DENVER - For Rep. Don Coram, 2013 was a paradoxical year in the Legislature - a personal success, but a disaster for his party.
The Montrose Republican, whose district includes Montezuma County, passed bills on forest health and hemp regulation, among others. His party saw defeats on renewable energy mandates, elections reform and guns.
"For rural Colorado, I don't think it was a good year," Coram said.
But Coram finished the annual session, which wrapped up last Wednesday, with a 9-6 record on his own legislation, despite being in the minority.
"Personally, I had a great year. I passed a lot of legislation this year," Coram said.
He was far less successful when he helped lead the debate for Republicans against a mandate for Tri-State Generation and Transmission to use more renewable energy. He gave a passionate speech to the House about his fear that the bill would all but kill the town of Nucla by forcing a shutdown of its coal mine and power plant.
"Tri-State has said that's probably the first thing to go," Coram said.
The bill calls for 20 percent of Tri-State's power to come from renewable energy by 2020 - double the current standard.
"I'm all for renewable energy. I'm an all-of-the-above guy. But I think we're setting a time frame that we can't meet," Coram said.
Coram's fellow Southwest Colorado representative, Durango Democrat Mike McLachlan, thinks Coram and other rural Republicans overstated their constituents' opposition to wind, solar and biomass power.
"They didn't hear one person ever speak for renewable energy. If they did, they didn't want to hear it," McLachlan said.
Still, the Southwest Colorado lawmakers worked together a lot on rural issues. They co-sponsored bills on forest health and an update of the law that creates the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs.
"I like Don Coram a lot. Obviously, he and I have virtually opposite political perspectives," McLachlan said. "We were able on the (House) Agriculture Committee to work together on every Western Slope bill."
Coram's first four House bills either failed or he withdrew them. They dealt with the use of gas and oil water for dust suppression, waste tires, exempting heavy trucks from daily fees on vehicle rentals, and additional review by the Legislature of rules adopted by state agencies.
Coram thinks he can make progress on the first three issues without sponsoring new bills. He presented the last bill as a statement against heavy-handed rules by state agencies - a long-standing Republican complaint.
After early setbacks in the House, he hit his stride later in the session. Coram was a favorite partner for Senate Democrats looking to pass their bills with bipartisan support.
He carried a Senate bill that allow farmers to grow hemp with state permission and regulation. He also sponsored three Senate bills to add $10 million in wildfire prevention grants, give companies incentives to use dead trees to generate electricity and heat, and allow the state to pick up more of the cost of early attacks on wildfires.
Also, he was one of four sponsors of a bill requiring police officer training for dealing with dogs, in the hopes of reducing the number of dog shootings by police. Gov. John Hickenlooper signed the bill into law Monday.
Coram's biggest surprise came the last day, when the House passed his resolution opposing endangered species status for the Gunnison sage grouse. As a resolution, it doesn't carry the force of law, but it could put pressure on federal wildlife officials.
Still, it's the renewable energy mandate that sticks out as his biggest letdown and the topic he will work on next year.
"That's probably my number one agenda for next year," Coram said. "Sometimes the pendulum swings too far in one way, and then it comes back."
