Warrants And War Memorials

President Bush may be calling for more forces in Iraq, but members of the General Assembly are already planning a memorial to honor military casualties who have been lost during the “war on terrorism.”

Meanwhile, a bill that allows law enforcement officials to receive and apply for warrants electronically was passed unanimously by the House Judiciary Committee and will go back to the floor.Here’s a brief listing of the bills:

S.B. 86 (PDF)

Title:

A War On Terror Fallen Heroes Memorial…And A Line To Colorado State Individual Income Tax Return Forms Whereby Individual Taxpayers May Make A Voluntary Contribution To The War On Terror Fallen Heroes Memorial Construction Fund

Sponsors:

Rep. Balmer (R-Centennial), Sen. Kopp (R-Littleton)

Summary:

Establishes a commission to accept donations for the memorial and allows a designation line to appear on income tax return forms for donations to the memorial.

H.B. 1010 (PDF)

Title:

The Use Of Electronic Transfers In the Process

Sponsor:

Rep. Don Marostica (R-Loveland)

Summary:

Permits applications for search and arrest warrants to be transferred electronically. Allows courts to issue warrants electronically.

Rep. Marostica alluded to the warrant bill when he talked to Colorado Confidential in December.

Erin Rosa was born in Spain and raised in Colorado Springs. She is a freelance writer currently living in Denver. Rosa's work has been featured in a variety of news outlets including the Huffington Post, Democracy Now!, and the Rocky Mountain Chronicle, an alternative-weekly in Northern Colorado where she worked as a columnist covering the state legislature. Rosa has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists for her reporting on lobbying and woman's health issues. She was also tapped with a rare honorable mention award by the Newspaper Guild-CWA's David S. Barr Award in 2008--only the second such honor conferred in its nine-year history--for her investigative series covering the federal government's Supermax prison in the state. Rosa covers the labor community, corrections, immigration and government transparency matters. She can be reached at erosa@www.coloradoindependent.com.