The Senate cushioned a suspension in the enterprise zone tax credit that softens the blow for Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel in Pueblo, The Pueblo Chieftain reports.

On his last day in the Legislature, term-limited Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, changed his vote from earlier this week, but only because the impact on the mill was lessened by the amendment, and his shift led to the passage of HB1200 by one vote — 18-17.

Originally, the bill temporarily capped enterprise zone tax credits at $250,000. The steel mill claims $595,000 annually, according to state documents.

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The Pueblo Chieftain: With just a few hours left before the end of the 2010 session Wednesday, the Colorado Legislature approved a measure temporarily capping enterprise zone credits. But that didn’t happen before lawmakers made one final change to House Bill 1200. Instead of imposing a three-year cap of those credits at $250,000 a year, a move that would have affected about 30 of the 5,500 businesses located inside enterprise zones, the cap was doubled.