OWENS MAKES BILLS OFFICIAL

DENVER -- New state laws will put further restrictions on government
condemnation of private property and on private toll-road projects,
under a pair of measures Gov. Bill Owens OK'd on Tuesday.

Another bill that Owens signed into law Tuesday will mean stiffer
fines for motorists caught using electronic devices illegally to
ensure they'll get green traffic lights, while a fourth contains a
number of provisions targeting methamphetamine abuse.

After Owens signed at least 17 bills on Tuesday morning, he had fewer
than 10 remaining measures left to act on from the 2006 legislative
session that concluded May 8.

Today is the final day for the governor to sign or veto any of those
remaining bills or to let them become law without his signature.

Among those he signed Tuesday morning were:

House Bill 1411, which is intended to prevent governments from using
their eminent-domain powers to condemn private property for the sole
purpose of turning it over to another private owner for
economic-development project, or for the sole purpose of increasing
that government's tax base.

House Bill 1003, which imposes new environmental-assessment and
transportation-planning requirements on companies proposing to build
and operate private toll highways.

House Bill 1406, a bill stemming from a Longmont motorist's $50
ticket. The measure will double the fine and surcharge -- taking it
from $57.80 to $115.60 -- for anyone illegally using an electronic
device to change a traffic light. The bill also provides a mandatory
$1,000 fine when illegal use of such a traffic-control device results
in an injury accident.

House Bill 1145, which places further state restrictions on the
retail of cold medicine and other over-the-counter medications that
contain chemicals that can be used in the production of
methamphetamine, including a prohibition against selling such
medicine to anyone under age 18. The bill also makes it a felony
crime of child abuse, punishable by prison, for a parent or guardian
to take a child to a location where someone is manufacturing meth.

House Bill 1054, which creates a $2 million state HIV and AIDS
Prevention Grant Program, with the money to be awarded on a
competitive basis to address local community needs in prevention and
educational efforts.

Senate Bill 63, which establishes stricter state oversight procedures
for state computer systems that cost more than $5 million or that
take multiple years to put into service. The measure provides funding
for three additional Office of Information Technology employees to
assist state agencies with managing those computer projects.