The same group that fought for the passage of Referendum C and against Douglas Bruce’s “Ugly Three” is back again this election cycle, this time to fight oil and gas initiatives that could be on the November ballot.

Coloradans for Responsible Reform boasts about its bi-partisan pedigree. The group includes former Interior Secretary and Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar, a Democrat; Greeley Mayor Tom Norton, a Republican who formerly served as president of the Colorado Senate; and Kelly Brough, president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

It opposes 12 proposed ballot measures dealing with energy.

“These anti-business measures would cripple Colorado’s energy sector, wrecking our economy and killing jobs,” Brough said in a news release. “Colorado businesses, labor organizations, non-profits and civic groups recognize what will happen to Colorado if energy development is banned and are committed to defeating any ballot measures that are de facto bans.”

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In the first year of civil unions in Colorado, 2,322 couples (and counting) have obtained licenses under the state’s new designation.

That number, provided by William Porter from the Denver clerk and recorder’s office, includes 859 civil union licenses issued in Denver County, which dwarfs numbers in other counties. (Update: Porter obtained that tally by surveying other counties. The Colorado Department of Public Health said its official figures show 1,918 civil unions through March 31; the state is still processing reports from counties for April.)

Colorado’s civil unions law took effect May 1, 2013, and on Thursday, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and Clerk and Recorder Debra Johnson will lead a reception commemorating the first anniversary. The event, which also will include gay-rights advocacy group One Colorado, is set for 10 a.m. at the clerk’s office, on the first floor of the Webb Building, 201 W. Colfax Ave.

Johnson, in a news release, called the law, which allows civil unions for same-sex and opposite-sex couples, “a victory for all Colorado families who now have the tools to protect themselves.” Said Hancock: “May 1 marks one year since Colorado showed that we are a state that champions equality, inclusivity and justice for people who live here.” The law grants couples many but not all of the benefits and protections of a civil marriage.

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The House of Representatives Wednesday unanimously re-passed a bill based on Jessica’s Law; however, as was the case when the measure was initially debated in the chamber, Republicans were sharply critical of the proposed law.

Passed in Florida in 2005, Jessica’s Law, named after Jessica Lunsford, a 10-year-old girl who was raped and murdered by a repeat sex offender, creates mandatory minimum sentences for those convicted of crimes against children. In Colorado, initial debate on the bill was partially based on who deserved credit for bringing it to the House — Democrat Mike Foote of Lafayette, the sponsor, or Libby Szabo, R-Arvada, who had crafted a similar bill that was rejected in committee.

On Wednesday, House Republicans got a second bite of the apple as it considered a Senate amendment to the bill which dealt with future funding, removing language it felt was unnecessary. That gave the GOP the chance to again question how strong the law would be.

The Senate amendment, Szabo said, “turns the bill into one that does absolutely nothing to protect our children.” Rep. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs, added, “The timidity of this bill should be embarrassing to everyone here…we could do so much more.”

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A pop quiz from an alert Spot reader: “What do President Obama and Scott Renfroe have in common? Websites that don’t work.”

Renfroe, a Weld County state senator, is one of four Republicans running for the congressional seat now held by Republican Cory Gardner. If you go to Renfroe’s website and sign up to receive e-mail updates from his campaign, you’ll get this response thanking you for signing up:

Dick Durbin has served as a rubber stamp vote for the Obama Administration, and we have him to thank for the disastrous legislation like Obamacare.

Today, thanks to your help, we have an opportunity to once and for all retire Durbin.

I appreciate your support and look forward to the campaign ahead.

Doug Truax

Said Renfroe: “I guess I need to call somebody and get some things fixed.”

Apparently Renfroe uses the same company as Truax, a U.S. Senate candidate from Illinois.

Coloradans convicted of a marijuana offense that would have been legal had Amendment 64 been in place could petition to have their records sealed under a bipartisan proposal unveiled Tuesday evening in the state Senate.

Senate Bill 218, which was granted late bill status and comes with just days until the 2014 session concludes, would allow residents to file a petition with district courts to have their records sealed — a move, say some lawmakers and pot advocates, that could impact thousands of residents.

“There are tens of thousands of people with previous cannabis offenses that hurt them from getting things like loans, housing and employment,” Jason Warf, a marijuana advocate and director of Colorado Springs Medical Cannabis Council, told The Post late last week.

Amendment 64 went into effect in December 2012 and allows for the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for Coloradans age 21 and over. Moreover, it allows for adults to grow and cultivate their own marijuana.

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Sometimes, a political leader speaking off the cuff delivers a beauty of a metaphor. On Tuesday, while speaking to the media about a package of measures meant to crack down on problems at Washington Park, Denver City Councilman Chris Nevitt managed to mix metaphors in one heck of a sentence.

He was talking about tension between Wash Park neighbors and park users who were exhibiting drunken behavior, crowding the park or raising too much ruckus in other ways.

Said Nevitt: “We’ve been trying to thread the needle between having Washington Park be the living room for the entire city to come and enjoy themselves and not have that living room trashed for the people who actually live in the bedroom right next door.”

Got that? Nevitt went on to praise Mayor Michael Hancock for getting involved in the issue. “We’ve got to invest more resources. We have to invest more effort. We’ve got to be more creative,” Nevitt said. “And so the commitment on the mayor’s part really helped us embrace more complicated and complex solutions.”

A total alcohol ban for Washington Park is off the table, for now, but Denver parks officials and police plan to issue more citations and clamp down on misbehavior in other ways starting Memorial Day weekend.

Users of one of the city’ s largest and most popular parks will still be allowed to consume 3.2 percent beer under the decision, confirmed to The Denver Post on Tuesday by Denver Parks and Recreation spokesman Jeff Green. The decision ends a discussion set off by City Councilman Chris Nevitt’s suggestion of a full alcohol ban in a letter to parks officials on March 13.

Among the measures that will be coming are a “drop-in” permit system for volleyball and other organized activities on weekends and holidays, another attempt to increase enforcement and making bathrooms available for extended hours.

“This has been a joint effort to solve a variety of pressing issues,” Mayor Michael Hancock said in a statement provided by Green. “We are committed to delivering a better experience for all of Denver’s residents who enjoy Washington Park’s amenities as well as for our residents who live next door to the park.”

Nevitt had cited Washington Park neighbors’ complaints about public drunkenness and other nuisance problems in pushing for the alcohol ban. In recent years, increased enforcement efforts had failed to alleviate those problems.

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Lost in the slew of polls released last week about Colorado’s U.S. Senate race is one ranking that showed libertarian and humorist Gaylon Kent of Steamboat Springs received 7 percent of the vote.

That’s not enough to win, but if the race between Democrat Mark Udall and Republican Cory Gardner is as close as all the polls suggest, every vote will count.

The poll that included Kent was conducted by Fabrizio, Lee & Associates for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Other polls have not included him.

Libertarians have broken Colorado Republicans’ hearts in recent elections, costing them close races they believe they would have won had a libertarian not been in the race.

Kent, 48, who drives an armored truck for Brinks, said liberty will be the focus of his campaign.

“Liberty is what made this country great, and liberty will make us great again,” Kent said. “Liberty is the solution to every problem this nation faces. Government exists to provide for the liberty of its citizens and liberty is the solution to every problem this nation faces.”

Kent, who originally from Los Angeles, has lived in Steamboat Springs since 2011. He currently is on hiatus from writing the Daily Dose and Bottom Ten columns, according to his bio.