Divided Colorado Legislature wraps year of scant agreement

A politically divided legislature and an election year to boot. That’s a recipe for Colorado lawmakers to do just short of nothing about the state’s most urgent priorities this year – a scarcity of affordable housing and near-stagnant funding for underfunded K-12 schools, roads and higher education.

The 120-day 2016 session that ended Wednesday turned out as expected. Democrats who control the House pushed some social programs, defended others like abortion, and tried to loosen constitutional tax-and-spend restraints called the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR.

Republicans who lead the Senate rebuffed the tax effort.

Lawmakers did agree on some priorities, including a measure to allow full-strength beer in grocery stores by 2037. They also passed a bill ensuring that young medical marijuana patients can take their medicine at school.