The Colorado senate is considering a bill described as "an act for nondiscrimination in determining the amount paid for higher education."

Plain and simple, it would allow a person, regardless of immigration status, to pay in-state college tuition.

The bill is much like Nebraska's so-called dream act, that has been challenged in the past two years.

Reports say the bill, introduced Feb. 3, has a good chance of passing this year because some leading Republican conservatives are supporting it.

Republican businessman Alex Cranberg supports the bill, he said in a Face the State radio interview. He said economists warn that the recession could be made worse by protectionism and nationalist tendencies, as opposed to looking at the benefits gained by free trade and the free movement of people.

It would help ensure Colorado has a more developed workforce down the road, said Republican Dick Montfort, vice chairman of the Colorado Rockies and a college board of trustees member.

Sen. Dave Schultheis, a Colorado Springs Republican, told the Rocky Mountain News that probably 85 percent of Colorado citizens would be opposed to such a measure.

"We're supposed to be representing the people of Colorado," he was quoted as saying. "What are we doing running bills they don't want?"

A capitol e-newsletter says the bill joins other pending legislation that would allow in-state tuition for all veterans and for children of parents who move to Colorado to take a job.

The Great Recession

Gene Koepke, a member of the state's economic forecasting board, wasn't able to attend Friday's meeting, where the board reduced its expectations. Several board members said they echoed Koepke's pessimism, apparent in a letter read into the record of the meeting.

"In terms of the national economy, I have not seen anything approaching the current mess in my lifetime. This is now being called the Great Recession and that seems to fit our circumstances pretty well."

"The depth of this recession caught me off guard as did the quickness of its arrival. Bad news follows bad news to the point that it is difficult to anticipate what is next.

"Without a doubt the recession will end in a technical sense, but much damage has been done to faith in our financial system, our equities markets and the housing markets. There is more than enough grief to go around and more than enough blame to be shared."

On the good news side, Koepke said that reduced fuel prices mean people are spending less on driving. Federal withholding rates have been adjusted. Houses are being refinanced at some of the lowest rates in history. All this is giving some families more disposable income.

He concluded:

"The pessimist will surely say, 'Well, people are scared so they will simply save the money and not spend it.' Last year we all worried that consumer debt was out of control.

"Go figure."

Let me die bracelet

There are medical alert bracelets for many disorders - for people with diabetes, food allergies, asthma, autism, breathing disorders, seizures.

Now Sen. Bill Avery has proposed a bracelet for people who don't want to be resuscitated if they stop breathing or their heart stops beating, a No Code bracelet.

These bracelets, with the words "Comfort One," are already legal in several states in the independent west - Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Alaska.

This is a new way for people to direct their health care and provide notice of their wishes to health care providers, said former Sen. Bob Wickersham about the bill (LB452).

The current practice, with living wills and durable powers of attorneys, provide pieces of paper that are probably in someone's file. The bracelet and simpler paperwork give notice in emergency situations that you have a specific wish about your care, Wickersham said.

Senators on the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee held a public hearing on the bill last week.

For more on the Comfort One bracelets: wdh.state.wy.us/sho/comfortone/index.html

Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com. Reach JoAnne Young at 473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com.