandemic for instance, should have to follow the Administrative Procedure Act that among other things requires advance public notice.
That’s according to a bill authored by Broomfield Republican state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, which was swiftly put on indefinite postponement in the notorious Military Affairs Committee to die a silent death.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has issued 60 orders during the pandemic.
However, none of the orders were directed at any specific entity or property owner. Instead, Kirkmeyer said they applied to every Coloradan, and therefore should be considered rules rather than orders.
The Kill Committee also put to indefinite rest a bill sponsored by Colorado Springs Republican Bob Gardner to require a 120-day limit on emergency declarations that could be renewed, if necessary.
A House committee will hear, and Democrats just as likely to kill, a separate bill Friday giving local entities the power to reject statewide public health orders.