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or .t. ", . COLORADO INFORJ 'ATION NE"rSLETTER Vol. 16, No.7 . . 31? 17th strAet Denver 2, Colorado. FebruaF] 18, 1954. ;.po '1-/ Dear Subscriber: Co1orado1s Second Session, 39th General Assembly adjourned last week following 39 da;{s of in-Hossion time. Crall1l'lled into t;.l-Je last few clays was the major part of the most important and controversial of tJw bills and issues the legislature was called on to face. Jettisoned IT&S a large share of Governor Thornton's ,program. Governor Thornton hi~self said in his Closing messa~e to the combineo. houses that he felt much as he did when as a college all star football player he had faced Bl'onko ;,Tagur'~ki a1 d the profession- als -. the next morning, I'8,ther steamrollered c.nd beat. He promisee' the legislaturo that during the next 10 days to two weeks following adjournment, he wi th his ndvisoI'S and party heads would carefully review all the legislation that had been passed, as well as the issues that had not beoa acted upon, and would then fllnl,e known his views and recommendations. A suecl.al session of the legislature, perhaps in June was freely predi~ted. It \':0,:3 not !l..'1tj,cipat$d that S1.:Cll. would be called l'ight aWay. Much post-sessl.on criticism has bgen levelled nt the Senate's commUtee system wi1.ich effectively Idlled two key points of the Governor's program--the withholding tax prOVision, and the referral to popUlar vote of the removal of tho tax,on household gonds. Senate Finance Committee, of which Senator Roy ChrYsler is. chairman, a~d Judici~~y Conmdttee, of wh~ch Senator William Carlson is head, reported lack of cOl11m~.ttee time to bl'ing these issues to the Senate floor. Both measures had received the enthusiastic approval of the House, and strong words of arbitrary and capricious action were levelled at the Judiciary COllllllittea for ~,ts act:lon b" Representative Palmer Burch, prime mOV'lr of the me8.sure concerning household goods. This tax has beon freely described in all quarters ~ the state e:s_obnoxious. a nUisunce, and non-product:!. ve of income to the 3tate since the administrative expense of collectin~ the tax outwei~hs the revenue to the state in many cases. Senator' Curlson was Rccused of changin~ the Senate rules while the session w~,s goinr.; on, and subsoo,uently thp. measure 'was:..referrod to his comnlittee, where, it was said, it was not brought up for comuittee action. It had been one of the most popular measureS in ti18 House. Senator Vernon Cheever's attempts on the floor of the Senate to blast th~ withholding tax bill out of the:' 'Finance CommHtee onto the floOI' failed. Committee Chairman Chry~ler srotid t"I!l.t several votes had been taken in committee, and each had failed to produce the numbers neces:>al'y to bring the bill out. This bill would have Jevi.ed a w:i.thholding tax of 5% of the fed- eral. It was aimed at i tine:':m t and m~.~r[mt workers who now through failure to file a return escape paying tho s tate tax. Some sentiment had been el'(!Jresf\ecJ that it would be an added burden to the sp.\all businC'ssman to',be responstule for calculat:l,nl'.: and retuning this tax. , 2599 .