Ellen Roberts
Encyclopedia
Ellen Stuart Roberts is an attorney and Republican legislator in the U.S. state
of Colorado
.
Raised in New York
, Roberts studied environmental policy at Cornell University
, graduating in 1981, and worked as a park ranger
before earning a law degree from the University of Colorado
in 1986. Settling in Durango, Colorado
with her husband and two children, she was actively involved in local health care issues and local public works
campaigns before running for the Colorado House of Representatives as a Republican in 2006. She was elected to represent House District 59, in southwestern Colorado
. In 2010, she was elected to represent Senate District 6 in the 2011 - 2014 sessions.
A moderate Republican, Roberts has focused on health care
, constitutional reform, judicial, and financial issues in the state legislature, and, despite being in the minority party, has seen almost all legislation she sponsored signed into law. She has also carried legislation to strengthen private property rights surrounding oil and gas drilling
, and to create a legislative youth advisory council
. She ran unopposed for a second term in 2008 and won election to the Colorado State Senate in 2010.
, Roberts was raised in Rhinebeck
, where she was elected class president in high school. She earned a self-designed undergraduate degree in environmental policy
from Cornell University
in 1981. During college, she spent a semester as an intern in Washington DC, working for her Congressional representative and for the Republican National Committee
. Despite an early desire to seek public office—she had once aspired to be Secretary of the Interior
or run the National Park Service
—the experience caused her to become disillusioned with politics.
She moved to Colorado upon graduation and worked as a ranger
in Rocky Mountain National Park
until 1984. In 1982, Roberts married; she and her husband, Rick, have two children: Caitlin and Ben, both of whom have attended Fort Lewis College
in Durango, Colorado.
After being hired by a law firm in Granby, Colorado
, Roberts returned to school to earn a J.D.
from the University of Colorado
in 1986. She worked as an attorney in private practice in Grandby and Hot Sulphur Springs
, specializing in estate
, probate
and business law.
A resident of Durango, Colorado
since 1989, she joined the Southwest Colorado Bar Association
in 1986 and served as its president, and as president of the Southwest Colorado Women's Bar Association. As an attorney, Roberts advocated for increased legal services for immigrants and Spanish-speakers in southwestern Colorado
Roberts began to re-enter politics after the death of her father in 1992, first focusing on hospice
and health care issues. As a member (since 1999) and later chairman of the board of Mercy Regional Medical Center, she pushed for the construction of a new hospital in Durango. She chaired Healthy 58, a rural health care task force, and in 2001, was appointed to the Task Force to Evaluate Health Care Needs for Colorado, a commission formed by the legislature to study health-care needs in rural Colorado communities; she coordinated the task force's meeting in Durango.
Roberts sat on the Sixth Judicial District Nominating Commission, and co-chaired the Durango Citizens Steering Committee for a New Library, a successful effort to push for a new local public library
that was eventually built on the site of Mercy Medical Center, the hospital Roberts had worked to help replace.
She was a member of the Citizens Health Advisory Council, the High Noon Rotary Club, and sat on the boards of First National Bank and the Community Foundation Serving Southwest Colorado. In 2004, she won the Durango Chamber of Commerce's Athena Award for professional women in business.
.
In December 2004, only a month after Larson was elected to his fourth and final term in the state house, Roberts filed for a 2006 candidacy to seek his seat. She announced her campaign formally in January 2005. She was endorsed by Larson, but initially faced a challenge for the Republican nomination from realtor Ron Tate, who was viewed as politically to her right. Tate later withdrew from the House primary to run for the Colorado State Senate, and Roberts won the Republican nomination unopposed.
During the general election campaign, Roberts emphasized her work on health care issues and her experience working with Representative Larson in the legislature, and criticized the passage of constitutional amendments creating conflicting fiscal obligations. Although both Roberts and her main opponent, Democrat Joe Colgan, signed a clean campaign pledge, controversy arose over advertisements run by outside sources. In particular, Roberts denounced as "misleading" and "unacceptable" a television advertisement criticizing Colgan's record as mayor of Durango. The ad, which was run by a political group associated with the Colorado Association of Home Builders, was later pulled off the air. Direct mail flyers sent by right-leaning outside groups during the last weeks of the campaign also misrepresented both candidates' stances on immigration, exaggerating the contrast between their positions.
In addition to her Democratic opponent, Roberts faced unaffiliated write-in candidate Christopher Navage. Navage withdrew from the race in October 2006 and endorsed Colgan. Roberts significantly outraised her opponents, donating over $8,000 to her own campaign, and ultimately winning the November 2006 general election with 52 percent of the vote.
, Roberts was a member of the House Health and Human Services Committee and the Joint Legal Services Committee, and was the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.
Roberts was one of the most successful Republican legislators at passing legislation through the Democrat-controlled legislature, and has been identified by media reports and commentators as a "standout" legislator and a potential candidate for higher office. She also organized bowling
outings for legislators during her first year in the legislature.
Roberts carried legislation which revised Colorado's surface rights laws, requiring oil and gas companies to minimize the impacts of drilling. The bill was weakened by lobbying from the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, but represented a breadth of reform that had failed to pass in previous legislative sessions.
During her first legislative session, Roberts also sponsored bills to revise the process by which special health care districts are created and to expand eligibility for Korean War
special license plates; she cosponsored legislation to fund study of methane seep in southwestern Colorado.
Her only unsuccessful bill was a measure to tighten the rules under which cigar bar
s could claim exemptions from Colorado's indoor smoking ban. After being killed in committee, the measure was revived in the Colorado Senate by Democrats, but was again unsuccessful.
Following the 2007 session, Roberts was named by House Republican leaders to the newly-formed Criminal and Juvenile Justice Commission. In November 2007, she was named a Legislator of Merit by the Colorado Behavioral Health Council. She joined with other Republicans to criticize an executive order issued by Gov. Bill Ritter
allowing collective bargaining with government employee unions as a betrayal of Ritter's promise of bipartisan cooperation on major issues.
She introduced eight bills during the session, all of which were passed by the legislature.
During the 2008 legislative session, Roberts introduced a bill, drafted and lobbied for by Colorado students, to create a legislative youth advisory council
. The bill stalled in the legislature until its minimal cost was approved by the House Appropriations Committee, after which it cleared both the House and Senate, and Gov. Bill Ritter
signed it into law. She was later appointed by Minority Leader Mike May to be one of the legislative members of the council.
Roberts introduced a bill which would grant advanced practice nurse
s power to sign off on additional medical forms, in response to shortages of doctors in portions of rural Colorado, a measure which garnered support from both nurses' and doctors' associations. In March, she backed a proposal to require that insurance companies offer low-cost health care benefit packages for Coloradoans, as part of a "public-private" plan towards achieving universal coverage. Roberts was the sponsor of a legislative resolution urging the Federal Communications Commission
to support including southwestern Colorado, including portions of her district, within the Denver
media market
, a resolution she introduced again in 2010.
Before the session began, Roberts had expressed interest in sponsoring legislation to revise the process by which the Colorado Constitution is amended through ballot measures, proposing that supermajority
popular votes be required to enact amendments. She proposed extending the public hearing process as a means of providing additional input on ballot measures, and, in February 2008, was appointed to a six-member legislative panel tasked with developing recommendations for constitutional reform. She was ultimately a cosponsor of the panel's proposal to create distinctions in the petition process between constitutional and statutory amendments,; the proposal which was referred by the legislature to voters and appearedn the November 2008 Colorado ballot as Referendum O. Roberts campaigned in support of Referendum O during the fall campaign.
Roberts was one of a few Republicans to back a measure to reform spending requirements in Colorado's state constitution. The proposal, which would have diverted excess revenues under TABOR
to K-12 education, was regarded as a sweeping revision to competing constitutional mandates; it was not passed by the General Assembly, but was advanced as a citizens' initiative.
Roberts did stand against some fellow Republicans by opposing Amendment 52, a ballot measure on the November ballot that would reallocate some severance tax
revenue from water projects to transportation. She also backed Republican presidential candidate John McCain
and spoke before McCain at an October rally in Durango, Colorado
.
Following her re-election, Roberts was nominated for the post of House Minority Caucus Chair, but lost the caucus' vote for the post to Rep. Amy Stephens
. After losing the vote, Roberts publicly lamented the lack of rural representation in legislative leadership and alleged that Republican lawmakers were threatened with primaries if they voted for her leadership bid.
During the 2009 session, Roberts sponsored several bills relating to juvenile criminal offenders, including legislation to allow more juveniles to have their criminal records expunged, and to allow young adults to serve sentences within the Youth Offender System instead of in regular jails. Roberts also sponsored legislation to make minor adjustment to the statutes concerning the Colorado Youth Advisory Council, legislation to create a regional self-insurance plan within the San Luis Valley, and legislation revising statutes surrounding end-of-life care.
services, and fought against cuts to the Native American tuition waiver program at Fort Lewis College
. Roberts was one of only three Republican House members to vote in support of Colorado's 2010 budget, after successfully sponsoring an amendment that removed restrictions on Fort Lewis College's ability to set its own out-of-state tuition rates.
With independent Rep. Kathleen Curry, Roberts had planned to introduce legislation to place a one year moratorium on new Colorado health insurance
mandates, as part of a proposal to overhaul the states insurance mandate commission. Although, at the start of the session, announced that their proposal would not include an immediate moratorium on insurance mandates, the legislation was killed on its first hearing in a House committee. Roberts also withdrew one of her proposals to continue a pilot program for training of Certified Nursing Assistants, on account of its cost. With general election opponent Sen. Bruce Whitehead
, Roberts sponsored a contentious piece of legislation, negotiated by Gov. Ritter's office, to require utilities to convert some Front Range
coal-fired power plants to natural gas
.
After Isgar resigned from the legislature in July 2009 to head the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development office in Colorado, Democrats appointed civil engineer Bruce Whitehead
to the seat; Whitehead declared his intention to run for a full term in 2010, setting up a race that Colorado Republicans view as one of their best opportunities to pick up a seat in the Democrat-controlled legislature.
Roberts' 2010 campaign for the Senate seat also faced a challenge in the Republican primary from former Norwood, Colorado
town marshal Dean Boehler, who campaigns as a self-described "true conservative;" Boehler received 67 percent of delegate votes at the Republican district assembly to Roberts' 33, earning him the top spot on the August primary ballot, above Roberts.
However, Roberts won the primary race with 54% of the vote and went on to win the election with 61% of the vote.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
.
Raised in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Roberts studied environmental policy at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, graduating in 1981, and worked as a park ranger
Park ranger
A park ranger or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Different countries use different names for the position. Ranger is the favored term in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Within the United...
before earning a law degree from the University of Colorado
University of Colorado School of Law
The University of Colorado Law School is one of the professional graduate schools within the University of Colorado System. It is a public law school, with more than 500 students attending and working toward a Juris Doctor or Master of Law. The Wolf Law Building Located in Boulder, Colorado, and...
in 1986. Settling in Durango, Colorado
Durango, Colorado
The City of Durango is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau said that the city population was 16,887 in 2010 census.-History:...
with her husband and two children, she was actively involved in local health care issues and local public works
Public works
Public works are a broad category of projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community...
campaigns before running for the Colorado House of Representatives as a Republican in 2006. She was elected to represent House District 59, in southwestern Colorado
Southwestern Colorado
Southwestern Colorado is a region in the southwest portion of Colorado. It is bordered by Western Colorado, Southern Colorado, the south portion of Central Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico.-Counties:*Alamosa County*Archuleta County*Conejos County*Dolores County...
. In 2010, she was elected to represent Senate District 6 in the 2011 - 2014 sessions.
A moderate Republican, Roberts has focused on health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
, constitutional reform, judicial, and financial issues in the state legislature, and, despite being in the minority party, has seen almost all legislation she sponsored signed into law. She has also carried legislation to strengthen private property rights surrounding oil and gas drilling
Oil well
An oil well is a general term for any boring through the earth's surface that is designed to find and acquire petroleum oil hydrocarbons. Usually some natural gas is produced along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce mainly or only gas may be termed a gas well.-History:The earliest...
, and to create a legislative youth advisory council
Youth Advisory Council
A Youth Advisory Council is a body of young people appointed by one or more governmental officials, institutions, or organizations to advise on issues of public policy or administrative actions which are felt to directly affect young people....
. She ran unopposed for a second term in 2008 and won election to the Colorado State Senate in 2010.
Early career
Born in Hudson, New YorkHudson, New York
Hudson is a city located along the west border of Columbia County, New York, United States. The city is named after the adjacent Hudson River and ultimately after the explorer Henry Hudson.Hudson is the county seat of Columbia County...
, Roberts was raised in Rhinebeck
Rhinebeck (village), New York
Rhinebeck is a village located in the Town of Rhinebeck in Dutchess County, New York, USA. The population was 2,657 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport,...
, where she was elected class president in high school. She earned a self-designed undergraduate degree in environmental policy
Environmental policy
Environmental policy is any [course of] action deliberately taken [or not taken] to manage human activities with a view to prevent, reduce, or mitigate harmful effects on nature and natural resources, and ensuring that man-made changes to the environment do not have harmful effects on...
from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1981. During college, she spent a semester as an intern in Washington DC, working for her Congressional representative and for the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
. Despite an early desire to seek public office—she had once aspired to be Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
or run the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
—the experience caused her to become disillusioned with politics.
She moved to Colorado upon graduation and worked as a ranger
Park ranger
A park ranger or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Different countries use different names for the position. Ranger is the favored term in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Within the United...
in Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park is a national park located in the north-central region of the U.S. state of Colorado.It features majestic mountain views, a variety of wildlife, varied climates and environments—from wooded forests to mountain tundra—and easy access to back-country trails...
until 1984. In 1982, Roberts married; she and her husband, Rick, have two children: Caitlin and Ben, both of whom have attended Fort Lewis College
Fort Lewis College
Fort Lewis College is a public liberal arts college in Durango, Colorado.-History:Military FortThe original site of Fort Lewis College began southwest of its present location back in 1880. Set up originally as a Military Fort for the 22nd Regimental Infantry which occupied the land from...
in Durango, Colorado.
After being hired by a law firm in Granby, Colorado
Granby, Colorado
The Town of Granby is a Statutory Town that is the most populous town in Grand County, Colorado, United States. Granby is situated along U.S. Highway 40 in Middle Park about west of Denver, Colorado, southwest of Rocky Mountain National Park...
, Roberts returned to school to earn a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from the University of Colorado
University of Colorado School of Law
The University of Colorado Law School is one of the professional graduate schools within the University of Colorado System. It is a public law school, with more than 500 students attending and working toward a Juris Doctor or Master of Law. The Wolf Law Building Located in Boulder, Colorado, and...
in 1986. She worked as an attorney in private practice in Grandby and Hot Sulphur Springs
Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado
The Town of Hot Sulphur Springs is a Statutory Town that is the county seat of Grand County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 521 at the U.S. Census 2000 and is at an elevation of 7,680 feet .-History:...
, specializing in estate
Estate (law)
An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...
, probate
Probate
Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person by resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under the valid will. A probate court decides the validity of a testator's will...
and business law.
A resident of Durango, Colorado
Durango, Colorado
The City of Durango is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau said that the city population was 16,887 in 2010 census.-History:...
since 1989, she joined the Southwest Colorado Bar Association
Bar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
in 1986 and served as its president, and as president of the Southwest Colorado Women's Bar Association. As an attorney, Roberts advocated for increased legal services for immigrants and Spanish-speakers in southwestern Colorado
Roberts began to re-enter politics after the death of her father in 1992, first focusing on hospice
Hospice
Hospice is a type of care and a philosophy of care which focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's symptoms.In the United States and Canada:*Gentiva Health Services, national provider of hospice and home health services...
and health care issues. As a member (since 1999) and later chairman of the board of Mercy Regional Medical Center, she pushed for the construction of a new hospital in Durango. She chaired Healthy 58, a rural health care task force, and in 2001, was appointed to the Task Force to Evaluate Health Care Needs for Colorado, a commission formed by the legislature to study health-care needs in rural Colorado communities; she coordinated the task force's meeting in Durango.
Roberts sat on the Sixth Judicial District Nominating Commission, and co-chaired the Durango Citizens Steering Committee for a New Library, a successful effort to push for a new local public library
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
that was eventually built on the site of Mercy Medical Center, the hospital Roberts had worked to help replace.
She was a member of the Citizens Health Advisory Council, the High Noon Rotary Club, and sat on the boards of First National Bank and the Community Foundation Serving Southwest Colorado. In 2004, she won the Durango Chamber of Commerce's Athena Award for professional women in business.
2006 election
As Representative Mark Larson neared the end of his term-limited tenure in the Colorado House of Representatives, Roberts began to work with him on learning the legislative process, in preparation for seeking elected office herself. She instigated a bill, introduced by Larson and eventually signed into law, to require that remains be handled in accordance with the wishes of the deceased. She lobbied the legislature, unsuccessfully, for the creation of an interim committee to study palliative carePalliative care
Palliative care is a specialized area of healthcare that focuses on relieving and preventing the suffering of patients...
.
In December 2004, only a month after Larson was elected to his fourth and final term in the state house, Roberts filed for a 2006 candidacy to seek his seat. She announced her campaign formally in January 2005. She was endorsed by Larson, but initially faced a challenge for the Republican nomination from realtor Ron Tate, who was viewed as politically to her right. Tate later withdrew from the House primary to run for the Colorado State Senate, and Roberts won the Republican nomination unopposed.
During the general election campaign, Roberts emphasized her work on health care issues and her experience working with Representative Larson in the legislature, and criticized the passage of constitutional amendments creating conflicting fiscal obligations. Although both Roberts and her main opponent, Democrat Joe Colgan, signed a clean campaign pledge, controversy arose over advertisements run by outside sources. In particular, Roberts denounced as "misleading" and "unacceptable" a television advertisement criticizing Colgan's record as mayor of Durango. The ad, which was run by a political group associated with the Colorado Association of Home Builders, was later pulled off the air. Direct mail flyers sent by right-leaning outside groups during the last weeks of the campaign also misrepresented both candidates' stances on immigration, exaggerating the contrast between their positions.
In addition to her Democratic opponent, Roberts faced unaffiliated write-in candidate Christopher Navage. Navage withdrew from the race in October 2006 and endorsed Colgan. Roberts significantly outraised her opponents, donating over $8,000 to her own campaign, and ultimately winning the November 2006 general election with 52 percent of the vote.
2007 legislative session
In the 2007 session of the Colorado General AssemblyColorado General Assembly
The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado.-Constitutional definition:The Colorado Constitution establishes a system of government based on the separation of powers doctrine with power divided among three "departments": executive, legislative and judicial...
, Roberts was a member of the House Health and Human Services Committee and the Joint Legal Services Committee, and was the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.
Roberts was one of the most successful Republican legislators at passing legislation through the Democrat-controlled legislature, and has been identified by media reports and commentators as a "standout" legislator and a potential candidate for higher office. She also organized bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
outings for legislators during her first year in the legislature.
Roberts carried legislation which revised Colorado's surface rights laws, requiring oil and gas companies to minimize the impacts of drilling. The bill was weakened by lobbying from the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, but represented a breadth of reform that had failed to pass in previous legislative sessions.
During her first legislative session, Roberts also sponsored bills to revise the process by which special health care districts are created and to expand eligibility for Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
special license plates; she cosponsored legislation to fund study of methane seep in southwestern Colorado.
Her only unsuccessful bill was a measure to tighten the rules under which cigar bar
Cigar bar
-History:While cigar bars have been around for years, interest in them developed in the 1990s when cities and government entities began instituting smoking bans but provided exceptions for establishments that catered to smokers.-Features:...
s could claim exemptions from Colorado's indoor smoking ban. After being killed in committee, the measure was revived in the Colorado Senate by Democrats, but was again unsuccessful.
Following the 2007 session, Roberts was named by House Republican leaders to the newly-formed Criminal and Juvenile Justice Commission. In November 2007, she was named a Legislator of Merit by the Colorado Behavioral Health Council. She joined with other Republicans to criticize an executive order issued by Gov. Bill Ritter
Bill Ritter (politician)
August William "Bill" Ritter is an American politician of the Democratic Party, and was the 41st Governor of the state of Colorado, from 2007 to 2011. Before his election in 2006, he served as the district attorney for Denver...
allowing collective bargaining with government employee unions as a betrayal of Ritter's promise of bipartisan cooperation on major issues.
2008 legislative session
In the 2008 session of the Colorado General Assembly, Roberts sat on the House Health and Human Services Committee and the House Judiciary Committee.She introduced eight bills during the session, all of which were passed by the legislature.
During the 2008 legislative session, Roberts introduced a bill, drafted and lobbied for by Colorado students, to create a legislative youth advisory council
Youth Advisory Council
A Youth Advisory Council is a body of young people appointed by one or more governmental officials, institutions, or organizations to advise on issues of public policy or administrative actions which are felt to directly affect young people....
. The bill stalled in the legislature until its minimal cost was approved by the House Appropriations Committee, after which it cleared both the House and Senate, and Gov. Bill Ritter
Bill Ritter (politician)
August William "Bill" Ritter is an American politician of the Democratic Party, and was the 41st Governor of the state of Colorado, from 2007 to 2011. Before his election in 2006, he served as the district attorney for Denver...
signed it into law. She was later appointed by Minority Leader Mike May to be one of the legislative members of the council.
Roberts introduced a bill which would grant advanced practice nurse
Advanced practice nurse
An advanced practice registered nurse is a nurse with advanced didactic and clinical education, knowledge, skills, and scope of practice in nursing....
s power to sign off on additional medical forms, in response to shortages of doctors in portions of rural Colorado, a measure which garnered support from both nurses' and doctors' associations. In March, she backed a proposal to require that insurance companies offer low-cost health care benefit packages for Coloradoans, as part of a "public-private" plan towards achieving universal coverage. Roberts was the sponsor of a legislative resolution urging the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
to support including southwestern Colorado, including portions of her district, within the Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
media market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
, a resolution she introduced again in 2010.
Before the session began, Roberts had expressed interest in sponsoring legislation to revise the process by which the Colorado Constitution is amended through ballot measures, proposing that supermajority
Supermajority
A supermajority or a qualified majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level or type of support which exceeds a simple majority . In some jurisdictions, for example, parliamentary procedure requires that any action that may alter the rights of the minority has a supermajority...
popular votes be required to enact amendments. She proposed extending the public hearing process as a means of providing additional input on ballot measures, and, in February 2008, was appointed to a six-member legislative panel tasked with developing recommendations for constitutional reform. She was ultimately a cosponsor of the panel's proposal to create distinctions in the petition process between constitutional and statutory amendments,; the proposal which was referred by the legislature to voters and appearedn the November 2008 Colorado ballot as Referendum O. Roberts campaigned in support of Referendum O during the fall campaign.
Roberts was one of a few Republicans to back a measure to reform spending requirements in Colorado's state constitution. The proposal, which would have diverted excess revenues under TABOR
Tábor
Tábor is a city of the Czech Republic, in the South Bohemian Region. It is named after Mount Tabor, which is believed by many to be the place of the Transfiguration of Christ; however, the name became popular and nowadays translates to "camp" or "encampment" in the Czech language.The town was...
to K-12 education, was regarded as a sweeping revision to competing constitutional mandates; it was not passed by the General Assembly, but was advanced as a citizens' initiative.
2008 election
Roberts was renominated by the Republican Party for a second term in the state house; she faced no challengers either in the Republican primary or in the general election.Roberts did stand against some fellow Republicans by opposing Amendment 52, a ballot measure on the November ballot that would reallocate some severance tax
Severance tax
Severance taxes are incurred when non-renewable natural resources are separated from a taxing jurisdiction. Industries that typically incur such taxes are oil and gas, coal, mining, and timber industries....
revenue from water projects to transportation. She also backed Republican presidential candidate John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
and spoke before McCain at an October rally in Durango, Colorado
Durango, Colorado
The City of Durango is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau said that the city population was 16,887 in 2010 census.-History:...
.
Following her re-election, Roberts was nominated for the post of House Minority Caucus Chair, but lost the caucus' vote for the post to Rep. Amy Stephens
Amy Stephens
Amy Stephens is a Colorado legislator. Elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Republican in 2006, Stephens represents House District 20, which covers northern El Paso County, Colorado, including portions of Colorado Springs and the areas surrounding the United States Air Force Academy...
. After losing the vote, Roberts publicly lamented the lack of rural representation in legislative leadership and alleged that Republican lawmakers were threatened with primaries if they voted for her leadership bid.
2009 legislative session
For the 2009 legislative session, Roberts was named to seats on the House Health and Human Services Committee and the House Judiciary Committee, where she was the ranking Republican member. Roberts was also named, at the start of the legislative session, to a Republican task force charged with making recommendations on resolving the state's projected budget shortfall. In 2009, Roberts also sat on the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice and co-chaired the Colorado Youth Advisory Council.During the 2009 session, Roberts sponsored several bills relating to juvenile criminal offenders, including legislation to allow more juveniles to have their criminal records expunged, and to allow young adults to serve sentences within the Youth Offender System instead of in regular jails. Roberts also sponsored legislation to make minor adjustment to the statutes concerning the Colorado Youth Advisory Council, legislation to create a regional self-insurance plan within the San Luis Valley, and legislation revising statutes surrounding end-of-life care.
2010 legislative session
Following the 2009 legislative session, Roberts sat on an interim committee dealing with hospice and palliative care issues, and carried legislation originating from that committee during the 2010 session, including two bills that clarified policies surrounding end-of-life care and advance directives. Other legislation that Roberts carried in 2010 included a bill to allow voluntary income tax contributions to support 2-1-12-1-1
2-1-1 is a special abbreviated telephone number reserved in Canada and the United States as an easy-to-remember three-digit telephone number meant to provide quick information and referrals to health and human service organizations.-United States:...
services, and fought against cuts to the Native American tuition waiver program at Fort Lewis College
Fort Lewis College
Fort Lewis College is a public liberal arts college in Durango, Colorado.-History:Military FortThe original site of Fort Lewis College began southwest of its present location back in 1880. Set up originally as a Military Fort for the 22nd Regimental Infantry which occupied the land from...
. Roberts was one of only three Republican House members to vote in support of Colorado's 2010 budget, after successfully sponsoring an amendment that removed restrictions on Fort Lewis College's ability to set its own out-of-state tuition rates.
With independent Rep. Kathleen Curry, Roberts had planned to introduce legislation to place a one year moratorium on new Colorado health insurance
Health insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
mandates, as part of a proposal to overhaul the states insurance mandate commission. Although, at the start of the session, announced that their proposal would not include an immediate moratorium on insurance mandates, the legislation was killed on its first hearing in a House committee. Roberts also withdrew one of her proposals to continue a pilot program for training of Certified Nursing Assistants, on account of its cost. With general election opponent Sen. Bruce Whitehead
Bruce Whitehead
Bruce Whitehead is a legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. Appointed to the Colorado State Senate as a Democrat in 2009, Whitehead represents Senate District 6, which covers much of south-western Colorado, encompassing Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, San Juan, and San...
, Roberts sponsored a contentious piece of legislation, negotiated by Gov. Ritter's office, to require utilities to convert some Front Range
Front Range
The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the north-central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountered moving west along the 40th parallel north across...
coal-fired power plants to natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
.
2010 election
In June 2009, Roberts announced her intention to seek the Colorado State Senate seat held by term-limited Democratic Sen. Jim Isgar in the 2010 legislative elections. Senate District 6 spans a broad stretch of southwestern Colorado, including Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, San Juan, and San Miguel counties, which includes the communities of Dolores, Telluride, and Montrose, in addition to Roberts' previous house district.After Isgar resigned from the legislature in July 2009 to head the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development office in Colorado, Democrats appointed civil engineer Bruce Whitehead
Bruce Whitehead
Bruce Whitehead is a legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. Appointed to the Colorado State Senate as a Democrat in 2009, Whitehead represents Senate District 6, which covers much of south-western Colorado, encompassing Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, San Juan, and San...
to the seat; Whitehead declared his intention to run for a full term in 2010, setting up a race that Colorado Republicans view as one of their best opportunities to pick up a seat in the Democrat-controlled legislature.
Roberts' 2010 campaign for the Senate seat also faced a challenge in the Republican primary from former Norwood, Colorado
Norwood, Colorado
Norwood is a Statutory Town in San Miguel County, Colorado, United States. The population was 438 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Norwood is located at ....
town marshal Dean Boehler, who campaigns as a self-described "true conservative;" Boehler received 67 percent of delegate votes at the Republican district assembly to Roberts' 33, earning him the top spot on the August primary ballot, above Roberts.
However, Roberts won the primary race with 54% of the vote and went on to win the election with 61% of the vote.