House members gave final approval Monday to a controversial bill that would require businesses to offer parents unpaid leave time to attend their children's educational activities.

House Bill 1057 passed on a 35-30 vote, with Democratic Reps. Kathleen Curry of Gunnison, Joe Rice of Littleton and Sue Schafer of Wheat Ridge, joining all 27 Republicans in opposing it.

Sponsoring Rep. Andy Kerr, D-Lakewood, said the requirement to allow leave is vital especially to low-income parents working jobs that do not offer such benefits.

Republicans, however, called the measure intrusive and said leave is an issue that can be worked out between each business and employee rather than put into a uniform policy that must be followed by everyone.

The bill heads to the Senate.

Staff writer Berny Morson contributed to this report.

In other legislative action

* The House education committee rejected a bill to give students a vote on the Colorado State University Board of Governors.

HB 1177 by Rep. Randy Fischer, D-Fort Collins, went down 7-6.

Students currently have nonvoting members on the board of governors from the CSU campuses in Fort Collins and Pueblo. Faculty members from those campuses also sit with the board and do not vote.

Taylor Smoot, the Fort Collins student body president, told the committee that the people paying tuition should have a vote on the board.

But panel members noted that no other college includes students on their governing boards. They also wondered how the faculty representatives would feel if they were not given a vote, too.

* Lower-income residents of rural areas could buy limited-benefit insurance plans under a bill that received preliminary approval in the House.

Insurers already can offer individual plans that cover basic and preventive services but cap annual benefits. And health-maintenance organizations with significant financial backing can offer such plans to small businesses.

But smaller HMOs serving areas such as the San Luis Valley that have more uninsured residents cannot. House Bill 1143 by Rep. Spencer Swalm, R-Centennial, would change that.

Opponent Rep. Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, said the bill gives a "false sense of security" because it lets insurers cap benefits near $15,000 and not cover people in catastrophic situations, when they need health care most.

Eleven Democrats joined all 27 Republicans in backing it. It is scheduled for a final House vote today.

* The Senate delayed two contentious school-related bills for at least a day.

A bill by Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, requires school districts to post financial transactions online. It was slowed because of amendments.

A separate bill by Sen. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs, allows locals, rather than state workers, to inspect school construction projects. Unions oppose the measure, and King pushed his bill back to talk to contractors.

* The Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee killed two high-profile Republican bills.

Harvey's Senate Bill 28 would have limited the increase in the state's real estate license fees to no more than 20 percent a year - a sharp contrast to the 100 percent increases of 2008.

And Senate Bill 23 by Sen. Dave Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, would have required all employers to participate in a federal program to verify that potential workers are in the Unites States legally.

Democrats defeated both measures on 3-2 party-line votes.