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Front Page News ArchiveNEW COMMISSION STARTS JULY 8
In today's rough economy, reports of fiscal difficulties have been common in Colorado and other states. In response, the Colorado General Assembly authorized the formation of an interim Long-Term Fiscal Stability Commission, and our first meetings will be held on July 8 and 9. I will chair the diverse and bipartisan 16-person commission, and members were appointed by Democratic and Republican legislative leadership. Committee legislators include:
The 10 citizen members are (in no particular order): Dr. Kirvin Knox, Jonathan Coors, Donna Lynne, Renny Fagan, Marty Nielson, Carol Boigon, Tim Hume, Amy Oliver Cooke, Penfield Tate and Sean Conway.
For an interesting nine-page report that details what we're up against, read "Colorado's State Budget Tsunami" at http://www.du.edu/economicfuture/documents/BudgetTsunami.pdf. Our public meetings will run from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. in House Committee Room 0112 at the Capitol. While our summer and fall schedule could change, we have scheduled future meetings for July 28 and 29, August 19 and 20, September 8 and 9, October 14 and 15, and November 4 and 5. LAST BATCH OF BILLS Governor Bill Ritter had until June 5 to sign bills from the 2009 session into law, and he signed five bills that I was the prime Senate sponsor of during the week of June 1-5. When he signed SB-285 into law on June 4, it meant that all 17 of my bills that were introduced in the Senate this session had been signed into law. SB-285 was a concurrent enrollment bill that will allow students to enroll in career and technical education courses at institutions of higher education, while they're still in high school. The bill will allow young adults to earn a degree sooner than if they had waited until after high school to begin, which means they will enter the workforce with qualifications sooner as well. Gov. Ritter noted during the signing ceremony that SB-285 will help certain students gain the skills necessary to work in the New Energy Economy, and that the bill enhances Colorado's ability to provide educational opportunities for all. I couldn't agree more. Many of the state's young adults won't attend a four-year university or college, but completing a career/technical program can help those who aren't bound for a university forge a successful career. On June 2, Gov. Ritter signed SB-076 and HB-1310. The former will set up a fund to update Colorado's antiquated information technology (IT) system for unemployment benefits. HB-1310 will create an office of employee misclassification, which will investigate complaints of employers misclassifying employees as independent contractors to avoid expenses. Gov. Ritter signed HBs 1035 and 1349 on June 1. The former will make limited sales and use tax rebates available to qualifying clean technology or medical companies, which will give companies an incentive to continue doing business in Colorado. HB-1349 will allow qualifying employees who were involuntarily terminated from employment between Sept. 1, 2008 and Feb. 16, 2009, a period in which to select continuation of their health insurance through COBRA or state coverage. We set a goal before the session of building or protecting Colorado's workforce and economy, and I believe many of the bills that I sponsored were consistent with that goal. Please visit the "Rollie's Bills" section of this Web site for a complete listing of my 2009 bills, and please be assured that we're already working on ideas for 2010. __________________________________________________________________________________ BILLS BECOMING LAW The 2009 legislative session ended on May 6, but Governor Bill Ritter still must decide whether to sign or veto a number of bills from the session. As of May 26, eight bills that I was the prime Senate sponsor of have been signed into law, and I had the chance to attend several enjoyable bill signing ceremonies during the last week of the session. HB-1001: PART OF ECONOMIC ECOSYSTEM More than 100 people gathered in front of the Denver World Trade Center, on the 16th Street Mall, for a May 4 signing ceremony. Gov. Ritter signed House Bill 1001, sponsored by Rep. Joe Rice and me, and Senate Bill 171, sponsored by Sen. Gail Schwartz along with Reps. Nancy Todd and Val Vigil. HB-1001 will allow companies that create at least 20 new jobs in Colorado, or five new jobs located in rural enterprise zones, to apply to the Colorado Economic Development Commission for a tax credit. The commission will only grant the credit if the jobs would not have been created in Colorado without the credit, and the jobs must pay at least 110 percent of the average wage in the county where the jobs are located. I supported the bill because of its potential to grow the workforce in Colorado. The tax credit will help us compete with other states that are able to offer incentives to companies looking for a place to do business. Also, keeping people employed bolsters local economies by allowing them to spend money at local businesses, which in turn generates tax revenues for local governments.
Sen. Schwartz, who shares an office with me at the Capitol, chaired the 2008-09 Joint Select Committee on Job Creation and Economic Growth that I was a member of. Both HB-1001 and SB-171 were part of the 24-bill package that came out of the committee, which was formed to help Colorado weather the current economic tough times. Ritter acknowledged our job creation efforts at the ceremony. "The two bills I signed today marked a key step toward our long-term vision of creating a modern, knowledge-based economic ecosystem in Colorado," said Ritter. "They reflect the hard work that legislators, business leaders and economic development groups statewide devoted to making job creation and economic development Job One during this legislative session." METRO MASTERS, WITH A MASCOT The signing ceremony at the Capitol on May 5 had an educational theme. Gov. Ritter signed HB-1295, which will allow Metropolitan State College to offer master's degrees, along with HB-1240, which will create the state's first official Teacher of the Year program. I was the Senate sponsor of HB-1295, while Reps. Nancy Todd and Tom Massey were the House sponsors. Metro State President Steve Jordan said the bill will allow Metro to offer affordable graduate degree programs, which will be especially beneficial to first-generation residents and lower-income students. Ritter said the bill will help Metro attract faculty members and better prepare students for the workforce of the 21st century.
The ceremony had a light-hearted feel to it, especially since Metro's mascot "Rowdy the Roadrunner" attended in full costume. But the bill itself should have serious impacts, since Metro serves significant numbers of working students, people of color and students from financially disadvantaged families. HB-1295 will expand opportunities for these students and provide more options for them to advance their education. OTHER BILL SIGNINGS Gov. Ritter signed Senate Bill 067 on May 7, during the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce "State of the State" luncheon. Reps. Don Marostica and Sara Gagliardi were the House sponsors with me on SB-067, which creates a Colorado Credit Reserve Program that will provide access to capital for qualifying businesses. Again, we anticipate that this bill will have a positive impact on Colorado's workforce, since the availability of loans should help businesses hire or at least retain employees. Ritter signed SB-031, a bill that will authorize grants for businesses and research institutions involved in clean technology development, on May 4. He also signed HB-1151, which will streamline the school building inspection process, on the same day. He signed HB-1085, which will update Colorado's laws for mortgage loan originators, on May 21. I was the prime Senate sponsor for all three bills. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PASSING THE TORCH
It's special to be honored for an individual accomplishment, but it's vastly better to know that younger generations will carry positive traits into the future. That's why it was so wonderful for the Heath family to receive the Torch of Liberty Award from the Mountain States Office of the Anti-Defamation League on April 29, 2009. The award is given to families that are able to "pass the torch" of community service and leadership from one generation to the next. The ADL honored my wife Josie and me, along with our children Kristin, Joel and Stratton, during a ceremony at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. According to the ADL, "Both of them (Rollie and Josie) have been civically engaged on a local and statewide basis and have been actively involved in philanthropy. All of their children have worked on their parents' campaigns for public office and continue to be philanthropically involved in the communities where they live." The ADL also honored the Pena and Sterling families on April 29. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper spoke, and we knew many of the hundreds of people who attended the ceremony as friends and associates. The ceremony also included the showing of a touching video that chronicled the civic efforts of the three families that were honored. Our daughter Kristin (pictured below) gave a wonderful speech.
(Photo courtesy of Christina Jackson, CJackson Photography) But perhaps the most impressive story of the night came from young James Lozano of Greeley. About a year ago, he witnessed a black friend of his being racially harassed. He attempted to end the confrontation, and got sucker-punched for his effort. After coming to, he needed 50 stiches around his right eye. Lozano eventually saw news reports of "No Place for Hate" programs being launched, in which people organize projects that encourage diversity and respect on campuses. He worked with the ADL to get a program started at Greeley West, and the school is hoping to earn certification as a "No Place for Hate" campus in 2009. We all walked out of the event feeling more empowered to make a difference, and I remain incredibly proud of my wife and family. There is nothing more important than community service and making sure you pass that lesson onto the next generation. _____________________________________________________________________________________ A SPRINT TO THE FINISH It's crunch time at the Capitol. There are less than two weeks left in the 2009 legislative session, and we're working on as many bills as we can every day in efforts to get our work completed on or before May 6. Personally, I am the prime Senate sponsor of 18 bills that have been introduced in 2009. As of April 23, 15 of my bills have passed at least one chamber of the General Assembly - the Senate, the House, or both. The other three were just introduced in mid-April, and they are moving through the committee process. Here's a quick update on my bills that have passed through at least one chamber. Senate Bill 031 would provide grants for research institutions and businesses in the clean energy field. It has passed both the Senate and House, the Senate President and Speaker of the House have signed it, and it has been sent to Gov. Bill Ritter for his approval. Senate Bill 067 would create a Colorado Credit Reserve Program to provide loans to qualifying businesses. It has passed the Senate and House. Senate Bill 076 would allocate money into a fund to update the state's unemployment insurance information technology systems. It has passed the Senate and advanced to the House Appropriations committee. Senate Bill 150 would give a perfected purchase-money lien priority over a conflicting lien for a motor vehicle. It has passed the Senate and House, the President and Speaker have signed it, and it has been sent to Gov. Ritter. Senate Bill 178 would extend the period for which people are eligible to keep job-attached unemployment status. It has passed the Senate and advanced to House Appropriations. Senate Bill 234 would direct a committee to make recommendations regarding enterprise zone boundaries and tax credits. It has passed the Senate. Senate Bill 248 would allow contractors for public works projects valued at more than $500 million to provide a letter of credit, or other form of surety, to the government agency. it has passed the Senate and advanced to the House floor. House Bill 1001 would establish a tax credit for qualifying companies that create at least 20 jobs, or five in rural enterprise zones. It has passed the House and Senate, the President and Speaker have signed it, and it has been sent to Gov. Ritter. House Bill 1035 would establish a sales tax credit for qualifying firms, including those in the clean tech field. It has passed the House and advanced to Senate Appropriations. House Bill 1052 will require companies and individuals that sell donated goods for a profit to clearly label collection bins, stating that items will be sold for a profit. Gov. Ritter signed the bill into law on March 24. House Bill 1085 would bring Colorado's mortgage loan originator laws in line with federal regulations. It has passed the House and advanced to the Senate floor. House Bill 1132 would prohibit disseminating indecent material to minors using modern tools, such as text messaging, that are not currently listed in our statutes. It has passed the House and advanced to Senate Appropriations. House Bill 1151 would streamline our system of school building inspections, by placing the responsibility for inspections in one department. It has passed the House and Senate, although the House is considering Senate amendments. House Bill 1295 would allow Metro State to offer master's degree programs. It has passed the House and Senate. House Bill 1310 would regulate employee misclassification, such as when an employer misclassifies an employee as an independent contractor to avoid expenses. It has passed the House and advanced to Senate Appropriations. It's impossible to say how many of my 18 bills will become law, but they're all still alive at this point. I feel good about their chances of earning Gov. Ritter's signature. For more information about the bills, visit the "Rollie's Bills" section of this Web site, or visit the Web sitewww.leg.state.co.us. Also, if you have comments or suggestions about the bills that are still being debated, now is the time to speak. Visit the "Contact Sen. Heath" section of this site for our contact information. ______________________________________________________________________________________ NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE? We're also deliberating on House Bill 1299, which could eventually lead to the U.S. electing its President by national popular vote (NPV). In short, if we pass HB-1299, Colorado would award all of its Electoral College votes to the winner of the NPV, but not until other states that together possess at least a simple majority of electoral votes (at least 270 out of 538) also agree to do so. It's potentially a monumental decision, and I'd love to receive your input on the topic. Visit the "Blog" section of this site to read more and take our simple poll on HB-1299, or leave a comment on the blog, or contact us by phone or e-mail. UPDATE: HB-1299 was pulled from consideration for the 2009 session. The poll on this Web site wound up very close, with 24 people voting in favor of passing 1299 and switching to NPV, 22 in opposition, and 6 in favor of other solutions, including splitting our Electoral College votes proportionally to our statewide popular vote. Thanks for taking the poll! ______________________________________________________________________________________
COOL CITIES CATCHING ON District 18 residents know about the leadership coming from the City of Boulder and Boulder County when it comes to fighting climate change, but it will take a broader effort to get greater results. So, I was pleased to be the Senate sponsor of the state's Senate Joint Resolution 028, the "Cool Cities" resolution, which in part encouraged all cities and counties in Colorado to take climate action. The resolution honored 15 Colorado cities - Aspen, Basalt, Boulder, Denver, Durango, Fort Collins, Frisco, Glenwood Springs, Gunnison, Longmont, Montrose, Nederland, New Castle, Pagosa Springs and Telluride for signing the U.S. Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement. It also mentioned the state's commitment to its own Climate Action Plan, which calls for a 20 percent statewide reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and an 80 percent reduction by 2050. The House sponsor of SJR-028, Rep. Dianne Primavera, and four climate leaders joined me in an April 3 Cool Cities press conference at the Capitol, hosted by the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Sierra Club. Dr. Richard Knaub is involved with Veterans Green Jobs, which as the name suggests is an organization that helps military veterans earn jobs in the clean energy field. Knaub said it's important to recognize that energy and climate are national security issues, since global warming can contribute to natural disasters while U.S. dependence on foreign oil can lead to geopolitical conflict. Primavera spoke about the serious issues of climate change and the pollution caused by burning fossil fuels, but she added a little humor and lightness by talking about how easy certain personal energy-saving measures are. For example, she said her parents told her that "cruising" was a waste of gasoline, and that she should shut doors at home and turn out unneeded lights "unless you want to pay the utility bills." Bill Lucas is the co-founder of GB3 Energy Solutions, and he emphasized the value of energy efficiency in buildings - using simple strategies such as switching to compact fluorescent bulbs, using programmable thermostats and ensuring proper air sealing. Colleen Jorgensen is the Vice President of Instruction at Red Rocks Community College, and she sits on the Governor's Green Collar Jobs task force. She said there is a rapidly growing demand for green jobs, and she is involved with an effort among Colorado's community colleges to develop energy-related programs. We have a long way to go before we hit local and statewide GHG reduction targets, but I was happy to be part of the team on April 3. And as Jenny Kedward, Sierra's Rocky Mountain Chapter chair said, "Luckily, Coloradans currently have a Colorado government that can lead the way to carbon reduction and energy efficiency." _____________________________________________________________________________________
FIRST BILL SIGNING! Tuesday, March 24 was a very memorable day for me. I attended a bill signing ceremony in Governor Bill Ritter's office for House Bill 09-1052, which is the first bill that I was the prime Senate sponsor of to become law. The bill requires for-profit entities, or people who collect donated items that will be sold for profit, to clearly label collection containers saying that the donated items will be sold for profit, and that they are not tax-deductible. The House sponsor of HB-1052, Rep. Mark Waller, also attended the ceremony with his wife and two children. It was an enjoyable occasion, as I had the chance to chat briefly with the Wallers and other attendees before the signing. Governor Ritter also took time during the ceremony to talk to the Wallers' children about the bill, including showing them where the Senate President and the Speaker of the House signed the bill. Sure enough, the children saw both President Peter Groff and Speaker Terrance Carroll in the Governor's office right after the signing. I hope to see many more of my bills signed into law over the course of my four-year term, but the first one was definitely special. Thanks to everyone who helped with HB-1052, and I'll update this Web site whenever the Governor signs another bill of mine.
GREAT TOWN HALL SPIRIT We had another good turnout for my March 21 Town Hall meeting at the North Boulder Recreation Center. About 55 people attended, but what was truly noteworthy was that our guests were very well informed and ready to participate - and about half of the attendees asked a question or offered a comment. Barbara Ryan, Executive Director of the Mental Health Center (MHC) serving Boulder and Broomfield Counties, was our guest speaker. She spoke about the positive programs and services that the MHC offers, but also said that mental health is "frequently not included in discussions of health care reform - or is, at best, an afterthought." So, mental health providers must be very efficient in their use of resources, especially in today's tough economy.
Barbara spoke about how the MHC partners with physical health providers such as Clinica, People's Clinic and Salud to make sure clients receive adequate physical health care. The MHC's PACE program integrates probation and treatment services, which helps save society money by keeping clients out of jail. Barbara also spoke about programs to mitigate addiction disorders, to integrate with child welfare services, and to reduce local residential treatment center and detention placement. She also emphasized how mental health care funding provides a significant return on investment, since neglecting mental and physical health needs can lead to increased financial and human costs down the road. I then touched on several current state bills having to do with health care. House Bill 1273 would create the Colorado Health Care Authority, an entity that would be separate from and independent of the state, and its mission would be to create a single-payer health system for eligible participants. HB 1293 would authorize hospital provider fees, and the revenue would be used to leverage federal money for the state's medical assistance programs. The meeting was held the day after we learned that the state needed to cut roughly $200 million from its current budget, with another cut of $400 million forecast for the upcoming fiscal year. I spoke about how the cuts, in my opinion, mean that the state must do something about the Arveschoug-Bird measure that limits yearly state General Fund increases. The measure calls for no more than a six percent yearly increase, but since the limit is based on the prior year's budget, drastic cuts in a given year can prevent the state from addressing key needs for years into the future. We discussed an exciting new educational challenge called the "Race to the Top," in which states compete for significant federal stimulus money by implementing educational reform programs. I also reviewed the bills that I am sponsoring from our Joint Select Committee on Job Creation and Economic Growth process, an interim committee formed in late 2008 to help the state better withstand today's economic challenges. In short, we covered lots of ground. Our next meeting will be held Saturday, April 18. The location is yet to be determined, but we'll update the Web site and send e-mail notification when we have a venue. I hope to see you there! EARLY MARCH UPDATE It hardly seems possible, but we’ve basically reached the midway point of the 2009 legislative session – two months gone, and about two months to go. As of the first week of March, I am the prime sponsor of 11 bills that have been introduced, and six of them have already passed through either the House or the Senate.
A couple of bills that were sponsored by other legislators, but were of great interest to many of my constituents, have passed the Senate. SB-148, which would require motor vehicles passing bicyclists on the road to stay at least three feet away from the cyclist, passed the Senate on Feb. 17. SB-088, which would allow domestic partners of state employees to be eligible for group benefit plans, passed the Senate on Feb. 24. Also, Gov. Ritter signed the FASTER transportation/jobs bill, SB-108, on March 2. The bill will increase vehicle registration and car rental fees to pay for bridge and roadway construction projects. The passage of FASTER will help the state repair or replace many of Colorado’s structurally deficient or functionally obsolete bridges, but it will also provide a financial shot in the arm for companies involved with roadway construction, which will in turn lead to job creation or retention. |
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