Some state lawmakers are promoting a half dozen bills they say should make life somewhat easier for Colorado's active-duty servicemen and veterans alike. That's obviously a worthy goal, and four of these proposals deserve support. Unfortunately, a couple of them miss the mark and should be defeated.

House Bill 1149, which is sponsored by Rep. Joe Rice, D-Littleton, would make it easier for members of the military on duty overseas both to register and apply for absentee ballots. It's now in conference committee.

House Bill 1163, by Republican Rep. Frank McNulty of Highlands Ranch, would make members of the armed forces, or their dependents, eligible for in-state tuition when they are transferred to Colorado on temporary duty. It would also give all members of the Colorado National Guard and their dependents in-state tuition status.

The bill, now in the House Appropriations Committee, would cost the state a modest $152,000.

Majority Leader Alice Madden's House Bill 1253, which cleared both houses and is headed for the governor's desk, would prohibit insurance companies from denying health or accident coverage solely because the applicant is in the armed services. That's perfectly reasonable, and there is no fiscal impact on the state.

Senate Bill 30, by freshman Democrat Chris Romer of Denver, would require the state to reimburse national guardsmen for their share of the premiums for extra life insurance when they're on active duty. Estimated cost to the state: about $94,500 a year. It is sitting in Senate Appropriations.

Now for the two stinkers.

HB 1275, also sponsored by Rice, is advertised as part of the package, but has nothing to do with helping vets. It would enable the Colorado National Guard to share in the booty when it's involved in drug raids with other law enforcement agencies.

Even though the guard helps in raids now - it might provide a helicopter, say - it can't share in the forfeited property because it's not a designated law enforcement agency under state law. This bill would change that.

The bill passed the House 64-1 and is in a Senate committee. We've long been bothered by law enforcement's eagerness to seize goods from alleged offenders even before convictions have been obtained. Not only have forfeiture laws been abused, they create potentially dangerous incentives for law enforcement. Why should the guard join in the treasure hunt?

Finally, Senate Bill 146, by Democratic Sen. John Morse of Colorado Springs, would appropriate $300,000 for a pilot program for mental health services in El Paso County for the families of recently discharged veterans. Families may well be as entitled to mental health services as the veterans themselves, but it's the federal government's war, not Colorado's. The states need not relieve the federal government of the burden it has brought on itself. The bill in is Senate Appropriations.

Legislation advertised to help veterans tends to glide through the General Assembly without serious scrutiny - and we understand why, given the gratitude lawmakers feel toward them. But legislators have a duty to apply the same standards to veterans' bills that they apply to other legislation, and to defeat those that fail that test.