A proposal to guarantee that unions could continue to collect dues from state workers — no matter who is elected as the next governor — was killed by its Democratic sponsor Tuesday after Republicans threatened a filibuster, The Denver Post reports.

The amendment’s death averted what likely would have been a nasty partisan feud in the waning hours of the session, which ends today. The amendment to House Bill 1181, dealing with the state personnel system, would have codified into a law a 2007 executive order from Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat. That order reversed a 2001 executive order from Republican Gov. Bill Owens that prohibited paycheck deductions for union dues.