Beginning July 1, trailers tagging along behind the family vehicle or farm truck are carrying a slightly lighter load. That’s because people who register their non-motorized vehicles—primarily trailers– past their registration deadlines will pay lower penalties under two new laws that just took effect.
The measures signed into law by Gov. Bill Ritter scale back mandatory late fees that had been imposed on non-motorized vehicles under a sweeping transportation measure enacted last year. That law–called FASTER, or “Funding Advancements for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery”–raises $250 million a year through wide-ranging fee hikes on Colorado motorists.
The newly revised late fees on trailers are now capped at a modest $10, rather than the $25-$100 late fee that had been in effect since last year.
After hearing from his rural southwestern Colorado constituents who were reeling from sticker shock after being hit with late fees in addition to the higher registration fee collected under FASTER, Sen. Bruce Whitehead, D-Hesperus, said he decided to do something about it.
“I had heard from a number of constituents that the late fees were a problem for them, especially those who don’t use their trailers on a regular basis and they seemed very concerned,” said Whitehead. “I wanted to reduce the impact of the fees for a lot of my constituents.”
The duties of a senator continue well beyond the session, and it has been great to be out in the district meeting with constituents in all eight counties...
I recently was appointed chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. I also am a member of the Inter-Basin Compact Committee and serve as a board member on the Colorado Foundation for Water Education.
... Thanks for all of your positive comments about this column, and I hope to see you in the district during the next few months. I value your input. I wish you a safe Fourth of July weekend as we celebrate our country's independence.
The laws requiring the new rules are just two of the several dozen state statutes that go into effect on July 1, the first day of the new fiscal year for state government. An even larger swath of laws passed during 2010 takes effect on Aug. 11, which marks 90 days since the closing of the legislative session.
The requirement to cover applied behavior analysis and autism spectrum disorders actually passed during the 2009 session but had a delayed implementation date in order to give insurance companies time to adjust for the new mandate. Senate Bill 09-244, sponsored by Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, excludes state employee health plans and health plans administered by institutions of higher education from the mandate.
DENVER - Colorado lawmakers hope a new law will help both homeowners and homeowners associations avoid disputes that could land them in court.
House Bill 1278 will create an office inside the state's Division of Real Estate to provide basic information to both parties about their rights and responsibilities in the process.
"The law is not easy to find your way through and read, so we want a very consumer-friendly, user-friendly tool," Sen. Morgan Carroll (D-Aurora), who was the Senate sponsor of the measure, said. "The goal of that is to actually help prevent problems, acrimony, tension. The best and cheapest way is preventing problems in the first place."
The measure also calls for all of the HOAs in Colorado to register. Advocates for HOAs say they are often asked about their numbers and cannot answer definitively. The current assumption is that there are roughly 12,000 HOAs and 1.5 million Coloradans who live in them, but those are just assumptions. Each HOA will pay $15 to $20 to staff the state office.
Two state legislators whose districts include the Roaring Fork Valley both received a perfect score in voting on bills during the 2010 session that promoted conservation efforts, according to the Colorado Conservation Voters annual legislative scorecard released last week.
District 5 state Sen. Gail Schwartz,D-Snowmass Village, and District 61 Rep. Kathleen Curry, an independent House member from Gunnison, earned a score of 100 percent when it came to what the CCV referred to as “pro-environment” voting on a variety of bills this session.
Schwartz has a career score of 100 percent in her conservation voting in this and past sessions, while Curry has scored 96 percent during her three terms, according to the organization.
Among the 13 bills included in the scorecard were ones related to water efficiency, preservation of agricultural lands, renewable energy financing, green jobs training, wildlife protections and increased accountability for polluters.
“Legislators passed 34 bills that make Colorado a leader not only in the West but nationally on conservation issues,” Pete Maysmith, executive director of CCV, said in a press release. “These and other precedent-setting bills not only protect Colorado's environment but will boost the state's economy by helping to create jobs and ensure the environmental splendor so important to our tourist economy will be protected.”
Two state legislators whose districts include the Roaring Fork Valley both received a perfect score in voting on bills during the 2010 session that promoted conservation efforts, according to the Colorado Conservation Voters annual legislative scorecard released last week.
District 5 state Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, and District 61 Rep. Kathleen Curry, an independent House member from Gunnison, earned a score of 100 percent when it came to what the CCV referred to as “pro-environment” voting on a variety of bills this session.
Schwartz has a career score of 100 percent in her conservation voting in this and past sessions...
“Legislators passed 34 bills that make Colorado a leader not only in the West but nationally on conservation issues,” Pete Maysmith, executive director of CCV, said in a press release. “These and other precedent-setting bills not only protect Colorado's environment but will boost the state's economy by helping to create jobs and ensure the environmental splendor so important to our tourist economy will be protected.”
A work group to address gaps in the state’s child welfare system met for the first time yesterday with the ultimate goal of making recommendations to create an independent monitor’s office that will investigate complaints concerning lapses in the system.
Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, pushed for creation of the ombudsman office following the deaths of 35 children over the past three years who “slipped through the cracks” of the state’s child protection system. Senate Bill 171 created what is being called an “independent advocate” to bring accountability to the system and address weaknesses.
A work group met yesterday with the intention of making recommendations to the Department of Human Services on not only how to reform the state’s child welfare system, but also on how to create the ombudsman office.
“The creation of a child protection ombudsman will provide the necessary oversight and accountability to ensure every child in Colorado is protected and that cases of abuse and neglect are acted upon quickly and fairly,” Newell said in a statement yesterday following the morning session.
CARBONDALE –Senator Gail Schwartz, Holy Cross Energy CEO Del Worley, Basalt Mayor Leroy Duroux, key representatives from the Mid-Valley Metro District, and community organizations CORE and CLEER were on hand to cheer the groundbreaking for the Mid-Valley Community Solar Array in El Jebel last Thursday.
The organization behind the effort is Clean Energy Collective of Carbondale, and it is the first of several sites the startup has in the works, which has developed the model for enabling a community to collectively own a clean energy facility—solar, wind, biomass, micro hydro— and directly reap the benefits.
“Colorado is leading the nation when it comes to attracting industry, attracting innovation, and attracting technology. This is one of the most important parts of it,” said Senator Gail Schwartz. “We actually have mechanisms now to make renewable energy affordable to all households.”
Colorado has surged to the forefront of solar power. Clean energy engineers are building the future of how we can power our homes, across the Western Slope.
EL JEBEL, Colo. (KKCO) - Colorado has surged to the forefront of solar power. Clean energy engineers are building the future of how we can power our homes, across the Western Slope. The first revolutionary solar garden is growing in Eagle County.
"Many have tried to figure out how to do community–based energy in past. It's taken us over a year to crack that code," says Clean Energy Collective founder Paul Spencer.
The solution to easily accessible solar power is radiating in El Jebel. 400 linked solar panels will be absorbing sunlight and feeding it to the local grid.
"We deliberately set this up from the beginning as a vehicle to create quantum leap of adoption of clean energy," says Spencer.
People can buy a panel, in essence providing their own energy to the electric company. This saves on money and pollution from power plants. "This array (in El Jebel) is sold out. We're already selling into Garfield Airport site," says Spencer.
Clean Energy Collective plans on building sites across the Western Slope, including near Grand Junction. The revolutionary concept of an energy–share is sparking interest, especially for those who don't want to cover their roof with solar panels.
"All the excuses of their expensive and hard to maintain and what if we need a new roof, and we don't know the first thing about owning solar panels," says Gina Shaw, who plans to buy into the solar farm.
Even those living in apartments or in shaded homes can access direct rays from the selectively placed solar farms. "The site we're working on in Eagle County is actually the capping of a landfill. Great site...no one sees it," says Spencer.
What will be seen are solar gardens growing both green energy and jobs. "We are a very resource rich part of the state. These are jobs to our rural areas of the state. These are investments in our rural areas," says State Senator Gail Schwartz.
Unlike the scene in Washington, D.C., our success this year stemmed from the creation of a respectful environment fostered by both Democratic and Republican leadership.
We are not Washington, D.C., and we worked together to pass a balanced budget, fix PERA, reform K-12 education, make higher education accessible and affordable, expand renewable energy, create jobs and much, much more.
Colorado was well served by its Legislature in 2010. The session ended about a month ago. Since then, I've visited with a number of groups and constituents and many have made similar observations.
Their sentiments generally go something like this: “If you'd asked me a year ago if the Legislature would pass major, bipartisan legislation to help our colleges and universities, or to shore up the PERA retirement system, or to increase the use of natural gas in energy production, I would have said it couldn't be done.”
Before the session started, I would have agreed with them. We ended the prior session on a partisan note. But we also learned from our mistakes and committed to making 2010 as bipartisan as possible.
Indeed, 2010 was successful because of our bipartisan work. Of course, there were partisan moments, tough decisions and difficult votes.
But we balanced our budget, passed good legislation and, when possible, worked together for the people of Colorado.
Durango Herald by Chuck Slothower Wednesday, June 16, 2010
State Sen. Bruce Whitehead, D-Hesperus, has been appointed chairman of the Colorado Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee.
As chairman, Whitehead will run the committee's hearings, organize witnesses and monitor votes.
"It's actually quite an important appointment, and I'm quite pleased to have it," he said in an interview Tuesday.
Whitehead was appointed to the Senate in August 2009, after his predecessor, Jim Isgar, joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Whitehead has served as a member of the committee since soon after he become a senator.
"It is an honor to represent the people of Southwestern Colorado and to ensure their voices and needs are heard at the Capitol," Whitehead said in a news release from Senate Democrats. "I am pleased to serve in this new role and have an even greater opportunity to support and strengthen the agriculture industry in our state. Rural Colorado needs knowledgeable, passionate advocates, and I look forward to continuing to be their voice on the Senate ag. committee."
Kent Peppler, president of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, praised Whitehead's appointment, calling him a "strong advocate for rural Colorado."
A statewide clean energy financing bill signed into law Friday by Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter will change the scope of a public hearing scheduled later this month before Garfield County commissioners that was intended for the county to consider setting up a local energy improvements district.
Ritter signed House Bill 1328, known as the New Energy Jobs Creation Act, along with a number of other clean energy bills, at a ceremony in Denver Friday afternoon.
Sponsored by state Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, and Rep. Joe Miklosi, D-Denver, the jobs bill sets up the nation's first statewide Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) district, called the Colorado New Energy Improvement District. It will offer clean energy financing to homeowners throughout Colorado by allowing them to add a special assessment to their property taxes to pay off the cost of the improvements over time.
The bill allows a county to participate in the statewide district, rather than setting up local districts to manage the program. Under state legislation approved in 2008, a county would have had to create its own separate district and seek voter approval to issue its own bonds to finance it.
The Coalition Against Abuse in Later Life is hosting a community event at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the El Pomar Foundation, Penrose House, 1661 Mesa Ave., to raise awareness and to recognize efforts to curb physical and financial exploitation of the growing elderly population.
Colorado State Sen. John Morse will discuss the Legislature’s efforts to clarify and strengthen power of attorney and guardianship laws to curb financial exploitation, which is most often done by a family member or close friend, Morse said.
“A lot of the bills are to make sure we guard against family members who are using estates before an estate is even in place,” Morse said.
MONTE VISTA-Three important bills with great potential for rural Colorado were signed Tuesday by Colo. Gov. Bill Ritter, and one became law immediately.
Ritter said the bills will encourage development of hydro-elctric facilities, protect Colorado's potato market and ensure financial security for senior citizens.
Addressing a gathering at the Monte Vista Co-Op, Rio Grande County Commission chair Doug Davie welcomed the governor, along with State Rep. Ed Vigil, D-Fort Garland, and State Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village.
Davie then acknowledged the presence of Charlotte Bobicki, SLV representative for U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, Erin Minks, local representative for U.S. Rep. John Salazar, Jim Ehrlich, director of the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee and Hew Hallock of the Governor's Energy Office.
The governor said signing the three bills at Monte Vista was important to him, since the community was one of the four towns in Colorado chosen for the Sustainable Main Street Initiative.
When making the decisions, he said, much thought was given to the nature of each community and its core. Monte Vista, he said, is an agricultural community with a great cultural heritage, as well. The goal is to meet with community leaders and work on sustainability.
"It has to do with the leadership in the community, people with vision," said Ritter.
Under the designation, state resources will be put into play to help develop sustainability for Monte Vista's downtown area.
"Monte Vista and the San Luis Valley's important farming and energy industries help drive our state"s economy," Gov. Ritter said.
"Sen. Gail Schwartz has been a strong leader in bringing good jobs and helping build vibrant, sustainable communities in the Valley through her legislative work. I'm proud to stand with her today to sign these bills, which will support rural economies across Colorado."
In Vail, governor also signs bills that aim to protect wildlife and shelter animals Grand Junction Free Press Wednesday, June 9, 2010 By: Lauren Glendenning
VAIL, Colo. — Government officials in Colorado's Vail Valley are excited about a new state law that promotes biomass energy development that could also be the answer to the local pine beetle epidemic.
Gov. Bill Ritter signed the bill, among other bills, at Vail's Donovan Pavilion Wednesday as part of his state-wide bill-signing tour.
Ritter said risks from the 3 million infested acres of Colorado forests are high, but so are the opportunities to create jobs and encourage the use of alternative fuels. There's currently a biomass facility being proposed in Vail, awaiting the approval of a $26 million Department of Energy grant.
State Senators Gail Schwartz and Dan Gibbs, along with State Rep. Christine Scanlan, who represents Eagle County, crafted the bill, which would promote biomass energy development through tax incentives and renewable energy initiatives.
Scanlan, who was in Washington Wednesday, issued a statement applauding her hopes for the bill.
“Colorado needs a viable, competitive timber industry practicing sustainable forestry,” Scanlan said. “This new law will revitalize the industry so they can clear out dead trees, find a smart way to recycle beetle-kill timber, develop green energy, create new jobs and preserve existing ones.”
DENVER — In a legislative session when lawmakers frequently mentioned "sharing the pain," one bill sought to share the pay.
Gov. Bill Ritter on Wednesday signed into law SB28, dubbed the Colorado Work Share Act. It was sponsored by Rep. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, and Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder.
The law's aim is to spare workers from being laid off. It allows companies that intend to lay off workers to instead cut the hours across their work force, if the companies volunteer for the program.
The employees' wages for the lost hours would be paid on a pro-rated basis from the unemployment insurance trust fund. Under the program, the benefits would be available for 18 weeks, rather than the 26 that laid-off workers would be eligible for.
On Thursday, May 27, Gov. Bill Ritter signed Senate Bill 193, nicknamed “the shackling bill,” into law.
The bill was introduced and carried by Sen. Evie Hudak, D-Westminster, who learned about the shackling of inmates in labor from a Boulder Weekly investigation into the treatment of pregnant inmates (“Pregnant in prison,” cover story, Feb. 18). Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, sponsored the bill in the House.
When the law goes into effect on Jan. 1, it will regulate the use of shackles on inmates throughout pregnancy, prohibiting the use of shackles on inmates during labor and delivery, except under extreme circumstances where an inmate poses an immediate danger to herself or others or represents a threat of escape.
“This takes us out of the dark ages in the Department of Corrections and our jails,” said Sen. Hudak, “and it’s long overdue.”
DENVER — Calling it a stopgap measure to save higher education, Gov. Bill Ritter signed a bill Wednesday giving Colorado colleges more flexibility to set tuition rates.
He also signed a measure providing $35 million to help lower- and middle-income students with tuition.
"Higher education has reached a funding crossroad here in Colorado and many states across the country. We face serious challenges if we do nothing. This is not a long-term fix, this is not a panacea," Ritter said as college presidents and lawmakers joined him in his office.
Lawmakers say the legislation was necessary because the state plans to cut college funding by $300 million next year to cover a projected $1.7 billion budget deficit.
Colleges were notified they should plan for up to a 50 percent cut next year in state funding.
"That magnitude of a cut is going to be catastrophic," warned Senate Majority Leader John Morse, a Democrat from Colorado Springs who spent weeks compiling spreadsheets trying to find a solution.
I recently had the opportunity to take my 8th grade class for a tour of the state Capitol and to meet with two of the younger, more energetic members of the state Senate: Dan Gibbs (D-Silverthorne) and Michael Johnston (D-Denver). While I cannot be disingenuous and suggest that my students were all singularly rapt by the experience, it was clear that both senators made a significant impression upon them.
Of particular interest to me, and to many of them, was speaking to Michael Johnston regarding Senate Bill 191 which he was co-sponsoring with Nancy Spence (R-Centennial). Although we entered through the side entrance on Colfax Avenue, it was impossible not to notice the throng of protesters on the front steps. When the students asked Sen. Johnston about this, he smiled and told them that these were teachers protesting his bill to promote teacher effectiveness by holding teachers to greater accountability in terms of their students' performance.
Sen. Gail Schwartz and assistant director of agriculture Bob Miller attended a roundtable discussion about farmland preservation, the land-link initiative and local food economy Thursday at the Salida SteamPlant.
Guidestone personnel hosted the public dialogue session.
Schwartz told The Mountain Mail the event was an opportunity for her to listen to small producers and take issues to the state level to better serve rural communities.
She said she was interested in learning if current rules and regulations are benefiting rural farmers.
"This was fertile ground for conversation," Schwartz said.
WHEAT RIDGE - Every year, May is declared Mental Health Month in the State, County and Municipal governments across Colorado. This year, Jefferson Center kicked off Mental Health Month by celebrating the contributions of a true champion for mental health, Senator Moe Keller.
Over the years, Moe's tireless advocacy for mental health resources in our community has been nothing short of remarkable. Senator Keller has been a long-time supporter of Jefferson Center for Mental Health, and her work on behalf of people and families suffering from mental illness in our community has been relentless. A member of the Jefferson Mental Health Foundation Board from February 2000 through July 2006, her passion and positive energy has helped to improve the quality of life and wellness for countless people in this state. In her final term as State Senator, Jefferson Center awarded her the "Lifetime Achievement Award" at a donor recognition event kicking off Mental Health Month.
Why is Mental Health Month important? One in five Americans live with a mental illness or significant emotional disorder at some point in their life. They are someone's parent, spouse, sibling, son or daughter, grandparent, neighbor or friend. But, many people don't get help because they are afraid of what others will think. Mental illnesses are real, common, and treatable - just like other health problems. There is help. There is hope.
BRECKENRIDGE, Colorado — With Gov. Bill Ritter's signature finally on Colorado Mountain College's four-year degree bill, the school is in its final push to offer bachelor's degrees in the high country. CMC's goal is to have up to five new four-year degree programs in place by fall 2011.
The CMC bill was signed Thursday in the Breckenridge campus auditorium before a full house, along with four other bills supported by state Sen. Dan Gibbs, state Rep. Christine Scanlan and state Sen. Chris Romer. Ritter also signed three other bills in Breckenridge Thursday: one to study “zipper lanes” on I-70 as a means of easing congestion; the “Colorado Kids Outdoors” bill to offer youth opportunities to study environmental science education; and another I-70 bill aimed at keeping slow-moving vehicles out of the left lane.
“This is a win-win for businesses, individuals and certainly the Western Slope,” Ritter said of the CMC bill during the ceremony. “Rep. Scanlan and Sen. Gibbs have been strong leaders, great partners and bold advocates for their constituents.
BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. - Gov. Bill Ritter signed five bills in Summit County Thursday afternoon including one that could finally solve a decades-old problem: ski weekend traffic congestion on Interstate 70 between Denver and the high country.
With Senate Bill 184, now signed into law, C-DOT will continue to study the feasibility of installing zipper lanes on a 15-mile stretch of I-70 between Floyd Hill and Georgetown. Zipper lanes, already in use in other large cities including Dallas and New York, allow states to change the flow of traffic in an inside lane so that three lanes of traffic travel in the busiest direction at peak times, with one lane left moving in the opposite direction.
"My hope is this is the last Memorial Day that people will have to suffer in that I-70 traffic jam going home," said Sen. Chris Romer, the Denver Democrat who co-sponsored the bill with Summit County Democrats Sen. Dan Gibbsand Rep. Christine Scanlan. "People really want to spend time in these gorgeous mountains. Our job is to get them up and down the mountain quicker and safer."
CDOT, still studying the idea of zipper lanes on I-70, already knows that they would make the commute significantly shorter; although zipper lanes have never been used on a stretch as long and mountainous as this one.
Governor Bill Ritter today will sign into law Senate Bill 106: Creation of Colorado Food Systems Advisory Council, which will convene key stakeholders to address improving access to healthy food within Colorado. The bill was initiated by LiveWell Colorado, a nonprofit organization committed to reducing obesity in Colorado by promoting healthy eating and active living, and sponsored by Senator Bob Bacon (D-Fort Collins) and Representative Marsha Looper (R-Calhan).
The bill establishes a state-endorsed 13-member council, which will work across diverse sectors, to develop food system recommendations that state and local governments, businesses, agriculture and consumers can use to improve healthy food access in Colorado.
"There isn't one single place or single group that addresses the complexities of food systems and their impact on health," said Maren C. Stewart, president and CEO of LiveWell Colorado. "For the first time in Colorado, the Food Systems Advisory Council will convene stakeholders from the multiple sectors that impact food systems to recommend policies and programs that will increase access to healthy foods."
Seven Colorado high schools -- including three in the Denver area -- have been picked to take part in a new program that aims to improve student performance in math and science, especially in low-income areas.
The program is called Colorado Legacy Schools, and it "aims to significantly increase the number and diversity of students enrolling in and passing math, science and English [advanced placement, or AP] exams," the Colorado Department of Education said in a statement.
The goal is to lead more students into careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the so-called STEM subjects in demand by many Colorado businesses.
Gov. Bill Ritter and state Sen. Chris Romer have helped secure a $150,000 challenge grant to the Colorado Legacy Foundation to launch the program, officials said. The foundation said it has secured $128,640 against this match, including $75,000 from Daniels Fund, $25,000 from El Pomar Foundation, $18,640 from Amgen Foundation and $10,000 from Xcel Energy.
New drug penalties and a crackdown on payday lending are among the bills signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Bill Ritter.
Among the bills signed into law are measures to reduce penalties for some drug possession crimes and put more emphasis on drug treatment. Not all drugs will see reduced penalties.
Ritter also signed a measure limiting payday loan interest rates to 45 percent annually. Currently they can run as high as 300 percent a year.
Another measure signed into law by Gov. Ritter increases the penalties for repeat DUI offenders. It raises the amount of mandatory jail time repeat offenders must serve, as well as increasing the fines. After two or more offenses, the offender would also have to serve two years probation, in which they would have to complete a drug or alcohol abuse treatment program.
Supporters of the measure say the bill helps crack down on the crime, while also giving offenders a better chance to avoid repeating the same offense.
There has been a regrettable amount of misinformation about Senate Bill 191, Great Teachers and Leaders.
We wrote this bill because research confirms that the two most important school-based factors in improving student achievement are the effectiveness of the teacher and the principal.
Yet, we still don't have an agreed- upon definition of a great teacher or principal. Our bill starts that process by requiring that definitions of teacher and principal effectiveness depend on how well their students are growing. The bill calls on the Council on Educator Effectiveness — made up of teachers, administrators, school board members, parents, students and business leaders — to spend the next year defining teacher effectiveness and determining how to assess it using multiple measures of student growth, rather than basing it on just one test like the CSAP.
The council will ensure that teachers and principals are fairly evaluated based on the diverse needs of their students, including those with special needs and high rates of mobility. Districts will then have a year to work with their teachers and the Department of Education to identify the assessments they plan to use to measure growth in each content area and grade level. Then, the state has another year to pilot the program before it is implemented statewide.
KMGH ABC 7 By: Arthur Kane and Tony Kovaleski May 26th, 2010
DENVER -- Gov. Bill Ritter called a trip by three Pinnacol Assurance board members “ill-advised,” and there is now a bipartisan call for board resignations after a CALL7 investigation exposed a five-day luxury trip by Pinnacol staff and members of the governor-appointed board.
CALL7 Investigator Tony Kovaleski followed Pinnacol board members to Pebble Beach in mid-May, showing them accepting pricey golf fees, expensive rooms and luxury food and drinks apparently at Pinnacol’s expense.
After reviewing the hidden-camera video, Sen. Morgan Carroll, who headed a committee looking into Pinnacol business practices last year, called for board Chairman Gary Johnson and board members Debra Lovejoy and Ryan Hettich to resign after taking the trip, saying it violated their independence as an oversight board. Sen. Scott Renfroe, R-Greeley, in a phone interview also said the board members who went on a trip need to resign.
Speakers at Friday’s memorial service for fallen local law enforcement officers remembered those who were lost and were thankful that another year has passed with no officers killed in the line of duty.
“With the help of God, we won’t add any of your names to this list,” said state Sen. John Morse to the hundreds of officers from agencies throughout the Pikes Peak region who attended the Peace Officers’ Memorial Day Service. The solemn service in America the Beautiful Park included a roll call of the names of the 27 local peace officers who have died in the line of duty since 1895.
... The past year has been tough for many of the agencies, as budget cuts have forced them to do the same job with less people, said Morse. But still, the officers always put their duty ahead of their frustration, he said.
“The community continues to ask for your sacrifice, but doesn’t want to make a sacrifice of its own,” said Morse, a former Colorado Springs police officer and Fountain Police chief before being elected to the Colorado Legislature.
A union of construction workers held a news conference in Denver yesterday calling on the U.S. Senate to back a $450 billion investment into infrastructure.
The group, the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), pointed to dozens of structurally deficient bridges and crumbling roads in Colorado as an example of the need to invest in infrastructure and create jobs in the process.
The union yesterday launched a campaign beside the structurally deficient Sixth Avenue bridge over Bryant Street. The campaign will include a billboard at the site of the bridge, highlighting a need for infrastructure funding.
The Build Colorado 2010 campaign, which is expected to go national with the Build America 2010 campaign, aims at developing support for federal transportation and infrastructure funding legislation.
“There’s no doubt that the people of Colorado are ready to take these challenges head-on all of us want to fix these issues and get people back to work,” said State Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton. “We want safe roads, clean water, sturdy bridges and good school facilities. If Washington responds, we’ll see that investment is put to good use.”
I'm coming home to Southwest Colorado. The 2010 legislative session has ended. I look forward to spending time talking with you about what I accomplished in my first year as your state senator and listening to any concerns you may want to discuss. I am extremely honored to serve as your representative in the Colorado legislature. The experience was greatly rewarding but also challenging at times. We worked hard to close a billion-dollar gap in the state budget by cutting spending while maintaining the same level of services to residents.
I carried some important bills this year that will help Colorado recover from a difficult recession, put people back to work and protect our environment. I sponsored House Bill 1001 along with Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass, which increased the Renewable Energy Standard for investor-owned utilities to 30 percent by 2020. This bill will create thousands of high-quality green jobs and attract new companies to our state. Raising the standard will diversify our energy portfolio and ensure that we are meeting our energy needs in a 21st century way.
DENVER — He delivered what one lawmaker called "the speech heard 'round the world," but Sen. Abel Tapia's time in the Legislature involved much more than that.
During an April 2005 debate over a bill addressing discrimination over sexual-orientation, Tapia brought a personal and emotionally charged perspective to the discourse.
"My son is not an abomination," Tapia, D-Pueblo, scolded a lawmaker on the other side of the debate, while referring to his own homosexual son. "Until you have actually experienced it in your family . . . don't start talking about an abomination, because I don't believe that is true."
RIDGWAY – Earlier this year, Ouray County Weed Manager Ron Mabry worked tirelessly to find funding at the state level for mandated noxious weed programs. He now has reason to celebrate with the passage of Senate Bill 10-098, which was signed into law by Gov. Bill Ritter on April 29.
Sponsored by Colorado Sen. Lois Tochtrop and Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg, SB 10-098 will allow counties to cooperate and/or contract with conservation districts and weed programs utilizing existing Conservation Trust Fund allocations. This gives counties, conservation districts and weed programs the option embark on conservation and weed control projects with an approval by county commissioners.
“It’s not a big pot of money and it’s not going to solve all of our problems but this is definitely a step forward,” Mabry said on Monday. “I am pretty pleased about it.”
The Colorado County Weed Supervisors Association and the Colorado Weed Manager’s Association worked together in drafting the bill. Mabry, who is a member of both organizations and president of the CCWSA, spoke with numerous state legislators explaining the problem local unfunded noxious weed programs face. While the bill found several sponsors, it faced initial opposition from various organizations including the Colorado Municipal League, Colorado Department of Local Affairs, and the Audubon Society.
Measuring this year’s legislative session by lawmakers’ own checklist, 2010 was a success.
In January, Gov. Bill Ritter, Senate President Brandon Shaffer and House Speaker Terrance Carroll laid out a challenging list of goals for the session, the greatest of which was dealing with a $1.3 billion budget shortfall.
That meant difficult and unpopular decisions, especially the elimination of tax breaks. But credit legislators with getting it done.
And while the ailing budget lingered over the Legislature like this season’s cold weather, lawmakers found time to take up a broad list of issues and needs pressing on the state — including clean energy production, education reform, consumer protection, medical marijuana regulation and changes to the state’s public employees retirement system.
A District 34 vacancy committee today appointed former Denver school board member Lucia Guzman to fill the remaining term of state Senator Paula Sandoval's term.
Guzman is a Democratic candidate for the seat this fall. Sandoval resigned to serve on the Denver City Council.
Sandoval did not seek re-election because of term limits.
Others who have formed campaign committees include Democrats Jerry Frangas and Joel Judd and Republican Derec Shuler.
The district spans generally from Interstate 25 and Santa Fe Drive on the east and Sheridan Boulevard on the west, as well as West Florida Avenue north to West 52nd Avenue.
Guzmán is executive director of the Agency for Human Rights and Community Relations for the City and County of Denver, a position to which she was appointed by Mayor John Hickenlooper in 2003.
She served on the Denver Public Schools Board from 1999 to 2007. A pastor, Guzman was executive director of the Colorado Council of Churches from 1994 to 1999.
A bill that would expand the protections of owners of mobile homes is on its way to Gov. Bill Ritter's desk, which has Boulder officials and residents who helped draft and promote the legislation cheering.
Senate Bill 10-156 gained final approval by the state Legislature earlier this month. The governor is expected to sign the bill into law in early June.
The bill expands certain existing protections for owners of mobile homes, and it adds new rights. Many of the components came at the direct request of Boulder officials, who have had to sit on the sidelines during several recent disputes among landlords, the city and residents.
"We wanted to make sure that we helped to address the imbalance of power" between landlords and owners of mobile homes, said Carl Castillo, Boulder's policy adviser.
State Sen. Rollie Heath and Rep. Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, both Boulder Democrats, carried the legislation.
Heath, the primary sponsor, said the final passage of the bill was a good compromise.
"You never get everything where you started off, but I think we made a huge step forward," he said.
He said he's particularly glad that residents and landlords across the state were able to meet and debate the bill together.
"They seem to have come to the idea that they need each other," Heath said.
DENVER — With the conclusion of the Colorado General Assembly's 2010 session last week, all the bills have been reconciled.
Some passed, some failed. Eying a breakdown of the pass-fail ratio of local lawmakers isn't exactly a scientific approach, and it certainly doesn't take into account every factor. Some of those are the ease with which feel-good resolutions are passed, or the challenge that lawmaker accept when they run a particularly polarizing bit of legislation.
But looking solely at the number of bills sponsored and their outcomes, the following is a scorecard of how local lawmakers' proposals fared during the recently concluded legislative session. Each of the bills that listed an area lawmaker as a prime sponsor was taken into account.
Rep. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, introduced 10 bills. Six passed, and four failed. One was later revived when Gov. Bill Ritter signed an executive order mirroring it. One of Pace's failed bills from the previous session experienced a similar resurrection.
Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, sponsored 30 bills. Twenty-six passed, and four failed. Because he served on the Joint Budget Committee, many of Tapia's bills were associated with balancing the budget and parceling out funds after that had been accomplished.
Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, who represents a portion of the San Luis Valley, introduced 30 bills. Twenty-seven passed, and three failed. Many of Schwartz's proposals dealt with renewable energy and environmental concerns and had the support of Gov. Bill Ritter's office.
Of the 144 bills introduced by area lawmakers, 116 passed, giving the Southern Colorado delegation an 80-percent pass rate.
DENVER - Historic legislation benefiting community college students passed the Colorado General Assembly unanimously in the 2010 session and was signed by Governor Ritter on May 5, 2010.
"We are thrilled that this critical bill received the overwhelming bipartisan support of the legislature and the Governor," said Dr. Nancy McCallin, president of the Colorado Community College System. "This will benefit the students in Colorado's community colleges enormously and we thank the sponsors for their work to make it happen."
The bill, House Bill 10-1208, was sponsored by Representatives Nancy Todd (D-Aurora) and Carole Murray (R-Castle Rock) in the House and Senators Brandon Shaffer (D-Longmont) and Keith King (R-Colorado Springs) in the Senate. The bill creates statewide seamless, common transfer agreements in 14 program areas by July 1, 2016. The governing boards of the two-year and four-year public higher education institutions will work together to identify appropriate program areas. When a student graduates from a two-year community college with an associate's degree in a designated program area, they can apply for admission to a four-year institution, and, if accepted, enter as a junior transferring all the common credits earned at the community college in the program area.
Senate President Brandon Shaffer (D-Longmont) - "This is one of the most significant pieces of legislation we will pass this year because higher education should be accessible to every Coloradan who wants it," said President Brandon Shaffer. "This bill will decrease the cost of college and help us stand up for those who believe a four-year degree is out of their reach. By increasing access to higher education in Colorado, we are building a quality work force and providing access to opportunity."
DENVER — A bill designed to reduce collisions between vehicles and wildlife on state highways was passed by the Colorado Senate and House in the waning days of the legislative session.
The bill will allow the Colorado Department of Transportation to create up to 100 miles of special wildlife-crossing zones on roadways after consulting with the Colorado Division of Wildlife and Colorado State Patrol. Nighttime speed limits will be reduced in the wildlife zones, and fines will be doubled. There will also be special signs designating the wildlife crossings; the signs will be similar to those used in school crossings and construction zones.
The intent is to alert drivers about high-frequency wildlife-crossing areas and to slow speeds to boost reaction times.
The bill was sponsored by the two legislators for the Roaring Fork Valley,Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, and Rep. Kathleen Curry, an independent from Gunnison.
Three major bills that will improve the state's child-welfare system became law Friday, following two years of work by the Child Welfare Action Committee.
Gov. Bill Ritter, flanked by smiling and waving children, signed the bills Friday afternoon on the steps of the Denver Children's Advocacy Center.
"We've spent an enormous amount of time and energy getting to this place today," he said to a crowd that included lawmakers, child advocates, foster parents, and health care workers. "This was not easy work, and anybody who thinks it was . . . needs to spend just one day talking and working on these issues."
Ritter said the panel was charged with designing a system to protect kids that intersects with many levels of government. The work, he said, forced "people who have some parochial interests in trying to maintain the status quo" to work with "a group of very excited advocates who are pushing the envelope for change."
The most important bill signed Friday, he said, creates the child ombudsman office, where people can report abuse or suspected problems with the system.
Ritter also signed Senate Bill 152, which requires that people who are obliged by their jobs to report suspected child abuse — such as teachers, health care workers and cops — to be informed of the results of the cases they report.
The third new law, created by House Bill 1359, helps the courts and social services to keep track of kids, even if they are moved from one county to another.
The ombudsman bill, which passed unanimously in the Senate and House, was a particularly tough battle.
"They said it couldn't be done," said Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, who crafted the bill. "We were told we couldn't get all the parties to agree, and we did. We were told we couldn't get bipartisanship, and we did. We were told that we couldn't get the funds, and we found them."
On Thursday (Feb. 11), the legislature will take time to welcome and honor Colorado State University system on the occasion of its Founder's Day, the 140th anniversary CSU's beginnings. As Larimer County legislators, we are pleased to sponsor a resolution and day-long celebration honoring the outstanding achievements and contributions of Colorado State University. Together, we renew our praise and continued support for this storied and vital institution whose campuses lie within our home districts.
As one of Colorado's two major research universities, CSU is a source of academic excellence, cutting-edge research, and economic strength for the entire state. CSU-Fort Collins is Colorado's “Land-Grant” university whose mission encompasses three key elements of teaching, research, and extension. The nation's system of land-grant universities was envisioned by Justin Smith Morrill who dreamed of a network of colleges throughout our country where the sons and daughters of farmers, factory workers, and emancipated slaves would be afforded the benefits of an advanced education which were previously reserved for the landed gentry.
We all remember and admire our favorite teachers. And for good reason: If an elementary student has an ineffective teacher for even one year, a learning deficit can be measured up to four years later -- even if the student has several effective teachers later.
Now, the Colorado House of Representatives is taking up legislation that would help to ensure that all students have an effective teacher, but it's being met with skepticism from Boulder-area Reps. Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, D-Boulder, and Claire Levy, D-Boulder. For all the fulmination in the debate, the question boils down to this: Should teachers be at least partially responsible for the student learning in their classrooms?
Colorado's largest teachers union has answered no, but a survey of the existing educational landscape is instructive. Under current law, a teacher who receives three consecutive years of "Satisfactory" evaluations is moved to non-probationary status (often mistakenly dubbed "tenured status"), after which state law makes it exceedingly difficult to dismiss the teacher.
The problems with this system are apparent. Most evaluations are binary -- a teacher can only be rated "Satisfactory" or "Unsatisfactory" -- and it is not uncommon for more than 95 percent of teachers in a school district to receive a "Satisfactory" rating, regardless of whether or not their students are showing academic gains. The result is a glut of non-probationary teachers, all of whom are virtually assured a job.
Into this mix came Sen. Mike Johnston, D-Denver, a former public school teacher and principal. Two weeks ago, Sen. Johnston introduced Senate Bill 10-191, which would strengthen teacher and principal evaluations and tie 50 percent of those evaluations to student growth.
Seated above an Aspen Skiing Co. banner at the base of Ajax on Wednesday, Gov. Bill Ritter signed a bill into law that allows counties to pool resources to administer clean energy-promoting programs such as Pitkin County’s new Energy Smart loans.
In November, voters authorized the county to dole out $7 million in loans to county residents for energy-efficiency and renewable upgrades to their homes. Eagle and Gunnison counties approved similar initiatives, and the new law will allow the three counties to work together in implementing it.
After being introduced by SkiCo executive director of sustainability Auden Schendler, Gov. Ritter touted the bill as the “49th or 50th” clean energy-related bill he’s signed into law as governor, touting other recent environmental legislation that increased the renewable energy standard to 30 percent and will replace some dirty coal plants with natural gas facilities.
... State Sen. Gail Schwartz, the Snowmass Village Democrat who sponsored the bill, echoed the importance of making energy improvements economically accessible.
“It’s no longer a rich person’s game to be able to put up solar panels,” she said.
...Kevin Ward of the Aspen Science Center called Sen. Schwartz “the green machine,” and lauded Gov. Ritter for making the state a national leader on energy issues — and creating jobs in the process.
“Colorado is now the Silicon Valley of the New Energy Economy,” Ward said.
The American Council of Engineering Companies of Colorado (ACEC/CO) announced the recipients of its prestigious industry awards, presented at the Council's annual meeting in April. The awards acknowledge those who continually demonstrate leadership and dedication to furthering the consulting engineering industry, which is dedicated to public health, safety and welfare. These individuals demonstrate their devotion to accelerating industry advancements and cultivating the next generation of those who will further societal advancements. Through their professions and volunteering, they are giving of their time and expertise to further the advancement of consulting engineering, math and science.
ACEC/CO President Rob Refvem, P.E., presented state Sen. Abel Tapia with the President's award, which is given to an individual who exhibits untiring efforts and consistently surpasses any expectations for their work with ACEC/CO. As a state legislator, Tapia has committed himself to serving the people of Colorado and has been a champion for the engineering profession. Tapia, a civil engineer, shared that he was glad to see more engineers serving in the legislature, as they are "problem-solvers."
Though introduced late in the session, Senate Bill 203, proposed by Sen. Morgan Carroll to mitigate some of the worst effects of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United vs. FEC, should be moved through the Legislature as quickly as possible. With the 2010 elections approaching, expediency is essential if any restrictions against unlimited independent expenditures by corporations and unions are to be in place in November.
The controversial Citizens United ruling granted “personhood” to corporations and unions, and gave them the right to spend unlimited campaign money through independent expenditures not coordinated with the candidate.
Colorado voters made clear in 1996 with Amendment 15, and again in 2002 with constitutional Amendment 27, that they do not want corporate and union money spent directly on elections. Both amendments prohibiting direct campaign expenditures by corporations and unions passed with majorities of 66 percent.
The ferocious fight over a teacher tenure bill moves to the state House today, where opponents will try to portray it as a costly and hasty measure drafted with little input from teachers.
Such objections are merely a smokescreen designed to obscure the fact that the state's largest teachers' union has been in the loop for months and their input has led to significant changes to the bill.
Apparently, that isn't enough. It isn't enough, we suspect, because Colorado Education Association leaders never were truly willing to be a partner in reform. They were just acting the part.
But now that Senate Bill 191 has attracted the support of three former governors and Gov. Bill Ritter, as well as Dwight Jones, Colorado's commissioner of education, and a significant number of state legislators, it's becoming a real threat. It was easier for the CEA to marginalize it when it was merely the brain child of a freshman state senator, Michael Johnston, D-Denver.
My amendment to House Joint Resolution 10-1015 works to get Denver TV to Southwest Colorado. The amendment encourages the Colorado Broadcasters Association to support this cause.
The other sponsors of this resolution may not be supportive of my amendment, but I believe it was instrumental in finally getting the CBA's attention. As a result, we have secured meetings with the association and are continuing the discussion on this issue.
I stand firmly behind my amendment because we need to create a broad coalition if we hope to accomplish our goal of getting Denver TV in our area. I believe support from the CBA would be beneficial in pursuing federal legislation.
SALIDA, Colo. (AP) — A new state law encourages geothermal energy projects by making it easier for government agencies to cooperate on studies and projects.
The bill signed into law Friday by Gov. Bill Ritter also streamlines the process for obtaining geothermal drilling permits.
State Sen. Gail Schwartz of Snowmass sponsored the bill. She says geothermal will diversify Colorado's energy sources.
The law includes provisions protecting the rights of landowners and those with rights to the water. It also establishes a process for resolving disputes.
In the wake of court decisions allowing unions and corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money directly advocating the election of candidates, two Democratic state lawmakers are pushing a bill they said would at least show who is writing the checks.
Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, and House Majority Leader Paul Weissmann, D-Louisville, say that if current law isn't changed, no one will know where the money comes from and foreign corporations could use their money to influence Colorado elections.
"If we do nothing, we will have literally an unlimited amount of corporate and labor union spending" without disclosure, Carroll said.
"What Coloradans deserve to know is, 'Who's paying?' " Weissmann said.
Aurora state lawmakers are right on the money in trying to restore at least some semblance of election integrity to a system turned upside down by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year.
State Sen. Morgan Carroll and State Rep. Karen Middleton, both Aurora Democrats, are chief sponsors of Senate Bill 203, which would force businesses and labor unions to report political campaign donations and advertising expenditures of more than $1,000 a year. It means that even though the Supreme Court has opened a floodgate of political special interest money by designating corporations and unions as “people,” voters will be able to keep track of who’s spending money on which candidate or cause, and how much.
The high court in January ended a decades-old ban on unions and corporations spending freely on trying to influence voters. Instead, corporations and others funneled limited amounts of money into political action committees, which state legislatures and even Congress had their sights on as well. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations have the same free-speech rights as people.
The ruling bodes ill for an already sloppy attempt to clear special interests away from the election process. In his dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote clearly what the court had done.
“The conceit that corporations must be treated identically to natural persons in the political sphere is not only inaccurate but also inadequate to justify the Court’s disposition of this case,” he wrote.
Back in August, when the first seeds of Aspen Eco Fest were planted, no one expected them to take root as they have.
Organizers of the two-day event — today and Sunday at the Inn at Aspen at the base of Buttermilk — hoped it would live up to its tagline of “blending lifestyle, business and the environment.” They hoped it would be a success.
Now, with hundreds of entries for the Environmental Art Show, dozens of vendors in the Eco Marketplace, mounds of goods for sale at the Eco Swap, a green-tie gala, clunker bike race and canine eco-fashion show, as well as a roster of impressive speakers — including Snowmass Village resident and Colorado Sen. Gail Schwartz — it's safe to say Aspen Eco Fest is on its way to meeting the organizers' goals.
I start every academic quarter the same way. Through the overhead projector, I display a graph that shows my school's CSAP scores as compared to much higher-achieving high schools such as Denver School of Science and Technology and East High. The gaps are monumental.
Some students gasp. Some grumble. Then I turn to them and ask one deceptively simple question: Why?
The resulting discussion is always illuminating and a bit disheartening, but the answers remain the same from class to class at the Denver alternative high school where I teach English.
"Kids at this school don't care."
"Parents of the kids at this school don't care."
"Kids here just aren't that smart."
Of course, the true reason cannot be so easily distilled. But the one thing I never hear is the one that likely has the greatest effect on my students.It's me.
What I mean to say is that teachers, and whether they are effective in their jobs, are the top factor in determining a student's success. Not poor school funding. Not faulty curricula. Not low parent turnout at back-to-school night.
That is why I was thrilled to read about the educator effectiveness bill sponsored by state Sen. Michael Johnston, D-Denver. The proposed legislation would rework teacher tenure laws to put a stronger emphasis on student academic growth.
State Sen. Dan Gibbs (D-Summit County) received the 2010 Citizenship Award from the Colorado-Wyoming Society of American Foresters Friday for the promotion of “sound and thoughtful public policy regarding forest management” and for his dedication to forest health and fire protection.
After receiving his award, Senator Gibbs passed Joint Resolution 37, in which he declared April 23 as Colorado Forest Products Day to honor “the economic and environmental importance” of state forests. The Legislature recognized the invaluable contributions Colorado forests make to industry, animal habitat, water recreation, and overall quality of life.
“Our state forests are a valuable and precious resource that we must work tirelessly to protect,” Senator Gibbs said. “I am honored to receive this award from such a distinguished group of forest workers, natural resource professionals, educators and scientists.”
Senate Bill 1051 was heard in the Agriculture and Natural Resources committee last week. This is a bill I have mentioned before that requires large water providers to report annually on water use. The data collected from this bill will be used to improve water-conservation efforts.
After much work and discussions with the Colorado Water Congress, Colorado Water Conservation Board, conservation groups and municipal water providers, we were able to craft a bill that was acceptable to the various organizations. The bill passed out of committee unanimously.
I received late-bill status in order to work on a bill that will reduce late fees to $10 on trailers weighing more than 2,000 pounds. My bill will complement House Bill 1211, which recently passed and will reduce late fines to $10 on trailers that weigh 2,000 pounds or less. I originally sponsored an amendment to HB 1211 that would have accomplished that, but it was not approved by the House.
After hearing from you and your frustration with newly added late fines on trailers, I decided to work on a bill that will reduce late fees on all trailers, regardless of weight. Sen. Bill Cadman, R-Cimarron Hills, will co-sponsor the bill, and it will be introduced next week.
A bill that is expected to be introduced Friday in the Colorado Legislature proposes to fine Chrysler Group LLC as much as $25,000 for each day that it does not comply with a dealer-restoration bill signed into state law one month ago.
House Bill 1049, which Gov. Bill Ritter inked on March 22, requires that any auto manufacturer that closed dealerships due to bankruptcy — specifically Chrysler and General Motors — offer those dealers first right of refusal if the car makers decide to reopen a franchise within five miles of the dealerships within five years of termination. If the manufacturer already has re-awarded a franchise in the area, the bill also states, then it must offer the terminated dealer the opportunity to take back that franchise.
So, the Senate sponsors of HB 1049 — Sens. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, and Chris Romer, D-Denver, worked with CADA to come up with the new legislation, which Mitchell confirmed that he plans to introduce Friday. The bill is expected to move quickly to a committee hearing next week, Mitchell added.
DENVER — State Sen. Gail Schwartz plans to introduce a resolution today that seeks to shorten the length of future legislative sessions.
Presently, the Colorado General Assembly assembles for 120 days. Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, has proposed that it be shortened to 100 days.
"We have one of the most frequent, longest sessions in the country," she said. "I think we could be more focused and more efficient."
Neighboring states hold much shorter sessions than Colorado's.
New Mexico's Legislature meets 60 calendar days in odd-numbered years and 30 days in even-numbered years. Nebraska's lawmakers are in session for 90 legislative days (when floor work is accomplished) during odd-numbered years, and 60 legislative days during even-numbered years. That state has the nation's only single-chamber legislature.
Wyoming holds 40 legislative days in odd-numbered years and 20 legislative days in even-numbered years/
Legislatures in Montana, Nevada, North Dakota and Texas convene biennially.
Cost savings are one reason Schwartz supports a shorter session.
Schwartz showed leadership on Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act Congratulations to state Sen. Gail Schwartz for her smart leadership in passing the Colorado Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act.
This important legislation helps begin Colorado’s journey toward smarter energy choices, while remaining sensitive and responsive to local jobs and local economies.
These are times for smart responses to difficult questions, and Sen. Schwartz has shown us the way.
DENVER (AP) - Former Denver mayor Federico Pena and philanthropist and former University of Denver Chancellor Dan Ritchie testified Thursday in favor of change to Colorado's teacher tenure law.
They spoke during a hearing before the Senate Education Committee, along with superintendents from the Denver, Aurora and Harrison school districts. Gov. Bill Ritter and three former governors - two Democrats and one Republican - are also supporting the legislation, aimed at helping the state win $175 million in federal funding for education reform.
"Today we're losing over 50 percent of Hispanic students and others around the state with the system we have today," Pena said.
The measure would only allow teachers who have improved student performance for three straight years to earn tenure. Teachers who already have job protections could lose them if their students fail to show progress for two straight years.
Currently, teachers can get tenure status after three years in a the classroom, and it's difficult and costly to dismiss any teachers later found to be ineffective.
Sen. Mike Johnston, D-Denver, and Sen. Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, originally proposed imposing the new standards starting next year. Teachers argued that was too soon since a panel appointed by Ritter is still coming up with the details on how officials would determine whether students were making progress.
Watch your head when you're hiking through Northern Colorado's bark- beetle ravaged national forests.
About 100,000 bark beetle-killed trees could fall per day from now on as the dead lodgepole pines begin to weaken and become vulnerable to the blowing wind.
That was the word Wednesday from the U.S. Forest Service, said Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., following a Senate hearing on his bark beetle bill moving its way through Congress.
The bill would provide money to the Forest Service and area communities to remove dead trees that threaten to fall on homes, businesses, roads and power lines, or otherwise threaten the health and safety of the public.
Summit and Grand counties have long been at the copper-hued heart of the bark beetle outbreak, but Larimer County saw the most impact from the spreading bark beetle in 2009. So far, about 3.5 million acres in the Arapaho-Roosevelt and two other national forests in northern and central Colorado have been ravaged by the bark beetle.
"When those trees start coming down, I think people will think twice about going to those places to recreate," said state Sen. Dan Gibbs, D-Breckenridge, after he testified at the Senate hearing about the bark beetle's devastation in Summit County.
DENVER - Flanked by two Southwest Colorado legislators, Gov. Bill Ritter on Monday signed into law a bill that could trade coal power plants for natural gas-powered ones.
In a morning ceremony in front of the Capitol, Ritter signed House Bill 1365, by Rep. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, and Sen. Bruce Whitehead, D-Hesperus. The other sponsors were Rep. Judy Solano, D-Brighton, and Sen. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction.
Ritter's office hatched the plan, along with Front Range utility Xcel Energy.
“It's the crescendo of all we've done, the capstone of all we've done," said Ritter, who has made clean energy his signature issue.
The bill attracted a coalition of former enemies because it has something for many interest groups. For the state's major environmental groups, it promises cleaner air and fewer greenhouse gas emissions. For the natural-gas industry, Western Slope lawmakers and Republicans in general, it offers the prospect of increased drilling. For Xcel and the state government, it shows a way to comply with potentially expensive clean air standards.
DENVER — Gov. Bill Ritter on Friday signed into law a bill authorizing construction of a National Guard armory in Alamosa.
"I talked to some National Guard guys in Alamosa, and they're super-excited," said State Rep. Ed Vigil, D-Fort Garland. "I'm happy for the San Luis Valley, for Alamosa and that this infrastructure will make Colorado safer."
Grand Junction and Windsor also will be the sites of new armories under HB1140, which invests $4.7 million from the Colorado State Veterans Trust Fund in fiscal years 2010-11 and 2011-12 for the construction projects.
“We are very lucky in Colorado to have a large military community that provides support to open these three new armories, when in other states, they are being closed due to budget cuts,” said. “House Bill 1140 will give our National Guard the proper resources to train and prepare for future missions in new facilities and ensures that they have the best opportunity to be successful whether they are protecting Coloradans here at home or in combat zones overseas.”
DENVER — A bill that shifts dollars from administration to direct help for first-time mothers passed unanimously in the House on Friday.
One full-time administrative position will be cut from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to free up $227,000 that will be used to add nurses in the Nurse Home Visitor Program under SB73, sponsored by Rep. Buffie McFadyen, D-Pueblo West, and Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo.
It is funded by tobacco settlement money and already has been passed in the Senate. The bill now awaits the governor's signature to become law.
Presently, 150 first-time mothers in Pueblo are receiving the program's services through the Pueblo Community Health Center, and 350 Pueblo mothers have been identified as possibly benefitting from it, according to testimony in a Senate committee.
Teen mothers involved in the program have been far less likely to have a second child by the age of 20 than their peers outside the program. Nurses work directly with them and provide guidance that has moved them forward in education, discontinuing unhealthy habits and leaving abusive relationships.
One hundred and one. I am not talking about Dalmatians. I'm talking about the number of years lived by Arthur “Wayne" Denny, a man who shared a miraculous life with the people of Cortez.
I was humbled to sponsor a memorial that honored this remarkable man. His wife, Viola Denny, and family drove hundreds of miles to be with us in Senate chambers Monday when we reflected on Wayne Denny's life and the invaluable contributions he made to our state and country.
Denny was an early pioneer of water law and spent his life looking out for the water interests of our district. Most of us can only dream of accomplishing everything Denny was able to in his life, and I am honored to serve in an office he once occupied.
On Thursday, I proposed an amendment to House Bill 1250, a bill that approves annual water projects around the state.
The amendment gives the Colorado Water Conservation Board the authority to purchase up to 10,460 acre-feet of water from the Animas-La Plata water project.
If approved by the Senate and House, the money used to purchase this water will come from an existing severance fund within the CWCB budget. The general fund will be unaffected by this amendment, and it will not divert money from schools or state services.
As Earth Day approaches, state lawmakers are taking action on a number of measures aimed at environmental protection. Legislation addressing recycling, water conservation and clean energy all gained support at the state Capitol last week.
Energy Legislation designed to promote development of clean and renewable energy moved through the Colorado House of Representatives with support from Rep.Christine Scanlan (D-Summit County).
Senate Bill 177, sponsored by Scanlan and Sen. Dan Gibbs (D-Summit County), encourages the use of woody biomass for generation of electricity. Using woody biomass could produce clean energy and create demand in the marketplace for timber killed by mountain pine beetles. The bill would ensure biomass technologies are included under programs aimed at expanding clean and renewable energy.
“Colorado needs a viable, competitive timber industry practicing sustainable forestry,” Scanlan said. “This legislation will revitalize the timber industry in Colorado, bringing new jobs and preserving existing ones. With this bill, we are ensuring that we make good use of a clean energy resource that is at our fingertips.”
The first of two legislative hearings specifically designed to review the child protective services through the Colorado Department of Human Services, and the conduct of DHS employees, will take place today at the state Capitol.
An oversight committee was created last month by Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, to look into how state DHS employees "dropped" 10 investigations of children who died in 2008 while under some level of DHS supervision.
The committee will review those cases, as well as the status of recommendations about child welfare services made by the Child Welfare Action Committee, established by Gov. Bill Ritter in 2008.
Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, chairwoman of the oversight committee, said all 29 recommendations the child welfare committee made will be reviewed by the oversight panel.
"We'll hear testimony from the advocates, the providers, the public, the county and the state," Newell said "Each of those perspectives is important to see systemically where are the clogs and what are some possible solutions that we can come up with."
Newell said the review will be valuable for lawmakers and the goal would be to decide if there is legislation that could be implemented this year or next.
"I don't know that we're going to come up with changes that haven't been made by the Child Welfare Acton Committee, Newell said, "but we could have some new testimony that could come up that would be more current."
AURORA | Developers will not be able to use public subsidies to build on empty, agricultural land that is in good condition, according to an act signed into law by Gov. Bill Ritter on April 14.
The law will create restrictions to declare an empty plot of land a “blighted” area that would allow the developer to use a partially public-financing method to fund a project.
“This is a result of a 14-year effort to get this reform through,” said state Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, a prime sponsor of the bill.
Agricultural land could not be declared blight as of June 1 unless it’s considered to be environmentally contaminated, or most of the area on the perimeter of the land has already been urbanized, or it has been fully surrounded by urban development for at least three years, or all parties that would be taxed agree to include the land in an urban renewal plan.
Representative Christine Scanlan and Senator Dan Gibbs visited Leadville Friday to update the community on state legislation as well as hand out checks from the El Pomar Foundation.
The checks went to Lake County Human Services, Lake County Advocates, St. George Episcopal Church, Holy Family Parish and First Presbyterian Church to help with the services these entities already provide to the community.
The first update given by Scanlan, state representative for Lake, Eagle and Summit counties, was on the state budget, or what is called the long bill.
DENVER - The Colorado Broadcasters Association can expect some mail from the state Legislature. Senators on Tuesday voted to add the CBA as a recipient of a resolution asking Congress to require Denver-based television in Southwest Colorado.
Sen. Bruce Whitehead, D-Hesperus, asked the Senate to include the CBA after the group's president told The Durango Herald that Congress doesn't need to tinker with broadcast boundaries.
“I strongly disagree with that statement and would like to encourage them to support the federal legislation," Whitehead said.
DENVER, Colo. --The Colorado Division of Wildlife invites sportsmen to join state legislators for a day of sporting clays and trap shooting at the 2010 Capitol Challenge Shoot-Out.
The second annual event will be held Sunday, April 25, from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Colorado Clays in Brighton, 13600 Lanewood St.
"The Capitol Challenge Shoot-Out is a great opportunity to bring sportsmen's groups, legislators and constituents together in a fun afternoon of trap and sporting clays shooting," said Tim Mauck, DOW legislative liaison. "It's also a great venue to educate others about the shooting sports and the role sportsmen play in wildlife management and conservation."
The cost per participant is $40 and includes one round of trap, 10 stations of sporting clays, ammunition and a BBQ lunch. Participants are encouraged to provide their own firearms; however, on-site shotgun rentals are available.
The shootout will benefit the Colorado Sportsmen's Caucus, chaired by Senators Lois Tochtropand Dan Gibbs, and Representative John Soper, who will again be among other legislators participating in this year's event.
DENVER - Arthur Wayne Denny of Cortez lived 101 years. He needed every single one to accomplish all he did.
During his life, he was a college track star, a World War II veteran, a county assessor, a state senator, a dedicated bowler and a dad who played pranks on his kids by putting rocks in their sleeping bags.
"He was something else," said stepdaughter Arlene Allen, who was Denny's caretaker in his later years.
State senators paid tribute to their former colleague Monday morning, while Denny's wife, Viola, and 15 other friends and family members watched.
The Republican served his Southwest Colorado district from 1967 to 1970 and was chairman of the Senate Water Committee during a pivotal time in Colorado water law.
Senate Bill 172, which would help extend the tax check-off program that benefits a wide range of charitable causes, passed an initial vote in the House on Friday. In 1977, Colorado became the first state to create a tax “check-off” allowing taxpayers to voluntarily contribute to an organization on their income tax form.
Check off Colorado allows taxpayers to contribute to various organizations listed on the Colorado Individual Income Tax Return Form 104 by donating a portion of their income tax refund or increasing the amount owed on their tax return. For check offs that appeared on the 2008 state income tax form, total donations were $1.7 million. A total of 26 different check-offs have raised about $36.5 million in donations since the program’s inception in fiscal year 1977-78.
SB 172 will extend three check-offs so that they can appear on the 2010 income tax form: the Pet Overpopulation Fund, the Colorado Domestic Abuse Fund, and the Colorado Breast and Women’s Reproductive Cancers Fund. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Dianne Primavera, D-Broomfield, and Senator Pat Steadman, D-Denver, in the Senate.
DENVER - Gov. Bill Ritter Tuesday signed into law a bill drafted in the early days of the legislative session in response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti.
In light of Haiti's obvious need for doctors and medication in the disaster's aftermath, Sen. Lois Tochtrop, herself a nurse, introduced legislation that would allow Colorado clinics to bypass pharmacological rules that mandated that any unused medication be disposed of if its packaging had been opened or tampered with, no matter how many pills went unused.
"It's something that Project Cure, Red Cross and Doctors without Borders are interested in doing," Tochtrop said when the bill was first introduced. "There are many countries in the world, the Third World, that would appreciate having these medications and the doctors to hand them out."
DENVER - Colorado women will soon be able to count on their health insurance covering annual mammogram screenings starting at age 40, after the Senate's initial passage of a bill that will be heading next to Gov. Bill Ritter's desk.
House Bill 1252 is a response to last year's change in CDC guidelines regarding cancer screenings, which recommended women begin getting annual examinations starting at age 50, 10 years later than the existing recommendation of beginning screenings at age 40.
"This locks us in," said Sen. Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood. "Now the status quo cannot change."
The Long Bill is what we call the budget bill at the Capitol because it's so long - more than 600 pages.
We stayed on the floor until 8 p.m. Thursday debating funding cuts and priorities for the next fiscal year.
I was encouraged by a proposal offered by Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver, that would reduce the cut to child welfare from 2 percent to 1 percent. However, I was disappointed that the money for the proposal could be taken from a fund that encourages organizations like Qwest to provide affordable telephone service in rural areas.
Gov. Bill Ritter now has before him SB 81, which establishes the Colorado Farm-to-School Healthy Kids Act and sets up a 13-member interagency task force that will coordinate the program. In its statement of legislative intent, the bill says that it is in the best interests of Colorado’s children, farmers, ranchers and communities to develop a “self-sustaining agricultural sector that promotes healthy foods at schools” and increases the use of local farm and ranch products in school meal programs.
In testimony before the Senate Education Committee in February, Sen. Paula Sandoval, D-Denver, said the bill would promote healthier eating habits. The bill also states the program would promote relationships between farmers and school children.
DENVER -- Pets will be protected as part of domestic violence law after Governor Bill Ritter, D-Colorado, signs a new law Monday morning.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, and Rep. Jerry Frangas, D-Denver, amends current state law that deals with civil protection orders, to include threats or acts of violence against animals. It will add animals to the current law which addresses abuse of the elderly or at-risk adults and domestic abuse.
The new law also specifies that when issuing a civil protection order or an emergency protection order, the court may include an order restraining an individual from taking or harming an animal owned by another individual, and making arrangements for care of the animal.
Found money and a commitment from the Rose Community Foundation may fund an independent overseer for the state's human-services system.
State Sen. Bruce Whitehead, D-Hesperus, on Wednesday said Fort Lewis College will return as much as $250,000 to the Joint Budget Committee. He said that money could be used to cover about two-thirds of the ombudsman's office budget in the first year, if the bill to create it passes the House.
The bill, crafted by Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, passed the Senate this week. Today, Newell and Whitehead will take to the Senate floor during the budget process to try to protect the money from being spent elsewhere, Newell said.
Topics - particularly of local interest - were addressed Sunday in Buena Vista as District 5 State Sen. Gail Schwartz and her contingent offered a public forum.
Colorado Outfitters Viability Act (HB 1188), Colorado Clean Air Act (HB 1365), boot camp closure at Buena Vista Correctional Complex and regulation of medical-marijuana dispensaries were among topics raised by about 45 residents who attended.
Schwartz, (D-Snowmass Village) said HB 1188 will undergo more study before going to the house/senate conference committee.
"We'll do our best to figure out where to go from here," Schwartz said. She said there is "a fairly long process still ahead ... I don't know what will happen.
The Colorado legislature gave final approval Monday to a measure that would allow Colorado Mountain College (CMC) to offer bachelor's degrees. The proposal is now headed to the governor's desk.
Currently, the college offers two-year associate's degrees. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Dan Gibbs (D-Summit County), would permit the college to offer as many as five baccalaureate degrees. CMC has seven campuses in mountain communities throughout northwest Colorado, including Summit County, Aspen, Steamboat Springs and the Vail-Eagle Valley. No other institution in the region now offers four-year degrees.
“We are so grateful for the legislators, community members and business leaders who have supported passage of this bill,” CMC president Stan Jensen said. “We look forward to being able to offer some tremendous opportunities to our students and our communities.”
DENVER - The natural gas industry won its first significant victory last week in its drive to offer its product as a cleaner alternative to coal.
Now, the industry and its new allies in the environmental movement hope to export the idea around the country.
Two local lawmakers carried House Bill 1365, which passed the Legislature on Thursday.
The bill is unlikely to help clean up Southwest Colorado's air in the short term because it focuses on coal power plants in Denver and Boulder. And because pipelines in the Four Corners do not connect directly with Denver, sponsors said the bill might not provide an immediate boost to the region's gas industry.
But backers hope it is the first step in a march away from old coal power plants.
Rep. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, and Sen. Bruce Whitehead, D-Hesperus, sponsored the bill and helped hold together a coalition of former enemies: environmentalists, natural-gas producers and a major utility company.
A bill that would reform the state's child welfare systemone of 29 recommendations from the Governors Child Welfare Action Committee — will come up for the final Senate vote Monday.
Senate Bill 171 would create an independent ombudsman office where people can report suspected child abuse or other problems in the child protection system.
t least 29 other states have such an office.
If the Senate gives final approval on Monday, the bill will move on to the House. Senators gave initial approval last week.
The timeline is tight.
"We need to get it signed in April," said Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, who crafted the legislation.
Rent control ordinances have been illegal in Colorado, and rightly so, since 1981. That is not about to change. But you wouldn't know it from listening to the powerful coalition determined to kill House Bill 1017.
We're proud of this bill and what it will accomplish. This bill will do three things: It will allow towns and developers to negotiate for affordable housing in new developments, it will help people who live and work in places where there is a lack of affordable housing, and it will preserve public investment and make sure taxpayer dollars are not wasted.
It will do this by returning affordable housing laws back to the way they were prior to conflicting court rulings, so that cities, towns and counties, not the state government or the courts, have the authority to make local affordable housing decisions.
Colorado Mountain College is just steps away from being allowed to offer bachelor's degrees to mountain-community students. The state House of Representatives OK'd state Sen. Dan Gibbs' CMC bill on second reading Thursday. A third approval is needed to send the bill to Gov. Bill Ritter for a signature.
As of now, CMC only provides two-year associate's degrees, and Gibbs along with CMC officials has said Colorado's mountain region is underserved regarding higher education. CMC's service spans a 12,000-square-mile radius with seven campuses spread throughout the region.
“This is one step closer to providing enhanced higher education opportunities for those who live in the High Country,” Gibbs said.
State Sen. Mike Johnston, D-Denver, will introduce his much-anticipated bill to overhaul educator evaluation, tenure and hiring early next week, he said Wednesday.
Johnston outlined the bill and took questions from an audience of about 50 at a community meeting sponsored by Padres y Jovenes Unidos, which advocates school reform on behalf of low-income minority students.
Johnston has been talking about the bill since before the 2010 Legislature convened in January. But it was sidelined when Gov. Bill Ritter appointed a Council on Educator Effectiveness as part of the state’s bid for the $4.35 billion Race to the Top grant competition.
Like untold thousands of Front Range skiers and snowboarders, I have been turned back on Interstate 70 due to all manner of closures.
The high-mountain road is infamous for its challenges. Avalanches. Rockslides. Marauding bighorn sheep.
But one of the most common obstacles has been greatly neutralized in the last two years, to surprisingly little fanfare.
Big rigs aren't spinning out of control, jackknifing and ruining ski days as much as they used to. And when they do wreck, they are yanked from the roadway with amazing speed.
So I am urging riders of the snow and other users of I-70 on winter weekends to give thanks to the Colorado Department of Transportation and the General Assembly for enacting some clear-headed changes in practice and law that have translated into more time on the slopes and greater access to commerce, mobility and the pursuit of happiness.
In the 2007 legislative session, lawmakers led by state Sen. Dan Gibbs of Silverthorne raised fines to truckers for ignoring chain-up laws from $100 to $500 — and up to $1,000 if the violation blocked lanes. Before the bill passed, the penalty was $100, which was ridiculous given that a set of chains cost around $250.
DENVER - The Legislature passed the bill by two local lawmakers favoring the use of natural gas over coal to clean Denver's air.
The Senate passed House Bill 1365 on a 20-13 vote Wednesday morning. Sen. Bruce Whitehead, D-Hesperus, is a Senate sponsor.
Later in the afternoon, the bill passed by a much wider margin in the House, where Rep. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, is a sponsor.
The bill sets up a process for Xcel Energy to retrofit coal-burning power plants in Denver and Boulder to comply with future clean-air rules. The utility is likely to convert the plants to natural gas.
DENVER — A small patch of dirt in Pueblo that might not look like much is representative of a statewide riddle that moved closer to a solution on Wednesday.
The Senate passed HB1165, which will ease the process of selling unused land owned by the Colorado Board of Land Commissioners, including one at the corner of Fourth and Elizabeth streets in Pueblo.
"I call it a scar across Pueblo," said Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, and one of the bill's sponsors. "It doesn't do the land board any good to own that property."
Under current law, the land board can make transactions with the federal government, local school boards and other state agencies. Cities, counties and special districts would be added to the list under HB1165.
DENVER — Gov. Bill Ritter on Monday signed a bill that calls for gender equity in insurance premiums.
Sponsored by Sens. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, and Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, HB1008 ends gender rating in Colorado's individual insurance market.
More than 130,000 Colorado women between the ages of 19 and 64 had individual insurance in 2006 and 2007. Among insurance plans offered in the state, 90 percent used gender rating in the individual insurance market, and premiums tend to be higher for women.
The new law brings the same prohibition to gender rating in the individual market that already exists in the small-group market.
"Gender should not be considered a pre-existing condition," Schwartz said. "Ensuring that all Coloradans have equal access to health care is vital to the well-being of our state. Affordable health care for women helps care for Colorado's children and families."
DENVER - Opposition hardened to Sen. Bruce Whitehead's bill on coal-fired power plants Tuesday, although a bipartisan coalition held together well enough that the bill could pass the Senate as early as today.
The debate caused a family feud between the top two Republicans in the Senate and the other 12. Meanwhile, three Democrats voted against the bill by Whitehead, a fellow Democrat from Hesperus.
The plan would tell Xcel Energy to clean up or shut down some of its coal power plants in Denver and Boulder. They likely would be replaced with natural-gas power plants, which pollute less than old coal plants.
“This is not about coal against natural gas," Whitehead said. “It's about the future of our children. It's about clean air. It's about health. It's about jobs."
State Sen. Bruce Whitehead has a fine idea in advocating for the state of Colorado to purchase about 10,460 acre feet of water stored in the Animas-La Plata Project's Lake Nighthorse south of Durango.
The reservoir, which began filling last fall, will so far contain water for six local and regional entities: the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes, the Navajo Nation, the San Juan (New Mexico) Water Commission, the Animas-La Plata Water Conservancy District and the La Plata Water Conservancy District. This purchase would add the state to the list of beneficiaries.
As Whitehead has explained, Colorado would be able to use the water to offset any shortfall in supplies from the Colorado River. That could come from a call on the river, when junior water-rights holders have to reduce their usage in order to satisfy an entity with more senior water rights.
DENVER - A plan to buy water in the Animas-La Plata project won support from the Colorado Water Conservation Board on Monday.
The idea pushed bySen. Bruce Whitehead, D-Hesperus, now needs approval from the Legislature.
The 10,460 acre-feet of water at stake is more than enough to cover any city water shortages predicted for Southwest Colorado in the next 20 years.
Whitehead had pushed for the $36 million deal in his previous job as a CWCB board member, but the state never had enough money.
“Now, it appears that the stars have aligned, and this may be possible," Whitehead said.
The latest predictions of natural gas and oil tax money - which funds water projects - shows the potential for up to $40 million next year to refill the nearly empty savings accounts for water.
The state always has had the option to buy water in the new reservoir southwest of Durango, but the window of opportunity to complete the sale probably will close next year, after the reservoir is full.
If the state does not buy the water, it would go to the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Indian tribes, which already own 33,050 acre-feet each.
“There is great support in the Southwest Colorado basin for the state's involvement in this," said April Montgomery, who represents the area on the water board.
In a welcome bit of bipartisan cooperation, state Rep. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, and state Sen. Bruce Whitehead, D-Hesperus, are working with Gov. Bill Ritter on a bill to help Front Range utilities switch from burning coal to using natural gas to produce electricity. The change promises to benefit the environment and Colorado's economy.
In a perfect world, all power would come from solar arrays, wind farms or some yet-to-be discovered clean and limitless energy source. Nuclear power can and should be part of the mix, but technical questions aside, its political problems alone will limit its application. In the real world, humanity is going to be burning fossil fuels for some time. The trick is to do so in the least polluting, least damaging way.
By any measure, that means a greater emphasis on natural gas. That a further reliance on gas would also benefit a major Colorado industry is just a happy coincidence.
U.S. oil supplies are limited, while imported oil is costly, politically unstable and too often puts money - and therefore power - in the hands of precisely those people and nations the United States would rather not see strengthened. Every dollar spent on foreign oil promotes Islamic extremists, anarchy in places like Nigeria and tyrants such as Hugo Chavez.
Summit Daily News By: Caitlin Row March 19th, 2010
The state House of Representatives education committee OK'd State Sen. Dan Gibbs' CMC bill unanimously Thursday. If passed, Colorado Mountain College may offer up to five four-year bachelor's degrees by Summer 2011.
“We are extremely pleased with the level of support we've seen in the Legislature, and especially among the students, communities and businesses we serve,” said CMC spokeswoman Debbie Crawford. “There's a lot of work ahead, and it's pretty exciting.”
GUNNISON - Graduate students will return to Western State College of Colorado (WSC) this summer for the first time since the late 80s.
Starting in July, studies will begin for the master of fine arts (MFA) in creative writing, and in August for the master of arts in education. Applications are now being accepted through the WSC Office of Graduate Programs.
The creative writing MFA is a low-residency program. Students will be on campus for a two-week session in late July, and then complete most of their coursework through on-line studies with close one-on-one interaction with their faculty mentor-writers. The program will take a little more than two years to complete, including three summer sessions.
Both programs mark a new era in graduate studies at Western. The college began awarding master’s degrees in 1923, but the program was discontinued per state legislation in 1989. A bill signed by Gov. Bill Ritter in March 2007 granted Western authority to again offer graduate degree programs. Rep. Kathleen Curry originally drafted the bill and Sen. Gail Schwartz carried the bill in the Senate. A lengthy curriculum approval and accreditation process followed the initial signing of the bill.
A proposal to reduce Xcel Energy Inc.’s coal-fired power generation along Colorado’s Front Range, and replace the use of coal with natural gas or other power sources, has gained the backing of Democrats and Republicans, Gov. Bill Ritter’s administration, environmentalists, the utility and the state’s natural gas industry.
The bill — HB 1365, dubbed the Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act — was introduced at the state Legislature Tuesday and speeded into its first committee hearing before the House Transportation and Energy Committee.
The bill is sponsored by state Reps. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, and Judy Solano, D-Brighton, as well as Sens. Bruce Whitehead, D-Hesperus, and Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction. Ten of the 11 committee members Tuesday are co-sponsors of the bill.
Coloradans frustrated with an unfinished 25-year Superfund cleanup at a uranium mill are pushing to tighten state standards and prevent future disasters.
The Colorado Medical Society, Fremont County commissioners and an array of economic and activist groups have endorsed legislation — up for discussion by state lawmakers this week — that would require uranium-processing companies to clean up existing toxic waste before launching new or expanded operations.
The legislation also would:
• Require companies to notify residents within 1 mile of a mill when groundwater may be contaminated
• Give communities a voice in the review of company bond money assurance for a cleanup and plans to import radioactive materials.
State Sens. Ken Kester, R-Las Animas, and Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins, and Rep. Buffie McFadyen, D-Pueblo West, embraced the effort.
Insurance companies couldn't charge women higher rates for health coverage than men in individual plans under a bill that received initial Senate approval Monday.
Supporters of the legislation say women often are charged as much as 40 percent more than men for individual health-insurance plans. Proponents said group plans and public health programs do not have different cost structures for men and women, but individual-market plans frequently do.
The bill would affect about 140,000 women, proponents said.
Insurance companies opposed to the bill have argued that coverage for women is costlier, often because of maternity care. But Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, one of the bill's Senate sponsors, said women who don't receive maternity care and those who are healthier than men still pay more.
DENVER -- Lawmakers approved increased oversight of Colorado's child welfare system Thursday following the deaths of 35 children over the past three years and a scathing federal report that said the state was doing too little to ensure the safety of children in its care.
Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, said 179 children in state custody lost their lives because of abuse and neglect from 2000 to 2007, two-thirds of them under 4 years old.
"With no meaningful accountability in Colorado and children dying because of it, a central independent office is imperative," Newell told the Senate Health & Human Services Committee, which approved her bill setting up a child protection ombudsman office as an independent office in the state Department of Human Services. It was the first major committee hearing on the bill in the state Senate
DENVER - It is because of the lessons being learned on the nation's college campuses that Colorado state lawmakers are taking action.
"I think there was a time when we all just assumed that our college campuses were safe," Sen. Morgan Carroll (D-Aurora) said.
In reaction to the shootings at schools like Virginia Tech and more recently at Ohio State University, Carroll is sponsoring House Bill 1054. It requires Colorado's universities and colleges to have plans in place to deal with school shootings.
The political battle over taxing online sales made through retailers such as Amazon.com intensified Tuesday, with Democrats saying the state should not back down from trying to collect money it's owed and Republicans arguing the new law should be repealed.
The hardened stances came a day after Amazon said it would end its relationships with thousands of online affiliates in Colorado who send business its way through blogs and niche websites and then earn commissions on each sale.
Finding ways to expand access to higher education opportunities, especially in rural areas, has been a labor of love for Colorado state Sen. Gail Schwartz.
Before the Snowmass Village Democrat was elected to the state Senate, she spent six years as an elected member of the University of Colorado Board of Regents. She served on the Colorado Commission on Higher Education for four years prior to that.
It's one of the reasons Schwartz was eager to sign on as a primary sponsor of Colorado Mountain College's bill currently in the state Legislature that would grant the junior college the right to offer a limited number of four-year degree programs.
DENVER — The Senate on Tuesday granted final approval to a bill that makes it easier for professionals in certain regulated fields to practice their occupations in Colorado after moving from another state.
State Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, sponsored HB1175 in the Senate. Rep. Marsha Looper, R-Colorado Springs, was the House sponsor. Tapia said it's aimed to help military families transition to the state.
The bill calls for streamlined processes for licensing chiropractors, dentists, dental hygienists, optometrists, nursing home administrators and physical therapists in Colorado when they move from other states.
So here's what the legislature came up with during the endless budget debates: It would require companies like Amazon to send to its Colorado customers a list of what they've spent during a year and a reminder that the customer owes a use tax. It also sends a dollar figure to the state. Amazon would not be a tax collector. It would be a tax nudger.
The idea was to persuade Amazon it would be easier just to collect the tax than to keep all those records. But Amazon had a different idea: Call the lawyers and then go all medieval on the affiliates, who would pressure the legislators.
The stakes are large. And the reaction was not unexpected. Amazon had fired its affiliates in Rhode Island and North Carolina. It threatened to do the same in Colorado, which is why the legislators passed a law that wasn't based on affiliates.
"It's just awful," Pommer said, "but we're kind of in a bind. Say, fine, we reverse the law. Now every company can say if we pass a law they don't like, they'll fire everyone."
I would like to acknowledge and thank Sen. Gail Schwartz on her recently bipartisan supported legislation she introduced, Bill HB10-1001 Renewable Energy Standard. The bill increases Colorado's Renewable Energy Standard from 20 percent to 30 percent for investor owned utilities, and adds a minimum requirement for distributed generation of 3 percent of total retail electric sales and all this will be accomplished by 2020.
DENVER -- Colorado is among 16 finalists in the national competition for millions of dollars in federal education funding, the only Western state to make the first cut in the Obama administration`s "Race to the Top" initiative. Thursday`s announcement by the U.S. Department of Education means Colorado officials will get to go to Washington later this month to make their case for why the state should win the $377 million it`s applied for.
Colorado has some education reform connections in Washington, including Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, the former Denver schools superintendent. Newly elected Democratic state Sen. Michael Johnston, a former high school principal, worked as an education adviser to Barack Obama on the campaign trail and on his presidential transition team, where he helped develop the "Race to the Top" program. However, Johnston said he can`t advise Obama now that he`s in office himself and thinks the administration is trying to keep politics out of its decision making.
Jobs that support the arts in Colorado make up the state's fifth largest employment sector, according to a recent study released by the Colorado Council on the Arts.
The report, “Colorado: State-of-the-Art, Key Findings from The State of Colorado's Creative Economy,” shows that Colorado's creative industries employ more than 122,000 people in approximately 8,000 organizations — 3.9 percent of the state's estimated 3.2 million jobs.
Creative industries in Colorado employ more people than defense and security,agribusiness, food processing and technology.
Last month Gov. Bill Ritter, Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien and lawmakers announced three bills to be introduced during Colorado's 2010 legislative session that they say will create more jobs and spur further economic growth in the creative industries.
State Sen. Bruce Whitehead, D-Hesperus, has had some legislative success in an important area. He and state Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass, are the Senate sponsors of a bill to increase the state's renewable-energy standard to 30 percent by 2020. It passed the Senate on Friday. Colorado voters approved a renewable energy standard in 2004 that stipulated 10 percent of the electricity generated by the state's biggest power producers had to come from renewable energy. That goal, to be achieved by 2020, was doubled in 2007, and this would raise it again.
Raising that standard was one of Gov. Bill Ritter's top priorities. Obviously, power generated by solar, wind or other renewable-sources creates less pollution and contributes less in the way of greenhouse gases. And at some point, as its use is expanded, renewable power also can displace some imported oil - much of which is produced in countries with problematic governments.
I would like to acknowledge and thank Sen. Gail Schwartz on her recently bipartisan supported legislation she introduced, Bill HB10-1001 Renewable Energy Standard. The bill increases Colorado’s Renewable Energy Standard from 20 percent to 30 percent for investor owned utilities, and adds a minimum requirement for distributed generation of 3 percent of total retail electric sales and all this will be accomplished by 2020. The new standards will create jobs for rural Colorado, promote a new energy economy, and help businesses continue to grow by an estimated 2,000 new construction jobs per year, create over $2.5 billion in economic output, and power an additional 100,000 homes through renewable energy. Sen. Schwartz also introduced two additional bills (SB10-100 S10-019) which expand upon the previous legislation to created tax incentives for small hydro, solar and wind powered plants and seeks to continue encouraging renewable energy companies to invest in Colorado.
The bill, by Sen. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, passed 25-9. He said the parks board would set up rules, including guidelines to make sure the portable pass that would hang from a rearview mirror is not shared with friends and family.
Sen. Joyce Foster, D-Denver, who would be eligible for the pass, said breaks for seniors are common and aren't a problem.
"Movie theaters do it all the time. Many, many restaurants have early-bird specials for us too," she said.
Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, said she believes the bill will pay off in the long term if seniors visit more parks, bring their children and grandchildren, and interest them in the outdoors too.
Coloradans 64 and older already get a discount when they buy the annual pass that grants access to all state parks. The fee is $60 for most Coloradans but $30 for most seniors.
DENVER - Sen. Bruce Whitehead's renewable energy bill passed its first test in the state Senate on Tuesday. House Bill 1001 would require the state's largest utilities to get 30 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020. That is triple what the standard was in 2007, when Gov. Bill Ritter took office.
Whitehead, D-Hesperus, is co-sponsoring the bill with Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village. It's sponsored in the House by Max Tyler, D-Lakewood.
“It will help create jobs in the state - green jobs for solar installations," Whitehead said.
The bill applies only to Colorado's two investor-owned utilities - Xcel Energy and Black Hills Energy. The rural electric cooperatives that serve Southwest Colorado will remain at their 10 percent renewable power standard.
Everyone knows the environmental benefits of renewable-energy technology, but people often overlook the boost renewable energy can have on an economy.
We have been working with Rep. Max Tyler, Gov. Bill Ritter, the environmental community, investor owner energy companies and rural electric associations to come up with a plan to use these technologies to bring jobs to Colorado.
In 2004, Colorado voters approved a Renewable Energy Standard for the first time in the nation. In 2007, Ritter and the legislature (including Schwartz) doubled that standard to 20 percent by 2020. With House Bill 10-1001, Colorado is expected to exceed this goal, so we are proposing to increase our RES to 30 percent by 2020 for investor-owned utilities. This 30 percent standard could lead to 100,000 solar rooftops over the next decade, bring thousands of jobs and incredible economic benefits to the people of Colorado.
Some locals will remember “back in the day” when I-70 traffic was heavy eastbound they used to employ one of the lanes of the westbound side of the tunnel for eastbound traffic (and, occasionally, vice-versa). It helped, but was discarded as a solution when the volume of traffic westbound became great enough that it would simply have shifted the problem from one direction to another. But the idea of using the existing roads to help ease traffic jams was and is still sound, which is why the notion of trying moveable barriers to create “zipper lanes” is something well worth pursuing.
Our State Sen. Dan Gibbs is sponsoring a bill to do just that — although the Colorado Department of Transportation along with the I-70 Coalition has actually been studying the feasibility of this for some time now. Whether it's a legislative action or simply a change of policy on CDOT's part is immaterial; the upshot is it's another potentially valuable tool to help alleviate what's become a rather painful Sunday ritual for Sunday travelers winter and summer: I-70 gridlock.
DENVER — A bill promoting renewable energy generated close to home will be heard by a state Senate committee today, and its supporters say it will bring jobs and lower energy bills to Colorado residents.
... The bill would "move Colorado to the top when it comes to Western states and renewable energy standards," [Sen. Gail] Schwartz said.
Her cosponsor, Sen. Bruce Whitehead, D-Hesperus, said, "It helps close the gap for some of our energy needs in the future."
Schwartz said the standard would make for lower, more consistent utility bills and create jobs.
She cited the 17,000 jobs in the new energy field that have benefitted the state to date as an example of the difference a commitment to renewable energy can make during the present economic downturn. She said it creates the type of diversified work force that can overcome trying economic conditions.
Already more than 230 solar companies are operating in Colorado.
... And, she said, "Costs are dropping" for solar and other renewable energy options for residences and businesses, both of which are targeted as consumers of the green energy alternatives addressed in HB1001.
Environmental advocates supporting a bill in the state Legislature that would require Xcel Energy to get 30 percent of its power from renewable sources released a report Tuesday saying the higher mandate could create 23,000 jobs in the state’s solar industry over the next 10 years.
The study, “Investing in the Sun,” was compiled by Environment Colorado, a Denver-based environmental advocacy group, and Vote Solar, a San Francisco-based grassroots organization focused on solar power. The study is available here.
“This report proves what we already know: the New Energy Economy is creating jobs in Colorado for Coloradans,” said Schwartz in a statement. “By raising our renewable energy standard, we will see thousands of new jobs and prove that Colorado is leading the nation when it comes to innovation.”
The Denver Post By Jessica Fender 03/01/2010 01:00:00 AM MST
Hundreds of thousands of skiers and snowboarders could see congested down-mountain commutes eased next winter with legislation meant to nudge transportation officials toward a new-to-Colorado technology.
Movable concrete barriers would divide a section of westbound Interstate 70 on weekend afternoons, temporarily rededicating the inside lane to eastbound traffic along one of the roadway's most snarled segments.
The lawmakers pushing the plan estimate that the extra eastbound lane could halve drive times over the affected stretch, though others worry about the safety and feasibility of using the system on steep, wintry roads.
"This is not a permanent, long-term solution, but this is a huge down payment to help average citizens get back and forth from the mountains we love," said Sen. Chris Romer, one of the sponsors of the barrier bill.
Romer, D-Denver, and Sen. Dan Gibbs, D-Silverthorne, intend to introduce the legislation today.
GUNNISON - Graduate studies have returned to Western State College after the Feb. 23 decision by Higher Learning Commission officially granting the college accreditation for its Master of Arts in Education and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.
Studies will begin this July for the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and in August for the Master of Arts in Education.
Both programs mark a new era in graduate studies at Western. The college began awarding master's degrees in 1923, but the program was discontinued per state legislation in 1989. A bill signed by Gov. Bill Ritter in March 2007 granted WSC authority to again offer graduate degree programs. Rep. Kathleen Curry originally drafted the bill and Sen. Gail Schwartz carried the bill in the Senate. A lengthy and consuming curriculum approval and accreditation process followed the initial signing of the bill.
Lawmakers are trying to stop the so-called “gift that keeps on taking” by passing a bill that would crack down on gift cards sold by businesses in Colorado.
The Colorado Senate yesterday gave initial approval to Senate Bill 155, which would prohibit businesses from charging fees on gift cards they issue and allow consumers to receive cash back from a business when their card balance goes below $5. Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, the bill’s sponsor, believes the measure would put money back into consumers’ pockets and even the playing field between stores and their customers.
“When you buy a gift card for $25, it should be worth $25,” she said in a statement. “This bill protects Colorado consumers from being charged hidden fees and prevents them from becoming victims.”
DENVER — A proposal to maintain Colorado tourism funding is now before the state Senate. House Bill 1339 would keep the state's annual contribution to the Colorado Tourism Office at $15 million for the second year in a row.
The Colorado House of Representatives passed the measure last week, but only after stripping an amendment that would have eliminated 100 percent of the state's tourism funds.
“Tourism is our second-leading economic driver in Colorado and is critical for our mountain communities, so I was pleased that tourism funding was not eliminated,” said Sen. Dan Gibbs, who represents Summit County.
In a state government starkly divided along party lines on so many issues, it’s refreshing to see that political leaders can reach agreement rapidly on some critical issues.
This week, Gov. Bill Ritter signed Senate Bill 1, which makes significant reforms — and cuts — in Colorado’s Public Employees Retirement Association pension system.
SB 1 was a bipartisan effort from the start, with Democratic Senate President Brandon Shaffer joining with Republican Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry to draft and introduce the bill. The foundation for the legislation was laid last year through recommendations put together by PERA’s bipartisan board of directors. The bill moved quickly through the Senate and House before reaching the governor’s desk.
...We applaud Penry and Shaffer for leading the charge on this issue, and all of the others who worked to get the changes adopted rapidly.
SUMMIT COUNTY — State Sen. Dan Gibbs wants to improve Interstate 70 mountain traffic flow by keeping large commercial trucks out of the fast lane on steeper grades.
“My goal is to improve mobility and efficiency along the highway,” Gibbs said.
He's sponsoring a bill to be introduced this week that would require vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds to stay out of the left lane on grades of 6 percent or more.
Calhan Republican Rep. Marsha Looper’s car dealer bill at the General Assembly is gathering support, thanks to an effort by General Motors to kill the measure.
On Friday, Senate Democrats piled on as supporters, led Colorado Springs Sen. John Morse. Morse, the chamber’s majority leader, said they’re motivated by a $60,000 ad campaign from GM that takes aim at the bill.
“This was exactly the wrong thing to do, unless they wanted to make sure the bill passed,” Morse said. “They have solidified the vote for this bill. I hope they do a better job of building cars than they do of politicking.”
General Motors is launching a $60,000 print and radio ad campaign Friday against a bill going through the Colorado Legislature that would allow ousted dealers to recover their franchises and their most recent improvement costs more easily.
After learning of the plan, sponsors and supporters of the bill lashed out against the “arrogance” of a company bailed out by taxpayers that’s spending government funds to campaign against local dealers.
But the bill’s prospects actually became better when legislators learned about the ads, said Tim Jackson, president of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association. Not only did Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, and other top Democrats agree to speak at the 8:30 a.m. MST Friday rally after hearing of the plan, but so did Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, who opposed a similar bill last year to help the 38 ousted Chrysler and GM dealers.
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO)- The deodorant and shampoos you use could have cancer causing ingredients in them.
A bill in the Colorado House would make it illegal for companies to put these toxic chemicals in any of your personal products.
House Bill 1248 would make it illegal for any of your personal care products to contain carcinogens and ingredients that are harmful to your reproductive system.
State Senator Betty Boyd says, "We really wanted to help make the people of Colorado aware that across the world and across the country such products in some cases are banned. In many cases, in many countries in Europe these products are not even allowed in the personal care products"
DENVER — Finding ways to expand access to higher education opportunities, especially in rural areas, has been a labor of love for Colorado state Sen. Gail Schwartz.
Before the Snowmass Village Democrat was elected to the state Senate, she spent six years as an elected member of the University of Colorado Board of Regents. She served on the Colorado Commission on Higher Education for four years prior to that.
It's one of the reasons Schwartz was eager to sign on as a primary sponsor of Colorado Mountain College's bill currently in the state Legislature that would grant the junior college the right to offer a limited number of four-year degree programs.
“This is very important to me,” she said following the Senate Education Committee's 7-1 vote Wednesday to send the bill, known as SB 101, to the full Senate for consideration. “I have worked locally to create more pre-collegiate programs, and I hope to help CMC deliver more opportunities for people in its service district.
SUMMIT COUNTY — A bill allowing Colorado Mountain College's campuses to offer four-year degrees passed out of the Senate education committee Wednesday.
As of now, CMC only provides two-year associate's degrees. CMC's board of trustees already OK'd making four-year degrees a reality, but the measure must be passed by the state Legislature first.
According to State Sen. Dan Gibbs (who introduced the bill), it was passed by the committee 7-1, and the next step is to bring it to the full Senate floor.
“We're very pleased that we've crossed this first threshold, and we have a lot of work to do,” said Colorado Mountain College's spokeswoman Debra Crawford.
Gibbs said Colorado's mountain communities are under-served regarding higher education — CMC's service spans a 12,000 square-mile radius with seven campuses spread throughout the region.
More than 205,000 commercial users on the Arkansas River last year contributed to a state economic impact of about $60 million according to a Colorado River Outfitters Association report released last week.
Statewide, commercial river use had an economic impact of almost $142 million. The Arkansas River contribution to the market share was 42.3 percent.
Commercial rafting in Colorado was down 6 percent from 2008, but professional river outfitters said they "continued to do their part in keeping a weak statewide economy afloat."
Rep. Kathleen Curry and Sen. Mary Hodge are sponsoring the bill, which would ensure licensed river outfitters can legally operate on historically floated Colorado rivers.
Too many doses of medications are being dumped into Colorado's water supply when they could be used to help needy patients in this state and beyond, two lawmakers and a nursing home administrator said Sunday morning on the west steps of the state Capitol.
"It's just a colossal waste of money, and it's damaging to our environment," said Maxine Roby, administrator at the Rowan Community, a 64-bed nursing home in Denver.
Roby said she supports Senate Bill 115, which would allow facilities such as nursing homes and hospitals to donate unused — but still good — medications to nonprofit organizations such as Project CURE or Doctors Without Borders or to redispense the drugs to needy patients in Colorado.
SB 115, co-sponsored by Rep. Dianne Primavera, D-Broomfield, and Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, passed unanimously in the Senate and is awaiting a hearing in the House.
A bill to provide tax incentives for hydroelectric plants sponsored by Sen. Gail Schwartzhas passed the state Senate and is headed to the House.
The bill would provide hydroelectric plants the same property tax structure as solar and wind power facilities. Schwartz, who chairs the Senate Local Government and Energy Committee, had previously sponsored bills that created tax incentives for renewable energy plants.
“I am so pleased we were able to pass this bill in a collaborative and bipartisan manner,” said Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village. “It is vital that we continue to foster a positive environment for hydroelectric and other renewable energy generation in Colorado. When utilizing Colorado’s natural resources, we are investing in a stronger, healthier economy and the future for our children.”
Much of Evie Hudak's adult life was centered on education, from teaching to serving on the PTA to the state Board of Education. Her main issue at the Capitol is education.
Hudak, 58, and her husband, Ed, have a daughter, Genevieve, a valedictorian in Arvada High School's Class of 2000.
Q: You were (with) the Colorado Education Network when it designed and promoted Amendment 23 (approved by voters in 2000 to boost education funding). Any regrets?
A: I have no regrets. It preserved education funding at the rate of growth plus inflation so it wouldn't go down. And the additional 1 percent for education was to make up for 10 years of not keeping up with inflation. . . . We would have made huge, huge cuts to education if we hadn't had this in place. I realize it puts a lot of strain on the budget, but one of the biggest responsibilities of state government is to pay for education.
The Colorado Legislature is in the midst of hearing many important bills that are important to the people of Colorado. These bills include PERA reform and medical marijuana, but none are more important than the state budget.
Since the recession began in 2008, Democrats have worked day in and day out to offer practical solutions to balance the budget. As we emerge from the worst recession since the Great Depression, state leaders must still deal with a budget shortfall of more than $1 billion. As lawmakers, it’s our job to ensure cuts to the state budget are fair and equitable. We are taking a balanced approach to balancing the state budget. Yes, the cuts we are making are painful, but the pain must be shared. There are families all across Colorado who must choose between a visit to the doctor or putting food on the table. Business owners have had to make the tough choice between laying off workers or cutting employee benefits. These are tough times, and all Coloradans are struggling with tough choices.
As citizens travel throughout Colorado, they pass by some of the world's most productive farmland. How could anyone confuse fruitful land with the menacing slums, abandoned or derelict buildings, and crime ridden streets that are characteristic of urban blight? We can't and we don't think most Coloradans can either.
We need to recognize in statute what is common sense: farmland is not urban blight.
We are pleased to run House Bill 1107 as one part of a package of solutions addressing Colorado's fiscal crisis. HB 1107 places reasonable limits on the inclusion of agricultural land into urban renewal areas (URAs). This bill will save Colorado millions of dollars and provide more transparency, accountability, and equity among the entities that levy local property taxes.
For nearly a century, Congress has repeatedly debated health care reform. At times, significant progress occurs, like the enactment of Medicare and the start of Medicaid. In the past year, Congress once again has taken up health care reform.
While we believe national insurance reform is needed, Colorado cannot afford to wait for Congress to act. The cost of inaction is simply too high for Colorado families, senior citizens and businesses.
Instead of waiting for Washington, Colorado is leading the way with our own reform agenda to contain costs, improve quality and make health care and insurance coverage more available to people in every corner of Colorado. We are using information technology to make health care more accessible and effective while reducing the number of duplicative tests.
We launched and are building the Center for Improving Value in Health Care, which is reforming health delivery systems to improve quality and drive down costs.
We enacted the Colorado Healthcare Affordability Act, the single biggest reform in 40 years, which will reduce cost-shifting, provide coverage to more than 100,000 Coloradans without costing taxpayers a penny, and create new incentives to promote high-quality hospital care.
House Bill 1067 regarding funding for Fort Lewis College has generated a lot of publicity, and our community is rightfully concerned.
The federal government gave The Old Fort Lewis College Campus near Hesperus to Colorado under the condition that the college would admit Native American students “free of tuition.”
This agreement has made Fort Lewis a national leader in providing education to Native American students, creating a culture of diversity recognized as the hallmark of college and the surrounding area. To make up these tuition costs, the state reimburses Fort Lewis the tuition for each Native American student. Enrollment is open to all Native American students nationwide.
The Colorado Senate gave initial approval to a package of bills removing tax breaks on candy, soda, software, junk mail and other items Monday night.
After more than 11 hours of debate on the bills Monday, the Senate approved the package just before 11:30 p.m. and only after a last-minute partisan dust-up nearly led to an all-night filibuster. The Senate started on the measures Friday, debating them for four hours.
The floor debate followed two marathon days of hearings last week on the measures in a Senate committee. The bills, anticipated to bring as much as $140 million as the state tries to cover a budget shortfall next year of at least $1.3 billion, went through a similar grind in the House the week before.
The debate over eliminating or suspending tax credits and exemptions has quickly become the defining issue of the 2010 session. Gov. Bill Ritter has proposed cuts to spending along with removing the tax breaks as a way to help balance the budget.
I was accused of trying to break the Senate's gavel last week. I had the honor of presiding over the committee of the whole for the first time, although I'm unsure if I'll be allowed to be chairman again if the gavel doesn't recover. It was a thrilling experience; it's not every day you get to preside over Senate proceedings. In general, I managed to work my way through it while keeping the procedural errors to a minimum.
A number of important bills were debated recently, although that could be just my feeling because I'm sponsoring these “important bills." I'm happy to report Senate bills 25 and 82 passed unanimously through committee.
SB 25 extends the long-term funding of the water efficiency grant program to 2020 (currently set to expire in 2012), and SB 82 repeals term limits of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe Environmental Commission.
As we kick off this 2010 legislative session, we are joining our Democratic colleagues in renewing our commitment to address Colorado's challenges head-on, and working for Colorado families. Our record shows we are doing what's best for the people of Colorado by providing a clear direction forward, and our upcoming legislative agenda reflects that.
Overall, our legislation will focus on job creation and job training while balancing the budget.
It's a difficult economy, and a difficult time for the state budget. Gov. Bill Ritter and lawmakers have been cutting government spending, streamlining bureaucracies, cutting red tape, and balancing the budget by closing a $2 billion shortfall. More cuts lie ahead, but we're cutting in a way that will lead us to a strong and sustainable recovery well ahead of other states. As we continue to cut, we will take a systematic approach to remaking a leaner, more efficient, smarter government.
SUMMIT COUNTY — As a former student of Colorado Mountain College, state Sen. Dan Gibbs wants to see the institution flourish and grow. His recently introduced bill proposes to do just that, by allowing its numerous campuses to provide four-year degrees.
“You should be able to live where you study and study where you live. College is a foundation for life,” Gibbs said.
According to Gibbs, Colorado's mountain communities are under-served regarding higher education: CMC's service spans a 12,000 square-mile radius with seven campuses spread throughout the region.
The Bureau of Land Management last week withdrew for the third time what could have become Colorado's first geothermal lease after receiving a slew of questions and complaints from landowners concerned about the impacts potential geothermal developments would have on property values.
"There is a necessity to delay the lease for a period of time," Sen. Gail Schwartz (D), who represents the area in the Colorado General Assembly, said in a letter to BLM. "Development could impact the view shed of a highly scenic area, in turn affecting tourism, quality of life and real estate value of local residents."
While supportive of geothermal development as a means for Colorado to meet its 20 percent renewable portfolio standard (RPS) by 2020, Schwartz criticized the "hasty timing" of the lease sale and the lack of public participation in the process.
"The residential nature of this proposed lease threatens the residents of Chaffee County, the likes of which I do not believe BLM has previously experienced," she said.
On January 12th the world watched as one of the worst natural disasters in our history shook Haiti and left the country in shambles. Just hours after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake, an international effort to provide humanitarian relief was underway. I am proud so many Coloradans reacted so profoundly to the Haitian's suffering and responded to their needs by sending money and medical supplies. Though the disaster may no longer be front-page news, the suffering continues.
Colorado has an opportunity to show its compassion by continuing its support of the people of Haiti and providing them with one of their most desperate needs: medication.
One source of medical aid that has yet to be to be tapped is unused medication from long-term care facilities in Colorado. Under current law, all unused, unopened medication that licensed healthcare facilities wish to donate to a not-for-profit entity, must gain consent by the patient, resident, or next of kin. If medication remains in the possession of the care facility for an extended period of time, they are required to eventually dispose of it.
Colorado has the opportunity to help the people of Haiti and others around the world, but to do so we must act quickly. That is why I am sponsoring legislation to change Colorado law so we can donate unused medication to the relief effort in Haiti as well as to other humanitarian disasters which may arise.
Mark Schumacher started his commercial rafting company on the Taylor River in 1983, and has been active in helping promote the industry since the Colorado River Outfitters Association formed in 1988.
Along with the outfitters association, he is working hard to keep access to one stretch of the Taylor River where a landowner wants to block access to commercial float trips through the property.
The outfitters are supporting HB1188, co-sponsored by Rep. Kathleen Curry, I-Gunnison, and Sen. Mary Hodge, R-Brighton, that would explicitly allow commercial rafters to conduct float trips across private and government lands.
Two prominent Democratic senators — Rollie Heath of Boulder and Chris Romer of Denver — want the state to offer hefty new tax credits to businesses that hire back workers they laid off in 2009. It’s meant to provide an incentive for businesses that are thinking about rehiring workers to do so now, the senators said.
The proposal isn’t meant to offset the effect of tax-credit cuts that have galvanized the business community more than any issue since the 2007 attempt to amend the Labor Peace Act. The first hearings on the tax-cut proposals drew an overflow crowd Jan. 27.
Businesses argue that eliminating or suspending long-standing tax exemptions — such as a $48 million exemption on energy used in manufacturing and a $15 million exemption on unpackaged software — will stifle job growth and halt any economic recovery.
Removal of even some smaller exemptions, such as an $800,000 exemption on direct-mail advertising that’s proposed for suspension, would cause companies to consider cutting jobs or relocating them to other states, said Gary Yeats, tax counsel for direct-mail company [CompanyWatch allows you to receive email alerts with stories related to your companies of interest. You can watch up to ten companies at a time. Valassis Communications Inc., which has a 57-person Aurora office.
Under the Colorado Full Employment Act, the title of the bill that Heath and Romer plan to introduce on Jan. 29, businesses that hire back a worker they laid off in 2009, between Jan. 1 and April 30, would receive a tax credit on 66.7 percent of that employee’s Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) payroll tax.
The budget was set, the artist chosen and renderings completed. But Donald Lipski's planned $540,000 sculpture was nowhere to be seen when the $120 million Auraria Science Building addition opened earlier this month.
The work was to have been funded by the state's 33-year-old law mandating that 1 percent of construction budgets for all state-funded projects be set aside for the purchase of art.
But an informal opinion from the Colorado Attorney General's Office a year ago (and formalized two weeks ago) said that a complex lease-purchase mechanism used to finance the building exempted it from the statute. That forced the suspension of Lipski's sculpture — and the discontinuation of 11 other artworks attached to similarly funded projects.
Some lawmakers say that was not right.
Senate Bill 94, introduced by state Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver, would close that loophole and restore what he and arts advocates see as the original intent of the Art in Public Places bill passed in 1977.
Last week was an extremely busy week. I had the honor of speaking at the Colorado Water Congress annual legislative breakfast. I joined many representatives from the House but was the only senator in attendance.
That was not a surprise, because I already have been labeled the “water guy" in the Senate. As the “water guy," I've been working on several water bills this session, including a bill that will require large water providers annually to report on water use, including estimates of conservation, to the Colorado Water Conservation Board.
Community College of Aurora President Linda Bowman and University of Colorado Denver Chancellor M. Roy Wilson took center stage at a monthly town meeting held by state Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, and state Rep. Su Ryden, D-Aurora. Both educators were discussing what might happen next as the state gears up for drastic budget cuts that are certain to impact an already reeling state-college system.
State colleges last year dodged the harshest impact of state budget cuts because federal stimulus dollars helped backfill a $145 million shortage. That money is gone and now Colorado officials are poised to slash much deeper into budgets across the state.
DENVER, Colorado — Large utility companies in Colorado could be held to a higher standard when it comes to renewable energy.
State lawmakers are crafting legislation that would require large electricity suppliers to generate at least 30 percent of their electricity from renewable sources, such as wind and solar energy.
“In principle, I support what they're trying to accomplish, and they have our largest utility on board, which is terrific,” said state Rep. Christine Scanlan, who represents Summit County.
State Sen. Dan Gibbs echoed Scanlan's sentiments, and said he “would work hard to make sure biomass is an option.”
DENVER— Thirty members of the Alamosa attended the National Western Stock Show last week. Students earned the right to attend by participating in various FFA events and fundraisers throughout the fall.
Wednesday’s highlight was a visit to the state capitol. Senator Gail Schwartz and Representative Ed Vigil took time out of their busy schedules to meet with the students.
Representative Vigil introduced the Chapter on the House Floor. Senator Schwartz invited the group to the agriculture committee meeting to observe the workings of that committee. FFA President Brandy Marrinan introduced the chapter to the committee.
RIDGWAY – The State of Colorado mandates that counties must have noxious weed management programs, yet it has no mechanism for funding these programs. As a result, Ouray County Weed Manager Ron Mabry has labored to find funding for noxious weed programs. Now, with the Jan. 14 introduction of Senate Bill 10-098, he is a step closer to succeeding.
SB 10-098, sponsored by Colorado Sen. Lois Tochtrop and Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg, proposes to annually distribute $7.5 million in state lottery proceeds from the Conservation Trust Fund. The money would be divided, with $5 million going to the Conservation District Grant Fund and $2.5 million to the noxious weed management fund.
DENVER — A proposal to extend eligibility for nurse tuition forgiveness got a clean bill of health Wednesday from the Colorado Senate Education Committee, which passed it unanimously.
Sponsored by Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, SB58 grants eligibility for student loan forgiveness to nurses who earn advanced degrees and teach their craft on a part-time basis.
Currently, the Nursing Teacher Loan Forgiveness Pilot Program overseen by CollegeInvest applies only to nurses who are teaching full-time.
Tapia told the committee that when the first tuition loan forgiveness program for nurses was adopted by the Legislature in 2006, it didn't sufficiently extend benefits to lure instructors away from their lucrative field.
He said the absence of nursing teachers with advanced degrees has contributed to the statewide shortage of nurses, because there aren't enough teachers at nursing schools to meet student demands. Consequently, enrollment at nursing schools tends to be capped below its full potential.
House Bill 1067 regarding funding for Fort Lewis College has generated a lot of publicity, and our community is rightfully concerned.
The federal government gave The Old Fort Lewis College Campus near Hesperus to Colorado under the condition that the college would admit Native American students “free of tuition.”
This agreement has made Fort Lewis a national leader in providing education to Native American students, creating a culture of diversity recognized as the hallmark of college and the surrounding area. To make up these tuition costs, the state reimburses Fort Lewis the tuition for each Native American student. Enrollment is open to all Native American students nationwide.
House Bill 1067, as introduced, would not in any way have affected the ability of these students to attend the college tuition free, but would have impacted the reimbursement provided by the state to Fort Lewis College. Under the bill, the state would no longer reimburse the college the full out-of-state tuition costs for Native American students, and would only provide funding for the actual cost of instruction for these students. This change would have cut the funding an additional $1.8 million on top of the cuts outlined in the Governor’s proposal to balance the budget. Although most of the cuts proposed by the Governor’s office would be initially backfilled using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the combined impact of the 31 percent cut and the $1.8 million proposed under HB 1067 would be devastating to the college and the region. Cutting the school’s budget by this amount would lead to difficulties in academic programming and could mean a significant loss of jobs in the area. My staff and I have made this a priority issue over the last two weeks, and we have received many e-mails and phone calls regarding the introduction of HB 1067.
Faced with some truly troubling fiscal projections, the Colorado General Assembly authorized the formation of a Long-Term Fiscal Stability Commission in 2009. I chaired the LTFSC, and one of our most important overarching questions was, “What kind of state do we want?”
The question itself is simple, but finding answers that most Coloradans will agree with is quite a challenge. Still, there are huge issues facing the state, and I believe we must consider the costs of inaction along with the costs of action.
For example, the LTFSC learned from the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute that Colorado ranked 48th in the nation in spending on higher education and highways, and 49th on Medicaid. I also learned that state funding for CU’s School of Medicine, an incredibly valuable asset, ranked 77th out of 79 public schools of medicine.
We have many things to be proud of in Colorado, but these rankings are not among them. In fact, the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation (EDC) released a report called Toward a More Competitive Colorado, saying we are in danger of losing our edge in economic competitiveness, partially because of our funding for higher education and infrastructure.
The legislative bill that would cost Fort Lewis College about $1.8 million in reduced tuition revenues is expected to be killed Monday by its sponsor. That is good news; it was proposed with too little research and too little warning.
FLC officials and students - both American Indian and non-American Indian - rallied in the last week to make the college's case against this session's legislation. And with the help of state Rep. Ellen Roberts and state Sen. Bruce Whitehead, it looks as though they were successful.
A new bill clarifying rights of commercial guides to operate on historically boated Colorado rivers is being introduced to the Colorado General Assembly.
Rep. Kathleen Curry of Gunnison and Sen. Mary Hodge of Brighton are sponsoring the bill as the Colorado Outfitters Viability Act.
A portion of the draft bill states, "The general assembly recognizes river outfitters as an established business on rivers flowing within and without the state, make significant contributions to the economy of this state."
Based upon the proposed bill fact sheet, commercial river running contributed $142 million to the Colorado economy in 2008. If the bill is not approved, that economic impact "would be at serious risk."
A slate of new environment and energy-related legislation has been introduced in the Colorado House and Senate early in the 2010 legislative session.
Senate Bill 19 is sponsored by Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, and would mirror previous legislation passed in 2006 and 2009 for wind and solar power plants.
Other environment and energy-related bills introduced thus far in the Legislature:
The Colorado Legislature will honor the armed forces today as part of its annual Military Appreciation Day.
There will be plenty of flags and speeches. Lawmakers who served in the military will wear their uniforms — if they still fit. And lawmakers whose children are serving in the military are expected to address their colleagues.
Here’s a look at the lawmakers who previously or currently are serving in the military:
Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder
“The military played such an incredible role in my life. It gives you a view of the world you would not have any other way.” he said. “I was the liaison officer to the German government. The Army sent me and Josie to German language school. Years later when I was in private business I conducted meetings in German when I was overseas. Josie and I visit Germany almost every year.”
Heath was in ROTC at the University of Wisconsin, taught ROTC while he went to law school and then went on active duty in 1961, joining the Judge Advocate General’s office. He spent almost nine years on active duty and another 14 in the reserves.
Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont
I learned a tremendous amount while in the Navy and made many lifelong friends. But the best thing I got out of the Navy was my wife, Jessicca. She taught third grade at the Department of Defense school on the Yokosuka Naval Base. We were set up on a blind date and we’ve been dating ever since.
The Navy paid Shaffer’s way through Stanford with a full ROTC scholarship. He went on active duty the day he graduated in 1993. He was the “officer of the deck” aboard the USS Hewitt when the Navy ordered her to launch a Tomahawk missile attack against Iraq in the Persian Gulf in 1996. He left active duty in 1997, and then served five years in the reserves.
Denver, CO (PRWEB) January 25, 2010 -- The second annual "Bioscience Day at the Capitol," on Wednesday, January 27, 7:30 to 10 a.m., will allow bioscience industry leaders and state legislators to discuss the industry and thoughts on the year ahead.
The day begins with the CBSA describing Senate Bill 90, which involves creation of the Colorado Capital Investment Bulletin Board sponsored by Senator Mike Johnston (D-Denver) and Representative Jim Riesberg (D-Greeley). SB 90 will provide bioscience and clean technology start-up companies the opportunity to post investment information on a virtual bulletin board through the State of Colorado website. The effort will help investors to locate and view all possible investment opportunities within the two industries in one location.
DENVER—A state lawmaker wants to send unused medications to Haiti.
Sen. Lois Tochtrop said Thursday that the bill would help overwhelmed medical clinics in Haiti but would also help keep medications out of the state's water supply.
Her proposal would make it easier for nursing homes and hospitals to donate discarded medication by no longer requiring that patients or their next of kin sign off on it first. Without that permission, facilities must destroy medication.
SUMMIT COUNTY, Colorado — Environmental groups are working with local officials to ensure a proposed wilderness area doesn't create new risks for wildfires.
The Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign hopes to gain wilderness designation for about 400,000 acres of land in the White River National Forest and Gunnison National Forest in Summit, Eagle, Pitkin and Gunnison counties. The proposal would enlarge some existing wilderness areas in Summit County, such as Ptarmigan Wilderness, and would also create new stand-alone wilderness areas, including part of the Tenmile Range and the area east of Hoosier Pass.
“Emergency responders want to be able to have as many tools and resources as possible if there is a catastrophic event in Summit County,” said state Sen. Dan Gibbs, who serves as Summit County's wildfire mitigation specialist and sits on the Summit County Wildfire Council. “The firefighting community would like to see the Hidden Gems proposal not be in the county's wildland-urban interface area. That's really where the concern is.”
Less than twelve hours after leading a joyous 18th anniversary celebration for the African American Voice, James Tucker, the noted publisher and founder of the Voice, was at his best as the stirring, contentious, and combative defacto-moderator of a ground-breaking Colorado Springs Town Hall meeting on 21 November 2009. This Town Hall meeting was co-sponsored by State Representative Dennis Apuan (D-Colorado Springs-HD 17) and State Senate Majority Leader John Morse (D-Colorado Springs).
The impetus for the meeting was to establish dialogue between the African American and Hispanic (Latino) communities with regard to the role of race in the conduct of police affairs (i.e., profiling) and the legal establishments of Colorado (pros¬ecutors, courts, sentencing, and prisons). Representative Apuan began the discussion with the shocking statistic that one in three African American males will be faced with time in jail. This reinforces the widely held perception that the playing field in the legal arena is not level (some would argue instead that it is a slippery slope) for People of Color. Prison populations in Colorado reflect a vast overrepresentation of Hispanic and African Americans, particularly in regard to their overall percentage of the population.
About 40 people met with District 5 state Sen. Gail Schwartz (D-Snowmass Village) Friday at the Salida Community Center.
Schwartz talked with people individually for a half hour before addressing the assemblage for 45 minutes.
Introducing Schwartz, former Chaffee County commissioner Jerry Mallett said, "I have never seen a state senator work so hard at this level. In the last four years she has logged over 160,000 miles, frequently visiting the counties she represents," Mallett said.
Chaffee County is among 11 counties in Senate District 5.
Schwartz said the primary focus of the state Senate this session will be balancing the budget and creating jobs.
BUENA VISTA — The first proposed geothermal lease sale in Colorado — in the picturesque Chalk Creek Valley — drew a volley of sharp questions from a crowd of 170 residents at a meeting Thursday night.
The federal Bureau of Land Management is set to offer the 800-acre lease for geothermal electricity development, along with oil and gas leases, at its Feb. 11 Colorado lease sale.
"This is big," said state Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, who attended the meeting held by the BLM and the state Department of Natural Resources. "We have a valuable resource in geothermal energy, but we need a predictable process that protects the mineral right and respects property owners.
"We went through this with oil and gas."
Kermit Witherbee, head of BLM's geothermal program, said it is time for public scrutiny and additional studies.
"We are at the beginning of the process," he said.
Already, the work of the Senate is under way as the 67th General Assembly opened Wednesday. I had the distinct honor of informing the House of Representatives that the Senate officially “is open for business."
In my remarks to the House, I reminded my fellow legislators of a quote that should guide our proceedings this session. The quote, inscribed on a mural here at the Capitol, reads: “Beyond the sundown is tomorrow's wisdom … today is going to be long, long ago … " It reminds me of the greatly important work we must accomplish quickly for the people of Colorado.
On Thursday, Gov. Bill Ritter delivered his State of the State address in a joint session with the Senate and House. In his speech, the governor reiterated the goals we have set for this year.
First and foremost, we will work to create more jobs for hardworking Coloradans. We will incentivize programs for doctors and nurses to practice in underserved rural areas.
A battle over whether an advocacy agency to improve child protection in Colorado should be independent or housed within a department it oversees may lead to a compromise: contract the work out to a nonprofit organization.
State Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, has redrafted a bill to establish the state Office of Child Advocate to include the compromise language, with the approval of Gov. Bill Ritter and Karen Beye, executive director of the Colorado Department of Human Services.
"It's huge," said Newell about getting a buy-in from the governor and the Department of Human Services; both had argued for the ombudsman to be part of the department rather than independent.
The 64 counties that deliver child welfare services have not yet weighed in.
About 30 states have children's advocate offices that oversee child-protective services. About half are located within the departments that they oversee, and about half are independent and autonomous.
The House Thursday afternoon gave unanimous preliminary approval to Senate Bill 10-036, which would correlate student growth data with educator identifiers to develop information about the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs.
The Senate approved the bill on a 26-7 final vote Thursday morning. It passed out of the House Education Committee unanimously after lunch and sailed on to the House floor. A final House vote will be held Friday morning.
The bill is being fast-tracked toward final approval and signing on Friday so that it can be used as part of the state’s application for a federal Race to the Top grant.
SB 10-036, known by the acronym PREP (Program Results for Teacher Preparation), is sponsored by freshman Sen. Michael Johnston, D-Denver. Veteran Rep. Mike Merrifield, D-Colorado Springs and chair of House Education, is the prime House sponsor.
“There is nothing more important we can do … than ensuring we have well-prepared teachers and principals,” Johnston said during the Senate Ed hearing, which was packed with lobbyists and education advocates.
DENVER - An additional 42 Colorado companies, including an unidentified community newspaper in Colorado City, will receive small-business loans through the Colorado Credit Reserve program.
“Colorado is the poster child for how important small businesses are. They are the backbone of our economy and the engine that drives job-creation across the state,” Gov. Bill Ritter said in announcing the latest loans.
The loan program was revived by SB67, which Ritter signed into law in May. It has now helped small businesses retain 371 jobs, with 176 new jobs expected to be created over the coming year. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Sara Gagliardi D-Jefferson County, and former Rep. Don Marostica, now director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, and Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder.
DENVER (AP) -- Democratic state lawmakers want to increase the amount of electricity coming from renewable sources, saying the move will help the environment and create jobs.
Under current law, investor-owned utilities like Xcel Energy must get 20 percent of their power from renewable sources like wind and solar energy by 2020. Gov. Bill Ritter announced Tuesday that he is backing planned legislation requiring them to hit 30 percent over the next 10 years instead.
Democratic state Sens. Gail Schwartz and Bruce Whitehead plan to introduce the bill in the new legislative session, which starts Wednesday.
But what might the upcoming session hold for San Miguel County and Telluride? The Planet spoke with State District 6 Sen. Bruce Whitehead to find out what’s on his agenda.
As a man whose resume over the past 25 years is almost exclusively focused on water issues, the state senator from Southwest Colorado has several conservation measures on his mind. One bill he has agreed to sponsor will increase reporting requirements for water conservation measures, creating a system that will make the data more accessible to the public.
“Conservation is important to Colorado and the use of its water,” Whitehead said.
State Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, expects this to be a very difficult state legislative session.
“Economically, this is a devastating year for decisions most of us don’t want to make,” she said. “The budget is a dire scene and I think the most important thing I can do for this district is to educate the people and gather their input on their budget priorities.”
The state senator, who represents District 26, which includes most of Arapahoe County, said there is a saying the defines the budget as the moral document of the state that establishes the state’s priorities.
“This session won’t be fun because of the state’s difficult economic climate,” she said. “But we will be listening to the people and using what we hear as we work to establish funding priorities.”
She said the budget goes hand in hand with the state’s need to maintain the jobs available, regain the jobs that have been lost and attract new companies that will offer additional jobs to the residents.
As they begin their 120-day session Wednesday, legislators will take a second look at the public schools budget, the state bureaucracy and even tax credits that could help carry Colorado out of recession.
“The road out of this is an economic recovery, and an economic recovery starts with a good job," said Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont.
As we kick off this 2010 legislative session, we are joining our Democratic colleagues in renewing our commitment to address Colorado's challenges head-on, and working for Colorado families. Our record shows we are doing what's best for the people of Colorado by providing a clear direction forward, and our upcoming legislative agenda reflects that.
In just a few days, I’m going to walk through the door of the State Capitol in Denver to begin my first session as your state senator. I’ve entered this historic building many times over the last five months, but every time I walk in I’m always in awe of the golden dome for its beauty and what it stands for. The work we do as legislators under the gold dome often goes unnoticed, but it is so important to the lives of every Coloradan. I’m honored and humbled to be a part of it.
Three pieces of legislation designed to create jobs in Colorado's film, arts and other creative industries were proposed on Tuesday, state lawmakers said.
"People too often look at the arts as frivolous or expendable during an economic downturn," said Sen. Linda Newell, a Littleton Democrat. But a recent economic analysis found that creative industries support 186,000 jobs in Colorado, making it the fifth-largest employment sector and among the fastest growing job clusters in the state."In Colorado, the arts mean business, jobs and revenue," Newell said.
PERA represents one of Colorado's most significant commitments to nearly 500,000 active and retired public employees. The state takes money from their paychecks, matches their contributions, invests their funds, and promises a pension upon retirement.
PERA's current economic difficulties transcend partisan politics. That's why we'll work together, Democrats and Republicans, to put PERA on a stable financial path. We'll assure those who are retired, those who are still working, and those who will come behind them a secure retirement system. This is a promise the state will honor.
We have an obligation to the taxpayers of Colorado to be wise managers of the financial affairs of the state. The burden required to repair the system must be shared equitably among all stakeholders. Achieving this balance is a task that would challenge Solomon, let alone our far more meager talents.
Any solution requires anticipating future economic conditions. Estimating any
AURORA - A state senator is raising questions about the economic impact of a planned development on the eastern edge of Aurora she says will cost the state $60 million in money they don’t have.
State Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, in a letter dated Jan. 6 to the Aurora City Council, said the Horizon Uptown development, planned by Australian developer Lend Lease, is “not the best or responsible use of taxpayers’ dollars in a dire budget climate.
“The principles involved are basically bankrupting the state for a corporate subsidy to a developer on a project we don’t need,” she said.
Gov. Bill Ritter and Colorado Senate PresidentBrandon Shaffer unveiled three job-training bills that will be introduced during the 2010 legislative session.
The legislation includes a job retraining program, incentives for creating health care jobs in rural areas and a nursing school-loan forgiveness program.
“It all begins with a good job,” Shaffer said. “At the capitol, we’re fighting for hard-working Coloradans. … we are fighting to make sure Colorado workers are prepared for the jobs of the 21st century.”
Three pieces of legislation designed to create jobs in Colorado's film, arts and other creative industries were proposed on Tuesday, state lawmakers said.
People too often look at the arts as frivolous or expendable during an economic downturn, said Sen. Linda Newell, a Littleton Democrat. But a recent economic analysis found that creative industries support 186,000 jobs in Colorado, making it the fifth-largest employment sector and among the fastest growing job clusters in the state.
"In Colorado, the arts mean business, jobs and revenue," Newell said.
A new state law makes some forms of preventative health care more affordable to people who are insured in Colorado.
The law, which took effect Friday, assures that services such as screenings for breast and cervical cancer, cholesterol levels and colorectal cancer; childhood immunizations and flu vaccines; and programs to help manage alcohol misuse and quit smoking are available at low cost to clients, even when the insured have not met their deductibles.
Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, chaired the state's long-term fiscal policy committee this summer, and plans to introduce several pieces of legislation to re-examine the way Colorado pays for public services.
One is a resolution supporting a privately funded study of the state's tax structure, which hasn't been looked at thoroughly since 1958, Heath said.
The other involves placing an issue on the November ballot asking voters to approve the creation of a constitutional revision commission to look at all the fiscal issues in the state constitution. If voters accept the idea, the group would meet during 2011 and come back with recommended changes that would go back to the voters in 2012.
"There's just myriad issues that affect our ability to do anything, really," Heath said. "If we make cuts, we cannot transfer those funds to other needs."
A bill to be introduced in the legislature would dramatically change how Colorado's public school teachers are evaluated and gain tenure.
The measure, being crafted by a trio of Democratic lawmakers, would tie a favorable teacher review to student achievement measures and calls for the revocation of tenure for teachers who have poor evaluations and substandard student growth.
Though the educator effectiveness bill is still just a draft, it embodies many of the ideas we have supported as meaningful and necessary educational reform.
The bills are being created by state Sen. Michael Johnston, D-Denver, Rep. Mike Merrifield, D-Manitou Springs, and Rep. Nancy Todd, D-Aurora.
One of the newest state senators, Johnston has two rare assets for a freshman: real-world experience and connections. While he was the cofounder and principal of the Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts in Thornton, he started advising then-presidential candidate Obama on education issues. In May, after state Senate president (and African-American) Peter Groff ascended to the Obama administration, Johnston—a young white man without political experience—replaced Groff as the representative of the ethnically diverse district.
During the ceremony, Colorado Senator Gail Schwartz noted that the money saved from electricity bills will be spent for the school. Schwartz also acknowledged the environmental responsibilities undertaken by companies like SunEdison in order to develop Colorado’s solar industry.
Governor Ritter’s vision for a New Energy Economy has resulted in new jobs and industries in Colorado. The upshot is that we have not felt the unemployment pinch quite as hard as other states. And working with the Colorado General Assembly, among other insightful partnerships and laws, 100,000 more Coloradans will get health care.
I personally am thankful for strong women who have stood up to the task of leadership like First Lady Michelle Obama with her girls’ mentoring project, Chief Justice Sonia Sotomayor starting out immediately to verse herself on important legal issues, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is creating a new path to diplomacy and human rights.
State SenatorMoe Keller has been an exceptional chair of the Joint Budget Committee of the Colorado General Assembly. In an incredible time, she has made hard decisions. I appreciate the service of Senator Keller and all the other women Senators and Representatives.
DENVER (AP) - Gift cards could have more value in Colorado starting next year.
Fees that chip away at the value of gift cards would be banned under a bill two state lawmakers plan to introduce in the next Legislative session, which starts in January.
The legislation is being drafted by Sen. Lois Tochtrop and Rep. Debbie Benefield, both Democrats, and has the backing of Gov. Bill Ritter.
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter and two Democratic legislators unveiled a proposed bill Monday that would ban gift-card issuers from imposing fees on users and setting deadlines for use of the cards.
The legislation also would let cardholders get cash back on small balances.
The Democratic governor framed the measure in a news release as one that is meant to protect Colorado consumers at a time of economic downturn. But one of the upcoming bill’s cosponsors also said it is meant to send a message to businesses who may be profiting off of loopholes in rules on the use of the cards.
FORT COLLINS – Front Range Community College Larimer Campus broke ground for Sunlight Peak and did so in the Longs Peak Student Center in front of about 125 faculty, staff, and community and state dignitaries. With dirt from the construction site, Scott McKelvey, facilities director, and his staff built and filled a “sandbox” for the “groundbreaking” that used garden trowels instead of shovels.
FRCC President Andy Dorsey credited the work of local legislators and Dr. Nancy McCallin, president of the Colorado Community College System who helped secure project funding in a small window of opportunity when interest rates dropped.
McCallin thanked Sen. Bob Bacon and Reps. Randy Fischer and John Kefalas for their work in the Legislature for the project. With fall enrollment up 20 percent and spring enrollment up 52 percent compared to last year, Dr. McCallin said “it’s very important to provide this opportunity for students. It’s an opportunity for affordable education and training.”
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter on Thursday announced a new blue-ribbon panel to create a higher-education master plan and find sustainable funding sources for the state’s universities and colleges.
The formation of the group comes 1-1/2 months after Senate Majority Leader John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, called college presidents together to determine what kind of help the Legislature can give them in a 2010 bill.
That bill, which is still taking form, is likely to include provisions giving schools flexibility on student-aid distribution, Internet technology rules and construction bureaucracy.
"I'm excited to see SunEdison’s innovative partnering with our schools," said Senator Gail Schwartz. “The money saved on electric bills will go where it is really needed: back into the classrooms. As environmentally responsible companies like SunEdison help develop our solar industry here in Colorado, we all benefit."
Approximately 70 people attended the meeting, including Montrose County Commissioners David White and Ron Henderson, State Senator Bruce Whitehead (D-Hesperus), Southwest Water Conservation Board members, Sheep Mountain Alliance representatives, and TelSki CEO Dave Riley.
Gov. Bill Ritter announced Dec. 14 that Sierra Nevada Corp. has decided to create an additional 200 jobs, expand operations at its Centennial location and increase its capital investment in Colorado, utilizing new legislation passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by the governor earlier this year.
The new law, sponsored by Rep. Joe Rice and Sen. Rollie Heath, provides a credit on payroll taxes for new jobs created. In just a few short months, the law already has attracted hundreds of new jobs and several new companies to Colorado, including RePower USA Corp. and the Fortune 500 firm DaVita Inc.
Home rooftop solar arrays, which can cost $15,000, will be available in Colorado with no money down now that a new law has lured California- based solar-installation companies specializing in leasing to Colorado.
In April, a bill sponsored by state Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, and state Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, allowing for a lease-to-own residential solar program and commercial systems up to 500 kilowatts to be more easily built, became law.
The aim was to provide alternatives to the upfront out-of-pocket costs, Carroll said.
"Think of how many people would have a car if no monthly payments were available," Carroll said.
Ritter and Democratic leaders revealed a package of job-training bills last week. One of the bills would set up tax-free accounts for employees to pay for job training. It is sponsored by Sen. Bruce Whitehead, D-Hesperus.
A legislative preview session for the media at the Denver Press Club gave Colorado's elected leaders a chance to outline their priorities for next year — they all agree jobs and balancing the budget are the top priorities — and offered a glimpse of the partisan debate that is likely to define the next legislative session, which begins Jan. 13. Ritter also pushed his jobs program, defended his budget proposals and called on legislative leaders to stay focused on key issues this year such as job creation and the budget.
They might not agree on how to solve it, but Republican and Democratic leaders of the state Legislature shared the opinion Monday that budgetary concerns and economic woes will be paramount during the upcoming legislative session when it kicks off next month.
Democratic and Republican leaders of both of Colorado’s legislative chambers came out in opposition Monday to three ballot initiatives that could curtail state revenue or spending significantly.
There have been opinion editorials declaring the Long-term Fiscal Stability Commission a failure. We could not disagree more.
After the commission heard the testimony, it became clear that this state is virtually paralyzed by conflicting constitutional provisions. The Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. said it best in its recent study, “Toward a More Competitive Colorado”: “to increase our competitiveness in a fast-moving economy, we must understand that a Gordian knot exists in Colorado's Constitution that makes governing a challenge and reallocation of state funding virtually impossible.” It is clear that any organization, whether business or government, needs flexibility in order to function. Colorado is no different.
The Lego robots knew what to do, having already been programmed by Durango elementary school students. As the children set the robots loose, the toys began to surmount a series of Lego obstacles such as bridges and logs. Proud parents snapped photos while judges watched intently. As time passed, the audience cheered the robots' precise movements.
The First Lego League finals, held Saturday at Escalante Middle School, packed the gym for a morning of educational competitions.
Pupils from Durango School District 9-R's seven elementary schools spent weeks programming Lego robots and creating presentations for the competition.
Over the past four years, and with very few resources, a great coalition of citizens, local and state officials, and federal leaders has done tremendous work fighting threats caused by the bark beetle epidemic in Colorado and throughout the west.
To demonstrate Colorado's successes more broadly, Sen. Dan Gibbs, D-Silverthorne, and I traveled to Washington D.C. with other local officials to stress the severity of the crisis in testimony to Congress. It was Sen. Gibbs who was initially responsible for bringing the issue to the Statehouse, and I am very grateful for his efforts. Thanks to his leadership, it seems that, with the help of our Congressional delegation, Washington is finally beginning to see the urgency of the situation. Additional federal support to cope with the crisis is hopefully now on its way.
Gov. Ritter was wise Thursday to introduce a nuts-and-bolts jobs-training package that is patterned after a successful pilot program with the Colorado Workforce Centers.
That program helped train 700 workers. The approach measures skills employers want, such as applied math, reading comprehension and the ability to get information. The information will be shared with employers statewide, who can then match skills with jobs.
As Senate President Brandon Shaffer told the Associated Press: "It all begins with a good job."
GOLDEN, Colo.—Gov. Bill Ritter introduced a jobs-training package Thursday that he said will help Colorado workers get back to work, including a teaching and testing program to certify that applicants at Colorado Workforce Centers have passed a basic skills test.
Senate President Brandon Shaffer, a Democrat from Longmont, said Democrats will work with Ritter go get the job-training programs passed when the legislature convenes in January.
Gay & Lesbian Fund Honors Six Colorado Groups for Taking a Stand on Equality
•Outstanding Public Official, Senator Chris Romer, Denver: Sen. Romer has been a leading voice in the fight to pass legislation allowing undocumented Colorado high school graduates to attend state colleges and universities and pay in-state tuition. Although the tuition equity measure fell short of the necessary votes in the 2009 legislative session, Sen. Romer vows to continue the fight in the next legislative session.
The Democrats, however, deserve credit for touting ideas to address state budget crises by looking at conflicting state rules and constitutional amendments.
Make no mistake, fiscal conservatism must remain a hallmark of Colorado spending, but changes must be made to keep Colorado competitive in business, education and other critical areas.
Unfortunately, the Republican platform fails to address the problem by stating that the party will “oppose those who would use Colorado’s current budget challenges as a pretext to weaken taxpayer protections in the Constitution or in statute.”
One of the first bills introduced in the next legislative session could change the way the performance of K-12 teachers and principals are evaluated.
State Sen. Michael Johnston, D-Denver; Rep. Michael Merrifield, D-Manitou Springs; and Rep. Nancy Todd, D-Aurora, are crafting the new evaluation law to replace one most educators say is worthless.
Health care, higher education and water are on the minds of Coloradans, and in very specific ways, two state senators found during a statewide listening tour that started in August in northwest Colorado and continued sporadically before ending last week in Colorado Springs.
Small business owners throughout Colorado will have access to both human resource professionals and employment attorneys at the first small business training seminar in Denver on Dec. 14.
Sponsored by Sen. Linda Newell, a Democrat from Littleton, the seminar covers human resource and labor practices, said Senate Majority Assistant Press Secretary Jack Wylie.
It is clear we are not competitively funding these two core functions of government. The commission recognized the essential role government plays in people's lives, particularly during an economic downturn, and the commission took action.
First, it authorized a tax study because Colorado has not reviewed its tax structure in 50 years. We also authorized a more substantial rainy-day fund. And finally, the commission authorized a way for voters to review and change the contradictory fiscal constitutional provisions.
The commission set in motion a plan to deal with Colorado's long-term fiscal stability issues. Our ability to attract and retain jobs, and our economic viability, is at stake.
In March 2008, state Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, lost her job. So she extended her employer-based health insurance coverage through COBRA. Then she went to California to visit her mother who was sick and in hospice care. In that time, Newell missed making a COBRA payment. COBRA wouldn’t accept a late payment. That’s how Newell and her two daughters joined the growing ranks of the uninsured Americans feight months and racked up $14,000 in medical bills.
"So I am a great example of a Coloradan in my district, in any district,” she said. “It’s the reality out there.”
Fort Morgan School District Superintendent Greg Wagers, left, talked to Colorado Senate President Brandon Shaffer, right, and Senate Majority Leader John Morse, not shown, during a visit Tuesday about how planned cuts to educational funding could hurt area schools. (Dan Barker/Fort Morgan Times)
Senator Shaffer and Senator Morse were in Fort Morgan as part of a tour of Colorado outside the big urban centers, hoping to hear a different perspective and ideas about how to deal with the budget in this recession, they said.
...Sen. Mary Hodge, D-Brighton, emphasized that the “buy and dry” of agricultural water to meet population growth “is not the answer,” adding water leaving the state above that required by river compacts needs to be addressed by state government. She is chairwoman of the Senate Ag Committee.
In next year’s legislative session, Colorado Senate Democrats plan to push measures “to create a 21st-century work force and to create jobs,” Senate President Brandon Shaffer said Monday.
That will include focusing on the preschool-through-graduate school system’s role in providing Coloradans with the skills and education they’ll need to fill those jobs, according to Shaffer and Senate Majority Leader John Morse.
Sen. Schwartz's Bill Provides Increased Broadband to Colorado
The federal government has awarded $2.1 million in stimulus grants to Colorado to fund the mapping of broadband availability in the state and planning broadband services.
In the last legislative session, I was the Senate sponsor of House Bill 09-1094 with Rep. Claire Levy.
The measure bans any handheld cell phone and texting while driving for drivers 18 years and younger and bans texting while driving for those of us 18 and older.
As the effective date of the legislation is Tuesday, we all need to consider the serious effects of handheld devices while driving; let's not use them ourselves and encourage others not to use them as well.
No one's expecting TV critics to take notice, but the Colorado Channel — the legislature's cable access channel — returns to the airwaves this session with a new offering in its lineup.
The Colorado Senate is going live in 2010, following in the footsteps of the House, which has been broadcasting live video of its floor proceedings for the past two sessions.
"I'm excited," said Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont. "I think it'll be a good thing for the Senate and a good thing for the public."
"It's transparency and accountability," he said. "People have a right to see our proceedings in action. This is the best way we can provide that access."
DENVER - Thanks to the efforts of Northern Colorado legislators, on Tuesday, Dec. 1, it becomes a Class A traffic offense for anyone under the age of 18 to talk on any cell phone - handheld or not - while driving. It also becomes illegal for anyone of any age to send text messages while behind the wheel in Colorado.
The change is the result of House Bill 09-1094, passed by the General Assembly in its last session, sponsored by Reps. Claire Levy, D-Boulder; Randy Fischer and John Kefalas, and by Sen. Bob Bacon, all D-Fort Collins.
(Colorado Springs, CO) -- Some state officials discussed prison reform in Colorado Springs over the weekend. State Representative Dennis Apuan and State Senator John Morse held a public hearing on Saturday to address the need for cuts to Colorado's correctional system. Representative Apuan said the state spent around 70-million-dollars a year on corrections 20-years-ago, but is now spending over 700-million-dollars. Although Apuan and Morse agreed the disparity is call for reform, they said they are not in favor of privatizing any maximum-security prisons to increase revenue.
Congratulations to the Rocky Mountain Solar Training Consortium (RMSTC), and especially to Solar Energy International (SEI), our local member of the RMSTC, on the receipt of a Department of Energy Solar Energy Training Grant. A portion of this $3.1 million dollar grant will fund further development of courses in solar photovoltaics and solar heating and cooling installation here in Delta County.
Not funding education will set up Colorado's economy for failure, a state senator and Colorado's economic development director told a Boulder business group on Thursday.
"If we're not educating our folks, we don't have a work force," state Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, said during a Thursday morning Boulder Economic Council event. Heath was joined by Don Marostica, the director of Colorado's Office of Economic Development and International Trade, to discuss Colorado's economic development priorities and recommendations from the state's Long-Term Fiscal Stability Commission.
A bipartisan group of state legislators will meet with rural voters this weekend at the 2009 Colorado Farm Bureau annual meeting in Centennial.
A forum, featuring Sen. MaryHodge,D-Brighton, Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, Rep. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, and Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, will be from 1:30-2:15 p.m. and again from 2:25-3:15 p.m., Friday, at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center.
The legislators will be part of a panel discussion about the upcoming 2010 legislative session and will also be taking questions from the assembled members.
The state budget will undoubtedly be a large part of the discussion. The agriculture industry is facing significant changes with a strapped state budget, Farm Bureau officials said.
ASPEN — A woman who has been on the front lines of the “locavore” movement for more than 20 years believes that if the minds of the masses latch on to the concept, their taste buds and stomachs are sure to follow.
Lynn Gillespie is part of a fourth-generation farming family that has raised sheep, pigs, chickens, cows and grown hay, grains and silage on fertile ground near Paonia since 1938. They own 130 acres of ground and lease another 80 acres. Farming isn't a hobby for them. It's their way of life.
Colorado taxpayers next year might be asked to vote on a plan providing additional funding for the state's public colleges and universities, but one of the men leading that effort says he's still unsure what the proposal will look like.
CSU Chancellor Joe Blake said most Colorado residents are so focused on their own economic situations - which he said is appropriate - that they aren't yet ready to start discussing higher education's struggles.
A group of top Pueblo leaders are backing a revised master plan for the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk's next phase.
The revised Riverwalk proposal builds on some of the city's earlier designs and represents an estimated $55 million project funded by both private developers and the public, the group says.
Among those backing the Pueblo plan are the area's elected state leaders, including state Sen. Abel Tapia and state Rep. Sal Pace, and top executives from the city and chambers of commerce.
"I don't know of any other place in the state that has pulled everybody together like we have. . . . My hat's off to everyone. This is absolutely a terrific application for that particular money," Tapia said.
It was the first such trust entered into by the CWCB since the passage last year of Colorado House Bill 1280, which strengthened the ability of the CWCB to protect water rights it is holding for minimum stream flow purposes. The bill was sponsored by state Sen. Gail Schwartz (D-Snowmass) of Snowmass Village.
“This is a precedent setting transaction,” said Amy Beatie, executive director of the Colorado Water Trust. “The trust agreement provides a model for all other water users in the state that have water rights that are not currently being used, such as municipalities that have developed water supplies beyond their immediate needs.”
“Our country and our state were built on the free pioneer spirit, and it's difficult to feel free when you're strapped with medical debt or can't get to a doctor at all,” Newell said. “It should be our duty to ensure such freedoms are realized. The strength of Colorado’s workforce, the well-being of Colorado’s children, and the prosperity of the state as a whole depends on how we deal with the issue of health care.
The entire community must unite to combat Pueblo’s staggering childhood poverty rate, pegged in a recent report at twice the state average, members of the 2010 Commission were told Thursday.
“Pueblo is rated No. 1 in childhood poverty according to the Colorado Children’s Campaign,” state Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, told about 40 community leaders at the county conference room. “I know it breaks your heart because it breaks my heart.”
The term locavore was coined a mere four years ago by California-based chef Jessica Prentice as a way to describe people who seek to eat locally grown food, most often within a 100-mile radius. But the word has since expanded far beyond individuals, instead encompassing a movement toward a sustainable, economical and flavorful food future. And flavor is where the journey begins in the film “Locavore: Local Diet, Healthy Planet” screening at the Wheeler Opera House next Friday, Nov. 20.
It’s a cause that’s also near and dear to State Senator Gail Schwartz, who will be in attendance at the screening.
“When I first came to Aspen over 36 years ago, one of the first things I did was take a course called pioneer homemaking. And at that point I learned everything about canning and drying and pickling. It’s a tradition I’ve maintained for decades.”
In August, hundreds of Stapleton parents filled a gym to demand a solution to their overcrowded schools and there was despairing talk of educating kids at the city police academy across the street.
Tuesday night, with news that funding for a third school is nearly secure, a smaller group of parents appeared largely to embrace the solutions being recommended by Denver Public Schools’ staff.
“For sure, the work is a long ways from over,” said state Sen. Mike Johnston, who represents the area and whose signature, along with that of Denver City Councilman Michael Hancock, tops the list.
"Is there anything you'd like me to know about raising kids?" daughter asked mother, and mother said: Take them outdoors; don't let electronics become a substitute for play; don't let them become picky eaters. And all of it meant the same thing: Love them — love them as I love you.
The Denver Post By: Alicia Caldwell November 5th, 2009
Was anyone surprised to read that workers comp insurance rates would be dropping by almost 10 percent next year?
Such a happy development wouldn’t have anything to do with state legislators’ plans to force rate reductions, would it?
It’s a good thing, don’t get me wrong. State Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, had put together a strong argument that rates were too high.
Carroll, who visited the Post editorial board in recent weeks, told us there was legislation in the words that would change the way premiums are set in Colorado.
Montbello High School needs a "restart" that will allow more autonomy on teacher hiring and budgeting, and future students in the neighborhood may benefit from the establishment of multiple smaller high schools, northeast Denver leaders said Friday.
Also attending the news conference were state Sen. Mike Johnston, D-Denver; Charles Robertson, chairman of the Montbello Collaborative School Council; and Chris Martinez, co-chairman of Montbello 2020.
A top concern, the leaders said, is allowing any principal of Montbello to have autonomy over the hiring of teachers and how the school spends money.
"You need a system that sets up the school principal for success," said Johnston, noting that Montbello began the school year with 19 "forced placements" of teachers.
Johnston, in an interview later, said he and others leaders plan to work with the community along with state and school district officials to come up with a game plan for the troubled high school.
When President Barack Obama spoke to education groups on the campaign trail, he said he didn't believe in the false choices currently offered by the education debate. He didn't believe that it was a choice between supporting unions or supporting charters. He didn't believe it was about striving for either equity or excellence.
Instead, Obama reiterated that this moment in education is about moving beyond ideology and moving toward results. What matters is not whether a kid goes to a charter school or a district school or a magnet school; what matters is they go to a good school. What matters is not whether a child has a union teacher or a non-union teacher; what matters is that every child has an effective teacher.
“My hat is off to Paonia Rotary for all the good work you have done and are doing,” Sen. Gail Schwartz began in her introduction to the Paonia Rotary Club on Oct. 22. She acknowledged the work the Rotarians are doing with the Paonia Food Bank and Lunch Bag Program at local schools to make sure people in the community have the food they need during a difficult economy.
Sen. Schwartz supports local food going to local schools. She is working with Homestead Market in Paonia to provide meat to Western State College. An additional piece of equipment is needed for their meat production process. “Agriculture is a very strong economic driver, and we have such high quality food produced. It is an important part of our economy along with our natural resources,” said Sen. Schwartz, who serves 11 counties in Colorado from Basalt to the New Mexico border.
DENVER - A Colorado legislative committee studying long-term fiscal reform has approved a bill giving colleges and universities more flexibility, and a study of the state's complicated state and local tax structure to be delivered in 2011.
Senate Majority Leader John Morse, a Democrat from Colorado Springs, said colleges and universities need more flexibility to cut costs because the future of higher education in Colorado is at stake, especially for rural areas, as lawmakers struggle to cut more than $560 million from this fiscal year's budget, which ends June 30.
A controversial bill that raised vehicle registration fees for Coloradans allowed Gov. Bill Ritter yesterday to submit an increased transportation budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year to the Joint Budget Committee.
Colorado currently has 128 structurally deficient bridges. Around 40 percent of Colorado’s public roads are in poor condition and 20 percent of Colorado’s public roads require complete reconstruction. The $160.6 million that FASTER is estimated to bring in over the next fiscal year will go towards repairing the bridge and roadway repair and safety work.
“FASTER couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Colorado Democrat Senate President Brandon Shaffer.
In July, Sen. Jim Isgar left the Colorado Senate to join the U.S. Department of Agriculture as Colorado director for rural development. He was one of the longest-serving senators, and it's somewhat daunting to fill his "boots," but I believe I am up for the challenge. My name is Bruce Whitehead, and I was sworn in as your new senator from District 6 on Aug. 17.
I know Sen. Isgar provided this column over the years to update you about the issues and events around the district and the Capitol. I hope to do the same, and as this is the first of many columns, I want to use it for you to get to know me better.
I want to take this time to talk a little bit about what I'm doing in the district, and I also want to hear from you. Feel free to come to any of the posted events, e-mail me with your ideas or concerns or visit me at the Capitol if you are in Denver.
ASPEN — Aspenite Ruthie Brown is building off of her great-grandfather's foresight to create a model renewable energy project in south-central Colorado.
Brown secured a $308,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a $600,000 low interest loan to install a 340-kilowatt hydroelectric project at her family's A.E. Humphrey Ranch in Creede. The system will produce roughly enough power to supply 230 homes once it is completed in spring 2011...
...Brown is working with state Sen. Gail Schwartzof Snowmass Village to streamline the permit process for micro-hydro projects so that more landowners in Colorado will pursue them.
Brand-new Democratic senators Michael Johnston and Pat Steadman will join the Senate Education Committee for the 2010 session, and Vice Chair Chris Romer is leaving the panel to be vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. All represent Denver districts.
Sen. Evie Hudak, D-Westminster, will be vice chair. She was elected to the Senate in 2008. Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins, will continue as chair. He was reelected last year.
Finding such common concerns is one of the main purposes of the community formats, Carroll said.
“I think it’s essential. I think it takes more than town halls, but I think that holding them and having a chance for input at the meetings is an essential part of doing our jobs,” Carroll said. “I would really invite people to attend. If they’ve every thought about it. Everyone really is welcome. It really helps the process.”
State Sen. Michael Johnston, a former teacher and principal on the commission, led the hearing, which also included testimony from Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association.
Commission members will formulate recommendations for the reauthorization of the federal No Child Left Behind Education Act.
"The effectiveness of a teacher is the single most important criteria in how well our students do," Johnston said.
Tuesday, Ritter's office announced one piece of the overall plan: an additional four furlough days for 15,500 state employees, which will save the state $27.2 million -- a drop in the bucket when it comes to filling a deficit that has risen, dating back to September 2008, over the $2 billion mark.
Sen. Moe Keller of Wheat Ridge, say that government's already been cut to the bone.
"I don't know if layoffs help a lot. If you lay off more prison guards, you have to close another prison," Keller said. "Where do you lay off employees where there's not a direct service to the public? We are furloughing those people and we may have to make cuts. But there are going to be consequences to those cuts and they're not going to be pleasant.
"In the end, the public has to answer the question: what do we want from government? And what are we willing to pay for it?"
The Interim Committee on School Finance Monday recommended a small-bore list of eight proposed bills to legislative leaders, ending five months of work that some observers have criticized for lack of ambition.
And, the committee Monday rejected or watered down some of the more interesting of the 13 bill ideas originally suggested by members.
DENVER (AP) - Racing to come up with proposals to save higher education from a financial cliff, college presidents held a brainstorming summit Thursday at the state Capitol to come up with new ideas that all of them could support.
Senate Majority Leader John Morse, a Democrat from Colorado Springs, said the economic crisis has given lawmakers and college leaders "a unique opportunity" to make sweeping changes.
This summer I chaired the Interim Committee reviewing operations of the non-profit state compensation insurance carrier of last resort, Pinnacol.
We are trying to make sure we are paying the lowest premiums possible that that our employees are being treated appropriately if hurt on the job. Thankfully, this package of bills will do that through simple principles of transparency and accountability. It represents common sense solutions for the serious problems the committee uncovered.
Pinnacol insures 57% of the market, 55,000 businesses and covers 1.5 million employees in Colorado. I believe those of us who are small business owners care both about our bottom line and the well-being of our employees and will welcome these common-sense improvements.
Landscape-changing events are taking place in Colorado’s forests, and the public is beginning to take notice.
Last Wednesday, Oct. 14, Delta Timber owner Eric Sorenson conducted a tour of his facility for a group of six Colorado State Forest Service administrators and two state legislators: Sen. Gail Schwartz and Rep. Kathleen Curry. The group was also scheduled to visit a lumber mill operation in Hotchkiss.
Along with the tour of the Delta Timber facility, the group discussed forest health and timber management issues. The State Forest Service administers timber sales on state-owned and private lands. But by far the largest number of acres under public timber management in Colorado are on federally managed lands.
DENVER -- The insurance company that initially denied coverage to a 2-year-old girl because she was "underweight" has reversed its stance.
The individual market is a trainwreck in Colorado," said State Sen. Morgan Carroll. Carroll said insurers can deny anybody for almost any reason. "They can screen for anything they want and can cherrypick who they want to insure," Carroll said.
When the Commissioner of Insurance was asked about an insurance company refusing to cover underweight or overweight children, she said they could, under their own guidelines, which each company drafts.
The statehouse commission assigned to study the state’s uncertain financial future is being asked to recommend – two more studies.
Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder and chair of the Long-Term Fiscal Stability Commission, asked members Thursday for their support of three measures he wants considered by the 2010 legislature.
Thursday those lawmakers voted 4-2 (Dems vs. GOP) to have Heath’s fiscal reform idea drafted and 6-0 for drafting of the tax study and higher education flexibility measures.
Instilling positive resolution skills in students in Littleton, Englewood and Centennial, Sen. Linda Newell hopes to make Colorado the most civil state in the union. Newell sponsored a resolution declaring October Conflict Resolution Month.Photo Courtesy of Sen. Linda Newellbook
For months, state Sen. Linda Newell (D-Littleton) has been advocating for the good of children.
She has spoken out against state budget cuts that would especially affect the youth. A bill improving child protection efforts sponsored by the senator went into affect Aug. 5.
During the month of October, she is traveling to elementary schools to promote positive dispute resolution using the children’s book "The Hurt" by Teddi Doleski.
It could have been the size of the room or the harsh acoustics of the Old Fort Lewis Library that made the voices seem loud, but the 90 or so stakeholders at a public meeting last month in Hesperus came ready to provide their opinions.
And much criticism was levied at Barry Dyar, who runs the Elk Research Institute.
A letter was read from Hesperus resident and state Sen. Bruce Whitehead, who asked for a “transitional period” to assess Dyar’s research.
“I think this type of research is necessary and worthwhile, but it should be done in a way that can produce the desired results in a scientifically sound way,” he said.
The chairman of Colorado's Long-Term Fiscal Stability Commission, state Sen. Rollie Heath, said Thursday that he will introduce legislative proposals to support a privately funded study on state tax exemptions and a publicly appointed commission to study constitutional fiscal issues.
On the issue of state tax policy, he said he hopes to introduce a resolution allowing a private group, possibly the University of Denver, to conduct and pay for a year-long study of tax breaks, exemptions and overall laws. The results, which could be presented in 2011 in time for a potential ballot initiative at the end of that year, would represent the first wide-ranging look at the subject since a similar DU study about 50 years ago, Heath said.
"I think there's a strong enough feeling that we've got to do something," Heath said. "To me this is a wonderful vehicle."
Sen. Gail Schwartz (D-Snowmass) speaks with Bill Gardiner of the U.S. Division of Agriculture during the Salida Sustainability Summit roundtable Thursday. Photo by Jennifer Denevan
Barnes & Noble at Southlands is slated to host an open house 4 to 5 p.m., Oct. 14 at 6300 S. Main St. Guest speaker stateSen. Mike Johnston will be discussing Colorado’s current educational stance and the Race To The Top program, as well as speaking with teachers personally.
A call to action from the west steps of the state Capitol on Tuesday carried one message for the 60 community members, politicians and children who gathered for the Every Child Matters campaign: Budget cuts are coming, and they'll hit programs that especially affect children.
Some school programs are on the chopping block, said state Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, who also spoke at the "Step Up for Kids!" rally organized by the Tennyson Center for Children's Every Child Matters program.
Updike said Newell is "doing all she can, but there needs to be a strong call to action outside the legislature." Updike hopes to muster support from a wide cross section of society to step up and fill the gaps that may be left if funding for children's programs is cut.
San Francisco-based SunRun announced Tuesday that it will start offering leases in Colorado following approval of a law allowing loans for solar equipment to be made to a third party. [SB 51 was sponsered by Senator Morgan Carroll (D-Aurora)]SunRun will partner with three Colorado solar installation companies, which will own the panels.
The program was revived through Senate Bill 67, a measure pushed by state Rep. Sara Gagliardi, D-Arvada, and state Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder. The legislation provided the Credit Reserve Program with $2.5 million, which will be used to leverage more than $50 million in private bank loans over the next year.
Overall state legislators who hosted a town hall meeting last weekend in Lakewood concerning the state's budget were not surprised by citizen concerns or budget cut choices.
During the meeting Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway, attendees could choose via the Internet how they would handle the budget during the interactive gathering.
The 67 residents who attended the meeting utilized Colorado Backseat Budgeter, backseatbudgeter.com, a site 2,000 have tried in the last five weeks, officials said.
State Sen. Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood, state Rep. Andy Kerr, D-Lakewood, and state Rep. Max Tyler, D-Golden, were on hand to answer questions and see the choices made during the meeting.
Six Northern Colorado lawmakers and a Larimer County commissioner heard individuals and mental-health agencies voice their concerns about the state's precarious financial situation and cuts to programs that may be needed to balance the budget.
Tuesday's annual Legislative Forum, hosted by Foothills Gateway and the Larimer Center for Mental Health, featured Rep. John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins; Rep. B. J. Nikkel, R-Loveland; Rep. Randy Fischer, D-Fort Collins; Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud; Rep. Brian DelGrosso, R-Loveland; Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins; and Republican County Commissioner Kathay Rennels.
Data collected on each student's progress will give educators a better picture of where students are improving or falling behind, Hudak said.
Instead of focusing on students labeled with titles such as "unsatisfactory" or "advanced," the system evaluates growth within those categories. It also assesses what needs to happen for students to reach proficiency standards, maintain that proficiency, then move up to the "advanced" category.
"One of the best things we can do to re-energize Colorado's economy is to give small businesses the tools they need to succeed," Gov. Ritter said.
"This is a great program, and we're already seeing its effect in local communities like Aurora," said State Rep. Su Ryden, whose district is home to Desert Ceramics. "With just a small state investment, this program is encouraging Colorado lenders to loan as much as $50 million to our small businesses so theynot only stay afloat but thrive during this difficult time."
Few lawmakers are as athletic as State Sen. Dan Gibbs, but the Silverthorne Democrat said the toughest physical thing he has ever done is learn how to dance.
Now Gibbs has a mean moonwalk and an award to show for it.
He participated in the annual Dancing with the Mountain Stars benefit over the weekend, and he tied for top honors with Alton Scales, dean of Colorado Mountain College's Summit campus.
"I've never been so out of my comfort zone," Gibbs said. "Every second is choreographed. I have a whole new respect for dancers."
There were teams from the Roaring Fork Valley and Ouray, State Sen. Gail Schwartz and Delta County Democrats also competed. Janice Madariaga was the announcer for the Grape Stomp. The Paonia Library Foundation received $1,200 from the Grape Stomp and $2,681 from the silent aution.
During a visit to Delta earlier this month, state Sen. Gail Schwartz(right) was recognized for her assistance with a BEST grant for the Cedaredge Elementary School. Superintendent Mike McMillan (left) and John Jones, director of community relations, presented Sen. Schwartz with a plaque in appreciation. During her visit to Delta, the senator also met with local business leaders to discuss economic development.
DENVER—Colorado lawmakers are honoring Columbine High School students for taking the lead in an innovative program that allows minors to donate blood.
The Colorado Legislature changed the law this year to encourage more blood donations by lowering the eligibility age from 18 to 16, with parental consent.
Last year, more than 4,100 Colorado high school students gave their first blood donation and that number will grow this school year when 16-year-old students are included.
Happy tasters were in unfettered joy as they went from table to table sampling the best chili recipes in the county last Friday. It was all part of the Blue Sage Center's Party for your Palate Chili Cook-off at Paonia Town Park. The chili cook-off has been a staple of the Mountain Harvest Festival since its inception.
The Delta County Democrats won first prize and $75 for their red chili at the Party for your Palate Chili Cook-off on Friday, Sept. 25. The event was held at Paonia Town Park and was sponsored by the Blue Sage Center for the Arts. Flanking local Democrats Judy Briscoe, Anne Every and Sara Sharer are State Sen. John Morse (far left) and Sen. Gail Schwartz (far right). The Democrats called their red chili recipe Hot Spicy Healthcare Chili.
Colorado Senators John Morseand Gail Schwartzstopped by Paonia last weekend. The two were in town on Friday, Sept. 25 for an interview at KVNF before walking to the town park to visit with people at the Mountain Harvest Festival chili cook-off. Mayor Neal Schwieterman introduced the two senators to the crowd.
Sen. Morse was elected the Senate majority leader last May. He represents Colorado Springs. He is a former police chief for Fountain and is an EMT. He is knowledgeable about health care, the budget and the economy. He is a certified public accountant.
Sen. Schwartz is well known in the North Fork Valley for her frequent visits here. She serves on a number of significant committees. Sen. Schwartz will speak at the Paonia Rotary Club Thursday, Oct. 22 at noon on "The 2009 Legislative Session." Reservations for the luncheon are required by Oct. 21 by calling 527-4585.
Sen. Dan Gibbs has stood in front of hundreds of people and discussed political issues. He has battled fires on the front lines. But doing the rumba in front of more than 550 people is “by far the scariest experience” he has faced, he said.
Gibbs is one of 10 local celebrities who've been learning how to dance for the last six weeks, in order to perform in front of judges at Saturday's Dancing with the Mountain Stars, a benefit for St. Anthony Summit Medical Center's 10-bed wing expansion.
Colorado already participates in Conflict Resolution Day but October has been named Conflict Resolution Month, thanks to efforts by State Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton.
“No matter the political party, profession or age, we should all have skills to solve problems effectively,” said Newell, who sponsored the joint resolution.
Three measures that may reach the 2010 ballot would be devastating to the state's finances, Sen. Abel Tapia said.
The Pueblo Democrat and long-time member of the Legislature's Joint Budget Committee, said Tuesday that three proposed ballot questions pushed by tax-crusader Douglas Bruce would not only hurt the state's ability to run government, but actually shut it down.
State Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, said that's a reflection of high dropout rates among minorities and low-paying jobs.
"When people lose jobs, they are on the lower economic tier, and it's more likely that it's minorities on that lower tier," Tapia said. "I don't think we have actually grasped that as a problem for the state of Colorado."
Colorado State Senator Dan Gibbs, who attended the college’s Timberline Campus in Leadville, was part of the ribbon-cutting ceremony after local Boy Scouts raised the flag. Gibbs called the grand opening “so exciting for the community,” recalling that the college “was exactly what I needed” with its small class sizes and experiential learning.
Newly appointed State Sen. Bruce Whitehead (D-Hesperus) will be on hand for the celebrations, his office announced Thursday. Water issues are near and dear to Whitehead, who worked with the Colorado Division of Water Resources and is executive director of the Southwest and Animas-La Plata Water districts.
“The Gunnison Tunnel is a testament to the foresight, persistence, and hard work of past generations, and will continue to provide a dependable water supply for generations to come,” Whitehead wrote in a letter furnished by his staff.
“Water and agriculture are a way of life in the Uncompahgre Valley and I’m confident that with water projects like the Gunnison Tunnel this rural life style can be maintained for another 100 years.”
He praised the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association and valley residents for coordinating the celebration.
State Senators Tom Massey and Gail Schwartz and State Representatives Karen Middleton and Ed Vigil were on hand to talk with the group.
Middleton said that the committee wanted to hear from the rural school districts because their needs are different from urban schools.
She said a top priority for the committee is funding for a state-wide broadband so rural schools could take advantage of online courses and support. This, she said, would give rural students the same advantages as richer urban schools.
Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, said the testimony of two-dozen injured workers who told the committee they were wrongly denied claims from Pinnacol showed the system "needs to be fixed."
The committee has explored other options for Pinnacol, including breaking away from state government entirely so that it would generate tax revenue and selling the entity.
Critics of Pinnacol maintain that the insurer's reserves, what they call "lavish" spending on executive compensation and entertaining clients have come at the expense of injured workers and called for tighter oversight on the insurer.
Carroll contends that documents show Pinnacol paid insurance adjusters and doctors based on performance standards that included net income targets.
While acknowledging there are "many things" that Pinnacol has done better since it started operating as a private company instead of a state agency, Carroll said there are many problematic issues for the state-chartered insurer.
"It would be irresponsible to not acknowledge these problems that have surfaced and to take reasonable measures to solve them so that Pinnacol can be the leading example to the nation in delivery of workers compensation insurance," Carroll said. "Our state workers compensation fund, Pinnacol, insures 57 percent of the market, 55,000 businesses and covers 1.5 million employees in the state of Colorado so it's imperative we meet these goals."
The Colorado Center for Drug Discovery, or C2D2, received a $2.25 million, five-year grant from the state's Office of Economic Development and allocated through the Bioscience Discovery Evaluation Grant program.
The program was created by legislation co-sponsored by state Rep. Jim Riesberg of Greeley and Sen. Bob Bacon of Fort Collins.
Though the program will be housed at Colorado State University, it is a statewide initiative designed to help advance drug discovery research going on in labs across the state in universities, CSU spokeswoman Dell Rae Moellenberg said.
Pueblo's civic leaders thanked Convergys both for the jobs and also the company's civic spirit, noting Convergys is a major sponsor of beautification and youth programs at Minnequa Park, located across the street from the company.
"You're seeing a revitalization of this area of town and that brings joy to my heart," said Pueblo state Sen. Abel Tapia, who grew up in the area. A current resident of the area, Pueblo City Councilman Ray Aguilera, echoed Tapia's sentiments about Convergys’ considerable impact on the area's revitalization.
There is a lot of talk in the education community these days about "reform." But what most people mean by "reform" seems to be school choice, in the form of charter schools. I was the prime sponsor of a bill in Colorado (Senate Bill 09-163) that provides real reform. I believe that real reform involves improving the education system so it helps struggling students and schools, not so it provides ways to help kids flee from schools with a lot of struggling students.
Failure to address that deferred maintenance backlog soon will compromise road safety, undermine Colorado's competitive edge in the region and cost Colorado's taxpayers, transportation system users and economy more in future years.
So, please thank Gov. Bill Ritter, Sen. Bob Bacon, and Reps. John Kefalas and Randy Fischer for their courage and responsible leadership on the FASTER bill.
"The basic question is, 'What kind of state do we want - for ourselves and for our kids?'" he concluded. "Are we willing to invest in our state? A conversation in depth is needed among the people."
"Not a whole lot of people have long-term care, which is a major part of a chronic illness that needs to be addressed," Boyd said.
The legislators said they were not there to speak about President Barack Obama's national health plan, but rather to hear from the community concerning care for chronic conditions.
"I want to hear what the issues are in this community," Boyd said.
Natural resources director picked to oversee U.S. forests
"He gets it," said state Sen. Dan Gibbs, D-Summit County. "He's not someone who's coming from an area where he needs a lot of education on it. He's been working on these problems for a number of years."
To celebrate the more than $17 million dollar project, Sheldrake introduced speaker Ted Hughes, director of Public School Capital Construction Assistance for the State of Colorado, and the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) program.
Hughes discussed BEST and what it means to education, in general, and to the Sargent Community, specifically.
School Board president Will Hathaway read a letter from Gail Schwartz, who couldn’t attend, and gave a little history of Sargent Schools’ morphing into a district out of the small one room schools of the early 1900s.
Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. was named the 2008/2009 Large High School champion besting their 2007/2008 school year donation record of 173 units of blood by an additional 17 units. Colorado State Representatives Sara Gagliardi and Spencer Swalm along with Sen. Betty Boydand Bonfils' staff are scheduled to present the school with its blood drive challenge award on Oct. 2. The legislators will also take the opportunity to tout the importance of blood donation and encourage student ages 16 and up to give back to their community by giving blood.
When I was young, being a Latina meant I was faced with many obstacles beyond being poor. Looking back, I suppose expectations for my future success were considered low. I felt set apart in many ways from mainstream America, even though as a third generation American on my mother's side and a first nation member on my father's side, I was born and raised here.
I don't know whether I felt that way because I was poor or because I was Latina. In order to succeed, I found it necessary to go beyond those feelings Justice Sotomayor's confirmation provides further affirmation that we of Latino roots belong and we are a part of the American fabric.
You need marching bands, of course. Politicians, certainly. A float or two full of pretty girls, preferably a queen and her court. And thousands of onlookers to cheer the whole procession every step of the way.
That was certainly the case Sunday morning for the 42nd annual Fiesta Day Parade down Northern Avenue and then to the Colorado State Fairgrounds. The Fiesta parade is sort of a running start for what is traditionally the biggest attendance day at the Fair, and there was no reason to think that wasn't the case again Sunday as parade watchers were three and four ranks deep through the heart of the Bessemer business district.
The questioning about Pinnacol Assurance's employee rewards came during a hearing of a special committee looking into the quasi-governmental agency.
Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, the chairwoman of the committee and an attorney who has handled workers' compensation cases, asked if teams of employees are rewarded financially based on the company's net income.
The sponsor of the law, State Senate Majority Leader John Morse, says the recommended cut is ironic, but he understands that Ritter has few options when it comes to the budget.
"The governor is a former prosecutor and we're both law enforcement types of folks. We understand how important DNA is, but that is how much of a budget catastrophe we are facing currently," Morse said.
“U.S. Bank collaborated with state Representative Joe Miklosi, state Senator Gail Schwartz and the Colorado Governor’s Energy Office for this program,” Hassan Salem, regional president of U.S. Bank in Denver, said in a statement. “U.S. Bank chose to pilot the program in Colorado based on the state’s commitment to promoting energy efficient home building and because Coloradoans are known for their love of the outdoors and green living. There has also been increased consumer interest in tax incentives and rebates.”
The amount is meant to compensate counties, towns and school districts for impacts from mineral development in their areas, and reflects a new method of calculating how those funds are distributed, according to the DLA. Enabling legislation passed last year, in part through the efforts of State Sen. Gail Schwartz (D-Snowmass Village), who co-sponsored the Senate version of the bills.
“I am thrilled to see local communities receive this funding,” she said in a prepared statement. “This funding will go a long way in helping communities” feeling the effects of energy development and of the current economic downturn.
“This bill will create tax incentives for the many ‘green and clean’ technologies that are just waiting for necessary capital to really explode in Colorado, creating good jobs in our high-technology industries, including bioscience and clean energy,” Kefalas said in a news release.
“When we incentivize angel investors to provide immediate capital to early-stage companies, we make good on our commitments to invest in our people and our future,” he added. “These companies become growth engines for the state and help attract additional investors and entrepreneurs.”
It's "Back to School" time! For some students, it's a time of excitement. They'll see their friends soon and will get back in the classroom.
For some students, it's a time of anxiety. They are not sure if they will be able to understand the lessons or do their homework. All kids are different, but here are a few tips for parents on how to help any kid succeed this school year
“It's such an exciting day for everyone in Summit County,” state Sen. Dan Gibbs said as he finished a tour of the building — an estimated $14 million project that started construction in June 2008 on land the Town of Breckenridge donated.
Gibbs, a former student of CMC Leadville, said the campus will help attract people to the community from folks working lift lines to executives.
For the firefighter who dressed as a clown to talk to school groups about fire safety, it was too much to take. He stayed inside with the curtains drawn, afraid to do anything Pinnacol might videotape and use against him.
"I had gone from living my dream to being afraid to go outside my own home," Stahl said during a legislative hearing Monday.
A special committee of state legislators and citizens is examining Pinnacol this summer.
The company was chartered by the state and exists in a legal gray area as neither a fully public nor fully private organization. It has built up a $700 million reserve that legislators attempted to tap last year to fix the state budget. This summer, Pinnacol critics are using the hearings to make the case that Pinnacol created the reserve by unfairly denying claims.
But Brophy's idea comes at a time when the state is eliminating beds at nursing homes and mental health institutes, offering early parole for prisoners and cutting other needed services. Next year, K-12 education likely will be on the chopping block.
The Wray senator wanted to use the sunsetting provision in Amendment 23 that requires school funding to increase every year by the rate of inflation plus 1 percentage point, according to The Post's Tim Hoover.
In 2011, Amendment 23 will only require an increase by the rate of inflation.
We've been critical of the many dedicated-funding provisions in Colorado's constitution that have put a stranglehold on our elected officials' ability to make responsible decisions when it comes to funding our state's needs and priorities.
Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora and chairwoman of the 16-member panel — which includes Pinnacol CEO Ken Ross — said the committee also hopes to learn whether employers are being overcharged, whether workers’ claims aren’t being paid and whether Pinnacol executives are being overcompensated.
But it was the witnesses who did much of the asking during the committee’s third meeting, and they issued a lot of the accusations toward the company, which was created by state statute in 1915.
“I thought being a state worker, that Pinnacol Assurance was on our side, that they would help us and lead us through in a helpful way to make us whole. They did not. All I did get was baloney from these people,” said Leonard Delgado, who worked at the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo before he was injured on the job. “They just push (claims) from one place to another, you don’t get any kind of satisfaction, they threaten you.
“In my opinion, this just goes to show why and how Pinnacol Assurance has amassed so much money by denying needed surgeries and by cheating us on our settlements...
Byrd said the company is making money by finding ways to deny claims. Pinnacol came under scrutiny this year because of its huge reserves, which now stand at $580 million.
"I can't help but think if their aggressive scrutiny of claims has something to do with it," Byrd said.
Steve Stahl, a former Durango firefighter who was injured in training, said he was forced to sell his home after Pinnacol denied him the surgery he needed to fix his back.
Stahl said he was videotaped lifting his 10-pound daughter into his car and he had to live at home with his drapes drawn.
"They sent spies to my home, to my work, to my friends' houses to try to catch me doing something, anything suspicious. I felt like a prisoner in my own home," he said.
Colorado has nearly 130 bridges that are in bad shape. Almost half of our roads are in poor condition, and 20 percent need to be completely replaced. Simply put, Colorado’s transportation network is rapidly deteriorating and becoming unsafe.
The funding system is outdated and insufficient, but maintenance costs keep going up. We spend the same amount on transportation as we did 25 years ago, while the number of vehicles on our roads has increased from 3 million to 5 million.
Why is that? To many people’s surprise, the gas tax (fixed at a number of cents, not a percentage of sales), is declining in real dollars. The vehicles on the road don't pay for the costs of those roads — not by a long shot. We have actually had to supplement the gas tax with general fund dollars and we are still falling behind.
After 24 months of public input, we enacted FASTER, a plan to repair our roads and create jobs. It won broad support from environmental advocates, community groups, citizens, businesses, civic leaders and elected officials.
Members of the Colorado Legislature get together for a photo during the annual State Fair Legislative BBQ Friday evening. Pictured from left: State Rep. Terrance Carroll, State Sen. Gail Schwartz and State Sen. Abel Tapia. (CHIEFTAIN PHOTOS/CHRIS McLEAN)
There is an old military saying: "You get what you inspect, not what you expect." This wisdom should apply to state government as well. Our state workers' compensation insurance fund in Colorado is no different.
As chair of the Pinnacol Interim Committee my concerns are the 55,000 policyholders who deserve not to be overcharged, 1.5 million employees who deserve proper care and benefits if injured, and the rights and interests of 4.9 million citizens of Colorado.
We have seen some extravagant spending that warrants further inquiry. This i
New law lightens load for tardy trailers in tow
The Denver Business Journal
Curry, Schwartz get perfect 2010 scores
June 13, 2010 8:30 AM 
In Vail, governor also signs bills that aim to protect wildlife and shelter animals
roposed in Vail, awaiting the approval of a $26 million Department of Energy grant.
The measure helps avoid layoffs; tuition flexibility bill also signed.
On Thursday, May 27, Gov. Bill Ritter signed Senate Bill 193, nicknamed “the shackling bill,” into law.
KMGH ABC 7
by Andrew Travers, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer 
The Denver Daily News
KDVR FOX 31
KDVR FOX 31
DENVER — A bill promoting renewable energy generated close to home will be heard by a state Senate committee today, and its supporters say it will bring jobs and lower energy bills to Colorado residents.
Denver Business Journal
More than 205,000 commercial users on the Arkansas River last year contributed to a state economic impact of about $60 million according to a Colorado River Outfitters Association report released last week.
I was accused of trying to break the Senate's gavel last week. I had the honor of presiding over the committee of the whole for the first time, although I'm unsure if I'll be allowed to be chairman again if the gavel doesn't recover.
The budget was set, the artist chosen and renderings completed. But Donald Lipski's planned $540,000 sculpture was nowhere to be seen when the $120 million Auraria Science Building addition opened earlier this month.
Last week was an extremely busy week. I had the honor of speaking at the Colorado Water Congress annual legislative breakfast. I joined many representatives from the House but was the only senator in attendance.
Denver, CO (PRWEB) January 25, 2010 -- The second annual "Bioscience Day at the Capitol," on Wednesday, January 27, 7:30 to 10 a.m., will allow bioscience industry leaders and state legislators to discuss the industry and thoughts on the year ahead.
Approximately 70 people attended the meeting, including Montrose County Commissioners David White and Ron Henderson, State Senator Bruce Whitehead (D-Hesperus), Southwest Water Conservation Board members, Sheep Mountain Alliance representatives, and TelSki CEO Dave Riley.
Sen. Schwartz's Bill Provides Increased Broadband to Colorado
“Our country and our state were built on the free pioneer spirit, and it's difficult to feel free when you're strapped with medical debt or can't get to a doctor at all,” Newell said. “It should be our duty to ensure such freedoms are realized. The strength of Colorado’s workforce, the well-being of Colorado’s children, and the prosperity of the state as a whole depends on how we deal with the issue of health care.
Instilling positive resolution skills in students in Littleton, Englewood and Centennial, Sen. Linda Newell hopes to make Colorado the most civil state in the union. Newell sponsored a resolution declaring October Conflict Resolution Month.Photo Courtesy of Sen. Linda Newellbook 
Few lawmakers are as athletic as 
During a visit to Delta earlier this month, state 
Sen. Betty Boyd congratulates Columbine High School
Happy tasters were in unfettered joy as they went from table to table sampling the best chili recipes in the county last Friday. It was all part of the Blue Sage Center's Party for your Palate Chili Cook-off at Paonia Town Park. The chili cook-off has been a staple of the Mountain Harvest Festival since its inception.
Colorado 