CCW

Campaign finance reports will now be placed directly on the Secretary of State’s website based on HB09-1357 sponsored by Rep. Ed Vigil, D-Pueblo.  These reports are now filed with county clerks, but the bill will consolidate filing with the Secretary of State for easier review by citizens.

HB09-1357 consolidates campaign finance reports to Secretary of State

The bill covers just about everyone and everything, including special district candidates, candidate committees, political committees, issue committees, and small donor committees.  The bill is ready for a House floor vote.

HB09-1368 puts stimulus dollar accounting with governor

HB09-1368, sponsored by Rep. Jeanne Labuda, D-Denver, will exclude certain loans and grants from the state’s centralized contract management system.  Rep. Kent Lambert, R-El Paso, is uneasy about the state losing accountability of state stimulus dollars, but according to Labuda, all stimulus money goes through the governor’s office.  Gov. Ritter will be responsible for ensuring the monies are spent responsibly and correctly.  

The Department of Local Affairs will track “what money when where.  This is all new,“ said Labuda, and it’s never been done before.“  The bill passed the State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee 8-3.

Firefighters can collective bargain without strikes

Firefighters can do collective bargaining without striking, based on SB09-180, sponsosred by Rep. Ed Casso, D-Adams County.  As long as a fire department has more than 50 employees, they can bargain with their municipal employer for the planning and control of their fire district.

Tom Buescher, Colorado Professional Firefighters attorney, testified that the bill would not lead to increased taxes.  He said that the bill “will give the state of Colorado a degree of collective safety by insuring that firefighters are on duty and paid.“  The bill passed State, Veterans, and Military Affairs 7-4.

DENVER - If you like balancing your checkbook, then HB09-1288, sponsored by Rep. BJ Nikkel, R-Larimer County, and Sen. Mike Kopp, R-Jeffco, is your kind of bill.  The bill will let anyone see the state’s checkbook, including invoices and checks written.  

Transparency Act supports Ritter’s Executive Order

The Colorado Taxpayer Transparency Act piggybacks on Governor Bill Ritter’s Executive Order to place the state’s financial database on the internet.  Information will include lots of detail so anyone can see how the state spends its money, and perhaps offer ideas on how money can be better used.

“We’re going to do at the state level what’s being done at the federal level,“ said Kopp at the Senate Finance Committee.  

Data presented in easy-to-use format

The main issue that concerned the committee is the level of detail, and whether information is “aggregated” or “disaggregated.“ According to the state’s IT department, most of the information will look like a checkbook, but where the information is in a form that would be incomprehensible to the average joe, the state will “aggregate” the data to make it comprehensible.  The database will be “searchable.“

This bill follows a larger trend to make financial information available to taxpayers.  A similar bill was run for school districts, but the consensus was that smaller school districts, some of whom don’t have websites, are not yet ready for this technology effort.

http://www.coloradocapitolwatch.com/search/bill_detail.php?ca=2&bnn=1288

Comments to Paula Noonan at penoonan@comcast.net

DENVER - House majority leader Paul Weissmann, D-Loveland, doesn’t like how the University of Colorado and Metropolitan State College select their chancellors and presidents.  His bill, HB09-1369, will require CU and Metro to come up with at least three candidates who will visit the campuses before final selection.  

Three finalists will present to school communities

The candidates will do a presentation to the campus communities so faculty, students, and citizens can learn more about the finalists before they’re hired.

The bill has caught the tail end of the ‘09 session, but passed the House Education Committee and is on its way to the House floor. A CU representative, associate legal counsel Jeremy Hewitt, objected to the bill.  He said that in general CU doesn’t mind providing the names of candidates for chancellor or president, but often the candidates mind.  Candidates have other jobs and they may not want their employer to know they’re looking to make a change.

These candidates don’t want their names announced until they are the final finalist.  

Faculty and students need greater choice for leadership finalists

Billy Husher, representing the American Federation of Teachers and the faculty at CU and Metro, said that the bill “reflects the ideas of shared governance.“  He said that “transparency is important for a public institution, and public presentations will go to the institution’s community so faculty and students can see what a president has to offer.“

Too many closed doors in current process

Representative Judy Solano, D-Adams County, said the “current process is we have someone heading large institutions based on selection behind closed doors.“

Representative Tom Massey, R-Chaffee County, objected to the bill, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.“ Representative Kevin Priola, R-Commerce City, believes in transparency, but “I can see why these candidates would want their privacy.  They don’t want to have problems with their employers.“

Not enough academic focus

Solano also feels that leadership in higher education has moved too far away from an academic basis.  “We don’t want to lose our focus that these are academic institutions and need academic leadership.“  Massey objected that university leaders are no longer just involved in academics.  “It’s not as simple as saying we want someone who is simply academic.  Lack of funding puts onus on the CEO to raise money for these schools.“

Quality and diversity emphasized

Weissmann wants to ensure that candidates are highly qualified and diverse.  The bill’s language was amended to include those terms as hiring criteria.

The bill will next appear on the House floor on an 8-5 party vote.

Comments to Paula Noonan at penoonan@comcast.net

DENVER - Autism is a congenital brain disorder affecting 1 out of 150 children.  It’s an expensive disorder, costing up to $67,000/year for therapy to help children talk, eat, not hurt themselves, make friends.

SB09-244 mandates insurance coverage

SB09-244, sponsored by Dianne Primavera, D-Broomfield, received a thorough vetting in the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee because it requires insurance companies to cover the syndrome, including Applied Behavior Analysis treatments, in company health care policies.  Excluded are insurance policies offered by the state and policies of self-insured companies.

Supporters decry discrimination

Supporters of the bill, including physicians, psychologists, and parents, cite the inherent discrimination in excluding autism from insurance coverage.  Insurers cover juvenile diabetes, heart disease, and cancer - but not autism.  Opponents ask why the children of state employees are excluded, stating that that’s also discrimination.  

Jean Malofsky, MD and chief psychiatrist with Kaiser Permanente, explained, “Disease is an acute event that can be cured or a chronic situation that can be managed.  Autism is a syndrome that involves who the person is.  It’s a pervasive development disorder that affects every single part of a person - the ability to learn, attach, bond, socialize.“

Bill supporters argue that intensive treatment when the child is young can bring positive results.  Dr. Helena Huckabee, psychologist, cited a 25 point improvement in IQ in children who are diagnosed early and receive care.  Without the care, children can be massively disabled their entire lives, unable to speak, eat properly, or interact with others.  In this situation, they are unable to become independent at any state in their lives.

Applied Behavior Analysis effective and expensive

Dr. David Hatfield is a psychologist who uses Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to treat autistic children. This methodology “is a systematic use of long established research that focuses on why we do what we do, when we do it, where we do it, and how we do it.“  For children with autism, this means analyzing why they pinch themselves uncontrollably or bang their head against a wall.

The treatment helps children manage the over-stimulation that’s a common symptom of autism, and with speech therapy, can help with spoken communication.  

Battles for help exhausting

Jill Tappert, a mother whose child has a severe case of autism, fought a two year, four month battle with Anthem Health to get ABA treatment for her child.  She and her husband prevailed, but they had to pay for their daughter’s treatment during their legal suit, which amounted to over $67,000/year. Typical treatment includes 25/hours/week of ABA, 1 hour/week of speech therapy, and 1 hour/week of occupational therapy.

Her daughter is now in treatment, and can go to school.  When asked about the girl’s future, Tappert stated that her daughter “may or may not live independently, but she will be able to have a job.“  The money the family has spent on her daughter has prevented the parents from saving for their son’s college or their future.

Insurers at cost tipping point

Insurers argued that the massive cost of autism does not belong to them.  “Because autism is a syndrome and not a disease, the care falls in the category of education, not disease.“  Kaiser’s Malofsky said that Kaiser treats disease components of autism, such as ADD, ADHD, depression, and eating disorders.  

Ben Price of the Colorado Association of Health Plans said that members of his association insure 3 million Coloradans, providing affordable, high quality coverage. Insurance will not be affordable if autism syndrome is included.

Bill supporters said that actuaries calculated premium increases at .05 percent, or about $4/month.  Insurance providers argued that the per month cost could be as high as $10/month per member.

Ultimately, SB09-244 was amended to limit the number of years of early childhood coverage to 10 to enable some cost control.  Everyone agreed that autism is a huge financial as well as life burden for parents and their children.  No easy solutions are going to happen.  The bill, which has passed the Senate, will move to the House floor next.  

http://www.coloradocapitolwatch.com/search/bill_detail.php?ca=2&bnn=244

Comments to Paula Noonan at penoonan@comcast.net

DENVER – The legislature took another step Wednesday toward getting $127 million in federal stimulus money for unemployment insurance when SB-247 passed out of the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee by a 7-4 vote.

The vote now moves the bill to the House Appropriations Committee.

House sponsor Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, said the passage of the bill would put the state in line with federal requirements to get the money and it would be poured in Colorado’s $50 million trust fund set up for unemployment insurance.

“Drawing this money is crucial,” Pace said. “Without this money, it’s expected the unemployment trust fund will go insolvent.”

Expanding requirements

To get the money, the federal government has attached requirements – including expanding the pool for those who can claim unemployment insurance, starting up a job training program and extending benefits by anywhere from 13 to 20 weeks.

The range in the last requirement is tied to the state’s jobless rate, which currently sits at a 20-year high at 7.5 percent.

Some of the members on the committee were troubled by expanding the reasons why people can claim jobless benefits and pepped Pace with questions about how they might get around putting those parts in the bill.

But Pace said the Senate and the previous committees had carefully crafted the conforming language in the bill and that there was no way around it. However, the job training component of the bill would be removed from the requirements after three years, he said.

Stephens only Republican to support bill

Rep. Amy Stephens was the only Republican on the committee to support the bill. She said her support came when she saw the detailed outline of how the job-training component of the bill worked. Stephens also worried about the state’s future.

“I really see us in a crisis point and not seeing things actually getting better in the near future,” she said.

The bill appeared to enjoy broad support as several witnesses from diverse backgrounds came forward before the committee and expressed support.

At one point, Tony Gagliardi, the Colorado Director for the National Federation of Independent Businesses, sat next to Pace and pulled out a small camera and took a picture of both of them at the table.

“He (Pace) never thought he’d see the day we’d both be on the same side of a bill,” Gagliardi said.

“Send us copies of that one,” Committee Chair Joe Rice, D-Arapahoe County said.

Also in support of the bill were the Colorado Department of Labor and the AFL-CIO.

The bill passed the Senate on a third reading 22-13 on April 27.

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

DENVER - Governor Bill Ritter, D, vetoed SB09-050, which would require a citizen from Teller County or Cripple Creek to be appointed to the state’s gaming board.  The bill went to the Senate today for a re-vote.  The bill, sponsored by Senator Mark Scheffel, R-Teller County, would allow citizens of those counties to get involved in their biggest industry.

The Governor vetoed the bill on conflict of interest grounds, worried, apparently, that anyone in Teller County or Cripple Creek would be tainted by their living in gaming areas.  Scheffel noted that the bill is straightforward, that the governor appoints members to the board, that members  of the board can be thrown off by the governor, and that the bill passed unanimously in its first tour through the Senate.

The veto was upheld on an 18-16 vote.  It needed 24 votes to override the veto.

DENVER – The House narrowly passed SB-228 this morning after a long debate where several Democrats argued the state would now have more flexibility to take advantage of economic upturns when planning the budget.

Sponsored by Reps. Don Marostica, R-Larimer County and Lois Court, D-Arapahoe County, the bill tackled Colorado’s funding formula, which requires the state to keep spending levels at 6 percent of the general fund despite how the economy is running.

Three Democrats defect

It passed on third reading by a 35-29 vote, with Democrats Kathleen Curry, Jack Pommer and Wes McKinley all siding with the Republicans.

Marostica argued that when the budget keeps getting cut, there is a ratchet effect that keeps spending down even when the economy recovers – thereby putting some state services near extinction and not allowing Colorado to prosper when the rest of the nation does.

But opponents argued it was a tax hike, a spending increase and irresponsible budget management – a notion Marostica said was being spread as a fear tactic and not as a legitimate argument.

“It does not raise taxes. It does not increase spending,” Marostica said. “I want that on the record.”

Tough budget

The legislature has grappled with one of the toughest budgets since after Sept. 11 – looking at cuts in most every state service. Only some of the departments getting federal stimulus money have managed to squeeze out flat or slight spending increases. At one point, higher education was facing a $300 million hit and forced lawmakers to seek filling that hole be taking profits from Pinnacol Assurance – the state’s worker’s compensation insurance entity. That move failed, but the gap was filled through cuts and employee furloughs.

One of those is transportation and Rep. Cindy Acree said she feared the bill was going to dilute spending on much-needed bridge and road work in Colorado. She said the bill was “hiding” spending in other areas.

“We’re hiding something that looks like Washington pork barrel,” she said and warned that if money dedicated to transportation didn’t actually go to transportation, federal matching dollars could be at risk.

But House Democrats said the bill eliminates large fluctuations for transportation money by dedicating 2 percent of the general fund be allocated to those projects over a five-year period beginning in 2012 – assuming economic growth in 2011 is greater than 5 percent.

Rep. Kevin Priola, R-Adams County, said he opposed the bill because he felt transportation dollars would eventually be scattered among other “good ideas” that lawmakers would decide needed funding over transportation.

“Transportation will be the stepchild that will be abused,” he said. “Pot holes will go unfilled, traffic will pile up and bridges will fall down.”

TABOR unaffected

House Democrats also sought to assuage concerns about TABOR by saying the bill would protect the general fund by recognizing TABOR rebates.

The bill has narrowly passed most everything it’s been put before. It escaped out of the Senate by a 21-14 vote and got out of the House Transportation and Energy Committee by a 6-5 vote and the Senate Finance Committee by a 4-3 vote.

It passed the Senate on third reading on March 17 by a 21-14 vote.

House Speaker Terrance Carroll said the bill was “a common sense agreement.”

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

DENVER - “Debrucing” and “rebrucing” are now verbs unique to Colorado. They are the subject of SB09-291, a bill to reduce the incentives for school districts that have “debruced,“ or taken themselves out of TABOR limits, to “rebruce” in order to reduce property taxes.

Doug Bruce the root of “brucing,“ but Douging might be more accurate

“Debrucing” derives from the last name of Douglas Bruce, the former, brief legislator and tax hound who brought the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) to Colorado.  Debrucing removes a taxing entity from TABOR limits and allows the entity to increase taxes for services.  “Rebrucing” would re-establish TABOR limits.  

Many school districts have debruced, and some are now thinking of rebrucing because of rising property taxes and the recession.  If a district rebruces, the state would have to make up revenues based on State Finance Act formulas.

Disincentives to “rebruce” to protect state budget

The bill would prevent “rebruced” districts from receiving extra funds from the School Finance Act, in effect preventing districts from playing the TABOR system to their advantage.

Three hour filibuster tests patience

In a three hour+ peroration on the iniquities of the bill, and all other bills related to TABOR and education sponsored by Democrats, Senator Shawn Mitchell, R-Adams County, pushed Senator bedtimes well into the wee hours.  His aim was for midnight, but with a hoarse voice, he stopped around 9:30 pm. 

Greg Brophy, R-Wray, picked up on Mitchell’s filibuster and added his own scorching critique.  “There are six people on the other side of the street, six justices, who will cover your back,“ said Brophy in response to Senator Bob Bacon, D-Ft. Collins and bill sponsor, who said he didn’t care if the bill went to the courts.  “I’ll be specific.  It’s Supreme Court Judge Mary Mullarkey and the other six who will steal tax money from the people of Colorado to put into state coffers.“

Senator Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, cited unfairness to kids whose district’s have “rebruced.“  Bacon responded that fault lies with school districts that chose to debruce and now want the state to bail them out.  The state can’t afford to finance districts that go out of, and then want back in on, TABOR.

SB09-291 passes on voice vote

Bacon won the argument, even though he spoke for about five minutes total, on a voice vote.  The Senate adjourned at 11:15pm with Appropriations Committee up and at it at 7:30 am Tuesday.  Groans all the way around.

DENVER - One way to cut the state budget deficit is to reduce recidivism among individuals on parole or probation.  Since each prison bed represents a $100,000 investment and $28,000/year/prisoner, it’s easy to see corrections costs rising and rising, given sentencing laws and high recidivism among prisoners.

Recidivism drops with massive, but cost-saving intervention

The state of Maryland has achieved a 42% lower rate of rearrest than most states using traditional systems, so the House and Senate Judiciary committees brought in experts on the Maryland system to provide insight into what has worked for that state.

According to Judith Sackwell, former director of parole and probation in Maryland, the first step in reducing recidivism is to collect a lot of evidence about prisoners and their support structure upon release.  “Maryland uses a data driven system.  We use research, have created a work place culture that values professional development for supervisory agents, rely on empirical evidence, and build rapport with people.“  Maryland also works on changing how parolees and probationers think and behave.  

Who, what, how, how much 

The Maryland system is based on four principles:  1. who 2. what 3. how 4. how much.  “Who” involves sorting high risk, moderate risk, and low risk parolees and probationers.  The state put its greatest resources into high risk prisoners, giving low risk individuals less supervision.  

“What” involves using risk identification tools to identify factors that drive an individual criminal’s behavior.  

“How” involves how to intervene with each criminal in changing their behavior.  “Cognitive behavior programming” helps parolees change their thinking and behavior habits to enable them to stay out of trouble.

“How much” includes how long and how much treatment is needed to prevent further criminal behavior.  The state considers the severity of criminal-driving behavior, brain damage, literacy, etc.

The state also changed the relationship between supervisory agents and parolees by getting agents out of the office and more involved in building a support infrastructure for parolees.  Agents work with employers, family members, friends, etc., to understand the context of the parolee and to keep on top of issues before they become larger problems.  

“Our programs are dynamic and continue to change.  We are keeping our eye on the horizon, based on data, to help us modify policies,“ said Sackwell.

Neighborhood mapping reduces recidivism

Judy Green, director of Justice Strategies, noted some other tools for combatting recidivism.  Arizona and Kansas are using strategies to evaluate the geography of crime as a tool to reduce criminal activity.  Arizona mapped out where crime occurs and where criminals come from.  The Open Society Institute looked at a neighborhood in south Phoenix that holds 1% of Arizona’s population but produces 6% of its prisoners.  

The state built some incentive programs for people on probation, giving people days off their probation if they perform well.  Any county that reduces recidivism will receive 70% of the money saved from prison beds not used, which provides more funds for helping communities to get safer and healthier.

“Our understanding is that massive incarceration harms neighborhoods.  If we reduce incarceration, we’ll reduce correctional expenditures, which means investing in communities where criminals live,“ said Green.

DENVER – Rep. Gwyn Green, D-Lakewood, announced today she is stepping down from her seat so she can spend more time with her family – issuing a statement lamenting lost time with her grandson in particular while serving in the legislature.

“A few weeks ago, I had to miss an awards ceremony for my nine year old grandson, Ethan, because of my responsibilities here.  I consistently have to miss my grandson Cullen’s lacrosse games.  Now, though I will miss you, I am thrilled that I will be able to attend my grandchildren’s awards ceremonies, attend their sports, see their plays, and spend more time with them, with my children and with my husband,” Green said. “I will enjoy that immensely!  I thank all of them for their understanding, and for making my time here possible.”

She also said she doesn’t have the stamina for the job anymore.

“And I would not leave you should my health not insistently demand I do so,” she said. “It is time to leave you and let someone who has the health and the stamina to fill this seat for such an important district.   There are many good leaders in my district who could bring so much to this body.  It is time to have them called forth.

Her resignation takes effect June 1.

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net.

DENVER – Rep. Joe Rice, D-Arapahoe County, killed his own health care reform bill today in committee though he said he hoped to bring back HB-1358 after all sides have had more time to digest its complications.

“This is not a sad thing,” Rice told the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee – upon which he sits. “This a year that the groups are going to continue to talk. There were so many steps that still would have had been be passed and they just weren’t ready for that. Neither side was.”

Killed by 11-0 vote

Some Capitol observers dubbed the bill as “Single-Payer Light” because it wasn’t a straight-up version of the single-payer proposal pitched during Gov. Bill Ritter’s Blue Ribbon for Health Care Reform. That commission studied five different proposals to solve the dilemma of insuring the state’s roughly 795,000 uninsured by bringing 27 people from the medical community, insurance representatives and a variety of community advocates.

The committee was supportive of Rice’s decision to pull the bill, voting 11-0 to scrap it.

“This is a tough issue and I respect that you have tried to move this ball down the road,” Rep. Amy Stephens, R-Monument, said. “I hope with all due diligence we can continue that conversation this summer.”

Last year, Colorado spent $30.1 billion on health care and most everyone agrees it’s a pressing issue.

Rep. Larry Liston, R-El Paso County, said he was inundated with emails from people when Rice’s bill was scheduled to be heard. He said he couldn’t believe the “virulent” tenor of some that opposed free market solutions to health care.

“I was chagrined by some of the emails,” he said.

A 17-member board of directors

The bill would have brought the concept of portable insurance to the state – allowing people to be untethered to their employer for health insurance coverage. The state would set up a 17-member Board of Directors that would oversee the health care system. Board members would be chosen by  by lawmakers, small and large businesses and health care providers.

The board would oversee the department, which would have established a community rate pricing standard for health care, the issuance of vouchers for lower-income households and plan selection choices for consumers.

There was also a component in the bill that would have set up an automated system for billing through a confidential, electronic personal health care record system.

Willing to wait

The roots of this bill do trace back to the 208 Commission and it’s a fulfillment of sorts on the Democrats proposal upon getting the final report from the commission in January 2008 that this would be a long, multi-year process to solve.

For now, Rice said he’s willing to let all of the sides continue to hash out their differences and said that when the bill is ready, he’ll be ready.

“I’m not in the habit of introducing bills for the sake of introducing bills, “ Rice said.

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

Thirty Colorado future farmers showed up in Senate room 356 today to tell legislators in the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources committee that they don’t want the Army taking over their property.  They stood out in their blue, red, and gold jackets, and cowboy boots.  They let everyone in the packed room know that farming and ranching are not done in Colorado.

SE CO objects to Army expansion in Pinon Canyon

The thirty kids, their parents and grandparents object to the Army’s effort to expand its training facility in Pinon Canyon.  HB09-1317 requires that the state prohibit the State Land Board from selling any property to the Army. Since the land the Army seeks in southeast Colorado includes public and private lands, getting the state to stick with the farmers and ranchers is an important step to protecting Pinon Canyon, its wildlife and wilderness, as well as the ranching and farming that goes on in the region.

Many ranchers in SE CO since 19th century

The kids weren’t the only testifiers against the Army and in support of the bill. Abel Benevides, whose family has owned 100,000 acres in southeast Colorado since 1872, asserted that the Army used its bullying tactics before when it did its first Pinon Canyon taking.  He and other owners want the state to stand with them to reject the Army’s latest incursion.

Santa Fe Trail cuts through Pinyon Canyon

Rebecca Goodwin, chair of the Otero County Preservation Board, said that Pinyon Canyon holds some of the most valuable historical treasures in the state, including the Santa Fe trail where Kit Carson travelled.  “The people, history, and traditions of southeast Colorado shouldn’t be sacrificed.“  Doug Holdried, faculty at the Community College of Trinidad, added that “it’s not good if the Santa Fe Trail is in the middle of a bombing range.“

Army wants land for Ft Carson training

Grady Grissom, a SE Colorado rancher, acknowledged that the Army wants to take the land so it can maintain its base at Ft. Carson.  But he suggested that the Army could easily find other sites willing to provide land for training and maneuvers, citing 3 million acres in Utah that are currently underused.  

Grissom appealed to the legislators, “This bill is primarily a political statement.  Let’s let the Army know that the state land board is behind the people of southeast Colorado.“

No one testified against the bill, which passed the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee 6-0.

DENVER - Make sure your doctor is really good, and your hospital is really sanitary, because the House knocked down a bill, HB09-1344, allowing the study of the economic drivers affecting medical malpractice insurance.

Malpractice caps set in 1988

In 1988, the legislature set malpractice insurance caps at $1 million for economic injury and $300,000 for non economic injury. Those amounts may have been generous in 1988, but for injuries 20 years later, they often do not cover actual cost of damages.

Doctors do not want damage caps changed, even to keep up with inflation.  Malpractice insurance in some other states is unpredictable, with high rate increases.  Colorado’s malpractice insurance is modest in price, which keeps doctors in the state. Rural doctors are particularly worried by any rate changes.  With caps unchanged for over 20 years, Colorado’s malpractice insurance situation enables doctors to practice in a secure environment.

Infant disabled by undiagnosed bacterial meningitis

Six year old Krysta Vitteta is an example of how the current malpractice awards are insufficient for damages.  She was completely disabled by bacterial meningitis undiagnosed by her doctor for 12 hours when she was four days old.  That was all it took for Krysta to become a quadraplegic. She’s had seven surgeries in her six years.  She cannot walk or talk, and her mother calls her “angel.“ This little girl is now on Medicaid, her father declared bankruptcy, her brother tried to commit suicide, and her mother is barely hanging on. Krysta and her mother were at the Capitol on Monday to support HB09-1344.  That day, the bill was stripped of its requirement to tie noneconomic damages to inflation.

Malpractice rates will be set by insurers with no review by commissioner

Today, the rest of the bill went down, so there will be no study of the drivers on the costs of malpractice insurance by the state’s insurance commissioner.  The caps remain at $1 million for economic damages and $300,000 for non economic damages.  So hope your doctor doesn’t make a mistake, or the hospital doesn’t bring an infection your way, because there’s only so much coverage you’ll receive if you’re injured.

Comments to Paula Noonan at penoonan@comcast.net

DENVER - Colorado’s House of Representatives and Senate passed SB09-259, a cobbled budget bill that will ostensibly balance the state budget.  The passage represents the end of a furious three-week search to find $300 million needed to fill the state’s deficit.

Rural health clinics hit hard 

The House and Senate agreed to take $15 million from rural health clinics, which includes $1 million from a clinic in Boulder that serves mostly poor children.  “Health care has been left in the cold with this budget,“ said Senator Rollie Heath, D-Boulder.  “For us to leave out community health care is completely unsatisfactory.“

Passage in doubt for part of the day

For a time it appeared that some Senate Democrats would send the budget back to conference committee over the health care cuts. Then during the Senate session, Republicans tried to throw the bill back to conference committee.  Senator Keith King, R-Colorado Springs, objected to taking $100,000 from community colleges.  Senator Josh Penry, R-Mesa County, said the legislature hadn’t cut enough.

“So far, what we see here are gimmicks, one time fixes, tax increases, and money moved around.  This budget doesn’t help families and businesses who have had to cut their budgets to the bone,“ said Penry.

Budget reflects tough times choices

Senator John Morse, D-Colorado Springs roundly objected to Penry’s characterization.  “We’ve cut to the heart,“ said Morse.  “We’re doing exactly what families do when they’re in a financial crisis.  We’re tapping our savings, we’re borrowing from family. When we wanted to take money from Pinnacol, the Chamber of Commerce and Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry sent us a letter to cut reimbursements to Medicaid instead.  That’s cutting money that helps the poorest of us get health care.  We have cut those dollars, and you Republicans still want us to cut more.“

Needs great as 8000 new children enrollments on Medicaid in March

Senator Moe Keller, D-Wheatridge, cited some restored money for Medicaid, as 8000 children have enrolled in Medicaid in March. Even so, Medicaid provider reimbursement has been cut 2%, continuing to reduce dollars for medical care for the poor and pushing the cost of the care onto hospitals and ultimately, the insured.

Judiciary IT project on hold and all state gov’t cut 1.82%

The legislature also agreed to put aside a $10 million project to convert the Judicial system’s online record platform. It will use a 1.82% cut across all state departments, which can include furloughs, salary cuts, vacancies, and hiring freezes.  

Romer and Pommer after $20 million capital gains tax break for wealthy

Senator Chris Romer, D-Boulder, announced that he and Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, will introduce a bill to grab $20 million+ from individuals making more than $250,000/year who don’t pay capital gains in Colorado.  Romer wants to get Republicans to go on record supporting tax breaks for the wealthiest Coloradans at the expense of poor children in rural communities.

Senator Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont and majority leader, pleaded with both parties to conduct a civil debate on the budget, but Penry replied that the Senate is arguing philosophy.  Whether the arguments are petty, large, or merely repetitive, the call to throw the budget bill back to conference committee failed, and SB09-259 passed.

DENVER – Gov. Bill Ritter signed SB-51 into law this morning at Civic Center Park – part of an Earth Day event featuring Mayor John Hickenlooper and Mike Dino, the chief executive officer of the 2008 Convention Host Committee.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Arapahoe County and Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, provides homeowners with financing options to upgrade their homes using solar electric systems while making solar rebate programs through utilities more accessible.

“We call it bringing the new energy economy home,” Ritter said. “This act will encourage new investments, new companies and new jobs as we increase the production and installation of solar electric systems all across Colorado.”

Bill passed easily

The bill passed the senate 24-11 on March 4, drawing bipartisan support from conservatives including Sen. Mike Kopp, R-Jefferson County and Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, R-Mesa.

It passed out of the House of Representative on March 30 by a 40-24 vote.

Crosses party lines

Carroll said the bill would open up the market of renewable energy for everyone and would no longer be the domain of large companies buying back carbon offsets or credits.

“The majority of people in this state want to reduce their carbon footprint. The majority of people in this state want to lower their utility bills,” Carroll said. “The majority of people in this state want to increase our energy independence from unstable oil source.”

“We know this crosses party lines,” she said.

Liberty Media on board

The signing ceremony featured Greg Maffei, a Republican and a heavy contributor to GOP – including regular individual contributions to Sen. John McCain’s failed presidential bid and Bob Schaffer’s unsuccessful run against Sen. Mark Udall in 2008.

Maffei, the CEO of Liberty Media, said he supported the bill because it made good business sense.

“We see a large, and as yet, largely unmet opportunity for Colorado’s corporate citizens to execute sustainable business plans,” he said. “Colorado has a reputation for being at the forefront of the environmental dialogue. This legislation encourages its leaders and its industry to take the next step and execute.”

He said it makes investment in solar energy feasible and less complicated to complete and will draw more business to Colorado.

“It should enable solar to take root flourish and shine in our state,” Maffei said.

Liberty Media has installed solar at its facilities in North Carolina already and Maffei said they would be able to repeat that process in Colorado.

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

DENVER – Attorney General John Suthers stood on the Capitol steps today and praised the decision made by state senators to amend SB-286, which centered on criminal sentencing reform in an effort to save state tax dollars.

Suthers, who had openly opposed the bill as written after anchoring the 26-member Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, said he was notified this morning that the bill would be altered with an amendment to be added Wednesday.

That amendment will seek more guidance from the commission to look at sentence reform and bring back a report on proposed solutions.

“You don’t need much notice – things are moving very quickly and we found out this morning and so we called off the letters to the editor and all of that sort of thing because they’re going to do a strike below,” Suthers said. “This is not so-and-so prevailed or didn’t prevail, I think this is a positive step where people are mutually moving forward and recognizing the justice commission is the place to do what needs to be done.”

‘Alarming’ flaws

Suthers said one of the bill’s more “alarming” flaws was the way it tackled habitual criminals.

He gave an example of how a person would have to be convicted of all violent crimes in order to be considered habitual while a person convicted of 100 burglaries could not be convicted as a habitual criminal under the bill’s language.

He also said district attorneys in the state were troubled by the bill’s language that would take away their power to consent to deferred sentences.

“We think that is part of the executive branch power in the plea bargain process and cannot be taken away from prosecutors,” Suthers said.

Bill was a stab at saving money

State Senate Majority Leader Brandon Schaffer, D-Boulder, stood with Suthers and outlined his reasons for reconsidering the bill. He was a co-sponsor on SB-286 and said the original intent of the bill was to look at state funding for the Colorado Department of Corrections after the legislature just passed a budget full of cuts.

The department was the third most funded state agency, with a $686 million budget. Only Medicaid and K-12 education got more money allocated in the state budget.

He said the bill looked to relieve the overloaded Corrections Department by rethinking sentencing and removing some from prison that may not need to be there.  Some in the prison system believe that the Governor’s recidivism programs are beginning to work, relieving some of the overcrowding.  The prisoner in-out numbers have changed from a positive 90 prisoners in per month to about 25 prisoners in per month.

“We faced the threat of potential closures to community colleges, we clearly needed to take a step back and see if our sentencing is in line with what we need,” Schaffer said. “But we realized that with little more than two week left in this session, we need to put this conversation on hold so that we can have a more collaborative conversation with all of the people of Colorado.”

But Schaffer wanted to be clear that “sentence reform is not synonymous with sentence reductions.”

The Commission will meet throughout the year and will have to have a report by the end of the year. The bill will go to the State Senate Judiciary Committee for consideration tomorrow.

District Attorneys pleased

Grand Junction District Attorney Peter Hautzinger said just because the Commission will take another year to study sentence reform, it doesn’t mean the district attorneys throughout Colorado don’t want sentence reform.

“Our criminal code is a mess and has been for a long time and it needs comprehensive, top-to-bottom, very careful review,” he said. “That’s why I volunteered to serve on the commission two years ago and that’s why I’m real excited about today’s developments.”

He also said it’s not a partisan issue. Instead, he said the bill, as it stood was simply a “band aid” to the problem.

Schaffer did acknowledge the commission spent too long last year looking at recidivism in prison and that they needed to move more quickly to review sentence reform. It was also unclear if the bill were to emerge from Judiciary how it would fare on a floor vote and if Gov. Bill Ritter would even sign it.

Busy day for Suthers

It was a busy day for Suthers, who was chagrined to see the House of Representatives pass, by one vote, the abolition of the death penalty. That bill, HB-1274, will go to the Senate and Ritter would have to sign it before it would become law.

“My basic argument has always been the people of Colorado voted twice – 1966, 1974 – and overwhelmingly approved it,” Suthers said. “It’s my position if the legislature thinks they’ve changed their mind, we ought to ask them.”

That House Bill was also viewed by many as a budget-saving measure, though the issue was also rife with moral arguments from anti-death penalty aspects and pro-death penalty advocates saying it would take away a tool from district attorneys.

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

DENVER - Three weeks ago, legislators took on Pinnacol Assurance like lion tamers at the Roman Colliseum.  Today, they backed off like pussy cat owners sleeping with their kitties on their beds.  SB09-281, a bill to clarify the status of the Pinnacol as a subdivision of the state, went down on second reading in the House.

SB09-281 to determine nature of Pinnacol

House Majority leader Paul Weissman, D-Longmont and sponsor, offered the bill to clarify Pinnacol’s relationship to the state.  “We need to figure out what Pinnacol is, what reserves they have and what reserves they should have,“ said Weissman.  

Pinnacol under state insurance commissioner

According to Weissman, Pinnacol is supposed to operate under an agreement with the state’s insurance commissioner as to how much money should be in reserve.  Currently, between its reserve fund and surplus, Pinnacol seems to be well supplied with money to cover any size catastrophe.  That’s why Weissman and others want Pinnacol to trim the surplus or make it accessible to the state.

Pinnacol board calls the shots

Rep. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs, objected to any interference in Pinnacol business.  “They have a board of directors appointed by the governor.  If the executives are paid too much or they’re not giving out enough money, then it’s the governor appointed board that should oversee that.“  Gardner speculated that Pinnacol could be stashing money to expand its business to other states, rather like COPIC, the Colorado malpractice insurer who also serves Nebraska and Iowa.

No state audit

Weissman’s bill would initiate a state audit of Pinnacol’s assets so the state can determine what it does and how it manages its rate structures and reserves.  The bill also required a 5% distribution of funds to employers with 50 or fewer employees.  That portion of the bill was amended to give Pinnacol wider latitude in distributing any dividends.

Representative Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, offered an amendment to require Pinnacol to behave like other state agencies in lobbying the legislature.  That would mean Pinnacol could hire an employee relations person, but couldn’t buy t-shirts and run ads against the legislature.

It all went down at the end on a head count vote on second reading.  Pinnacol’s big paws swatted the legislature, and the legislature turned tail.

Contact Paula Noonan at penoonan@comcast.net

DENVER - House Appropriations passed HB09-1344 on to the House floor this morning, following a lengthy debate on the bill in the House Judiciary Committee the previous evening.  The bill will allow the state’s insurance commissioner to review any malpractice rate increase exceeding 5%.  

No increase in caps yet

The original bill attempted to attach the non economic injury cap on malpractice cases to the rate of inflation.  The current cap on noneconomic injury is $300,000, an amount set in 1988. Inflation has cut the value of that amount to $165,000.  Seriously injured individuals are thus further damaged by their inability to cover the cost of their ongoing care, such as for wheelchairs, vans, home accommodations, etc.

Current caps underserve patients 

According to Rep. Christine Scanlon, D-Dillon, the revised bill will allow the insurance commissioner to explore why malpractice rates are increasing when the current caps have been in place since 1988. Rep. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs, says that “this is a bill in search of a problem” because physicians are not complaining about their rates.  Scanlon replied that the caps keep the rates low so that physicians won’t complain, but the effect is to underserve victims of malpractice, some of whom have multi million dollar injuries when taken out over their life times.  As it is, victims must rely on the state through Medicaid, their families, or a combination to meet expenses.  

Physicians worry that if the caps are increased, their insurance will go up and put them out of business.  But COPIC, the major malpractice insurer in the state, has given its policyholders a $12 million dividend, or refund in premiums, in 2008, and $124 million in refunds since 1990. The cost in 2008 of the proposed cap increase would have been $900,000 spread out over six patients, a $150,000 increase per patient seriously damaged by malpractice.

Gardner sees radical change

Gardner asserted that “it’s a radical change” to move to a system in which the insurance commissioner reviews rate increases.  Representative Jack Pommer, D-Boulder and chair of the Appropriations Committee, said that whenever the state tries to get more clarity on what’s happening with severe medical events, “we hear that we can’t do that because COPIC will raise rates.“  He hopes that the bill will begin to shed light on the drivers of increased costs in medical malpractice insurance.

The amended bill passed House Appropriations 9-3 and will move to the House floor.

Comments to Paula Noonan at penoonan@comcast.net

Malpractice insurers and physicians gutted SB09-1344, a bill to adjust for inflation non economic caps on medical damages due to malpractice.  In 1988, the legislature set a $300,000 cap on non economic damages. That amount is now valued at $165,000, based on the effects of inflation.

No financial relief for malpractice victims

Legislators have been bombarded with contacts from doctors, insurers, and malpractice victims. Doctors and insurers won out, as SB09-1344, sponsored by Rep. Christine Scanlon, D-Eagle County, was amended to take out adjustments to non economic malpractice caps while maintaining the portion of the bill that would change malpractice insurance to a type 1 insurance level.

The $300,000 in non economic damages includes grief, pain and suffering, emotional distress, impairment of quality of life, and disfigurement.  An economic cap of $1 million also limits malpractice payouts.  These amounts are changed only when a case goes to trial, a jury decides upon a higher amount, and a judge agrees on the higher amount.  Most cases are settled, and even when a jury decides on a higher amount, the judge can take that amount down to the caps.

Malpractice capped at $1 million in economic costs, $300,000 in non economic penalties

Once the $1 million economic cap and the $300,000 non economic cap is reached, malpractice victims do not receive malpractice funds for ongoing medical or living costs, such as for a van for paralyzed victims, fixes to homes to accommodate wheelchairs, the costs of wheelchairs, medical supplies, medical assistants, tutors for children, etc.  

In 2008, six cases went to trial and received the maximum amount.  The amended inflation change in SB09-1344 would have given the six victims an extra $150,000 each or $900,000 total.

Krysta Vitteta on Medicaid despite malpractice decision

Six year old Krysta Vitteta is a malpractice victim.  At four days old, she contracted bacterial meningitis, but neither the doctor nor the hospital treated her for twelve hours. Her mother, Jeanine Vitteta, says her daughter “can’t walk, can’t talk, can’t play with her peers at the park, has seizure disorder, needs daily care around the clock, and has had seven surgeries in her six years of life.“

Vitteta is now divorced, her husband filed for bankruptcy, her son attempted suicide, her daughter wanted to leave home, Vitteta thought about going on welfare, and she’s surviving with help from friends.  Her daughter, “my angel,“ is now on Medicaid, supported by the state, rather than covered by the doctor’s malpractice insurance.  Krysta’s doctor was insured by COPIC, the major malpractice insurer in the state, a profitable company that has given back $124 million in dividends to doctors since 1990, with its highest dividend of $12 million in 2008. “I don’t see why the state is paying for Krysta’s care.  She’s a victim and she’s now covered by Medicaid.“

Malpractice insurance increases hamper doctors

Doctors strenuously objected to the whole bill, not just the inflation adjustment on the non economic cap.  Rural doctors state that ob/gyns are particularly vulnerable to increases in malpractice insurance and that they will leave the state if changes occur in how malpractice insurance is delivered.

Level 1 designation means insurers have to justify rate increases

The change of malpractice insurance to level 1 means that insurance companies have to explain to the insurance commissioner why a rate change over 5% has occurred if a qualified individual objects to the increase.  The change would seem to protect doctors from excessive charges, but doctors asserted that the current system is fine with them.  Dr. Larry Kype from Craig said that access to care is difficult in this current economic climate. “Our overhead is higher than someone living in the city and Medicaid reimbursements are only half of what insurers pay.“

Stability of current system attractive to doctors

According to all the doctors who testified, defensive procedures to protect against malpractice are endemic. Scanlon said, “Doctors are concerned that if we increase the caps in any way, that will result in increased premiums.  Some people have acknowledged that we have to do something, but it’s the domino effect and the consequences of that that give people pause.“

Insurance commissioner says Level 1 insurance structure doable

The state’s insurance commissioner indicated that changing how insurance premiums are set will not be a problem for her department.  Currently, malpractice insurers file a rate change and implement it.  The revised statute would require malpractice insurers to go through a more methodical process in which the rate changes are filed with and reviewed by the state before they go into effect.  In that way, the insurance commissioner could determine what factors are driving rate increases.

Need to know malpractice insurance cost drivers

“Today,“ said Judiciary Committee chair Claire Levy, D-Boulder, “we don’t know what drives rate increases.  A first step to understanding malpractice insurance is to have more clarity around the economic causes of rate increases.“  Scanlon was disappointed in the medical community and the trial lawyers association, neither of whom she said came together in a meaningful way to resolve the issues.  “The amendments leave a bill that is part of a process,“ said Scanlon.  “It’s a first step to taking a look at medical malpractice insurance rates currently paid and what the rates will be going forward.“

Both Scanlon and Levy acknowledged, and Vitteta confirmed, that victims gain little, if anything, from the amended bill.

The amended bill will move forward to House Appropriations on a 7-4 vote. 

Comments to Paula Noonan at penoonan@comcast.net

DENVER – It looked like HJR-1026 was going to sail through the House Health and Human Services Committee, but then Rep. Cindy Acree added an amendment, forcing the entire committee to bounce it over to Appropriations.

The resolution essentially sought to establish a legislative committee to study why about 900 severely disabled children remain on waiting lists for home and community based waivers for Medicaid.

But because Acree, a Republican from Arapahoe County, added an amendment to her bill before the Health and Human Services Committee – of which she is also a member – that sought to fund the committee through gifts, grants and donations, Rep. John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins, noted the resolution was no longer in front of the right committee.

The Health and Human Services Committee moved it to the Appropriations Committee by an 11-0 vote.

Hospice waiver unacceptable

Acree brought the resolution forward because she said the only real medical waiver available to severely disabled children over the age of five in Colorado is the hospice waiver – a concept she found unacceptable.

“Those are two words we never want to put together (in regard to children) – hospice waiver,” Acree said.

The resolution tackled an uncomfortable issue in the state. Currently, severely disabled children on the waiting list can send families into bankruptcy or they can be institutionalized by county agencies where the families give up many rights to their child.

Christy Blakely, executive director of Family Voices Colorado, said she was disappointed the bill got sent to Appropriations and was hoping to work with Acree to revise the language to it could be passed quickly through Health and Human Services again.

“We don’t believe there is a financial impact,” she said.

Medical bills for one month: $26,000

Up until the shift to committees, the members appeared moved by testimony brought forward by Lisa Schwartz.

Schwartz said she and her husband have a 6-year-old daughter with severe disabilities. But because of tobacco tax money allocated toward removing children off the waiting list in 2005, they managed to qualify for the Medicaid waiver. However, before getting off the waiting list, the medical bills mounted so high, it created real financial hardship.

She said in their daughter’s first month of life, they got medical bills in excess of $26,000.

“And we had good insurance,” she said. “The $26,000 was not covered by our good insurance and we were going broke pretty quick.”

Schwartz’s daughter wasn’t supposed to live either, but Kelsey has defied the odds. But without getting off the waiting list, she’s not sure how they would’ve made it.

“We’d have been broke three or four times by now,” she said.

Expansion of coverage expanded waiting list

The tobacco tax money removed 620 children from the waiting list and allowed them to access Medicaid benefits secondary to private insurance.

However, the state increased the number of waivers for children with chronic, long-term disabilities, including an autism waiver for children from birth to five years old and children’s hospice waiver for birth through 18 years old.

That expansion has, in turn, expanded the waiting list.

The resolution seeks to establish seven members on a committee to study the waiting list issue – two members of the State Senate appointed by the Senate President and one member appointed by the minority leader of the Senate. The committee would also feature two members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker and two members appointed by the House Minority Leader.

They would be appointed by July 1, 2009 and would meet six times before the next session starts. The committee would submit a written report about its findings.

If Blakely isn’t successful at getting Acree to reconsider the amendment, it will likely to go House Appropriations this week.

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

The west steps of the Capitol were the site of a somber rededication for the deaths and violence against Columbine High School students on the 10th Anniversary of the Columbine massacre.

Virginia Tech parents against guns on Capitol steps

Parents from Virginia Tech traveled to Colorado to meet with gun control advocates in an effort to kill HB09-1180, a bill allowing individuals with concealed weapon permits to skip background checks at gun shows.  Gun control activists believe this loophole reduces protection because once people have concealed weapon permits, they’re not checked again for five years.  The background check is designed to keep guns away from felons, those convicted of domestic violence, and the mentally ill.

The bill passed the House and the Senate with amendments, so the bill will now be sent to conference committee for further negotiation.

Tom Mauser honors son, Daniel, wearing his shoes

Tom Mauser, whose son Daniel died at the high school, said in a speech to the gathered crowd, “I found myself at the epicenter of the shock waves of Columbine.  That event demonstrated the worst in humanity but also the best in humanity.“  

The deceased children were represented by some of the relatives of the students.  Thirteen people laid on the ground in front of the Capitol, representing the deceased.  Others affected by gun violence and representatives of injured students joined the people at rest in front of the stairs.  Richard Castaldo looked on from his wheel chair, with his dog snoozing nearby.

Andrew Goddard, VA Tech parent, called for action

Andrew Goddard, whose son was shot four times at Virginia Tech, spoke to the crowd.  He said, “Legislators won’t listen to the voices of the families who have been affected by the pain in their lives.  They worry more about some tainted pistachio than the three police killed by gunfire at the door of domestic violence.“

Replace guns with books, pleaded Rev. Dewberry

Reverend Steven Dewberry remonstrated the crowd to continue their work against gun violence.  “We need to take the guns out of their hands and give them books.“  

Mauser reflected on the death of his son.  “On this day, I focus on Daniel.  He was a lot stronger than me.“  He, iike Goddard, has gotten deeply involved in gun control to honor his son and, as Goddard said, “to turn something good out of the evil.“  

Gun activists are brutal with legislators

Mauser said that the pro-gun people don’t really want his side to speak about gun control.  “They say we’re doing this as a crusade, that we’re exploiting the tragedies.  We’ve seen the other side of guns.  We’re seeing a problem and we’re trying to address it.“

Progress in Colorado has been minor, said Mauser, and it’s worse in Virginia which doesn’t have a gun check at gun show law.  “The Republicans in today’s legislature are so much more conservative, because moderate Republicans have been replaced by Democrats.  And Democrats are afraid of losing their majority.  The gun people win because they’re brutal in how they deal with legislators.  My side of the issue doesn’t punish them enough and give them a reason to vote for gun control.“

Gun supporters believe that if guns were eliminated, people would use knives or baseball bats.  Goddard said that at Virginia Tech, the killer wouldn’t have had a chance using a bat.  “My son is 6’3”.  That kid would have been rushed and subdued.“

Healing of a sort does happen

Goddard did say a healing of a sort happens after these tragedies.  “At first it’s an open wound, and you have to do things to stop the bleeding and losing strength.  Once that’s done, healing should never be done by forgetting. The best part of healing is trying to make something good come out of it.“

At the end of the ceremony, Virginia Tech and Columbine parents stood together.

Comments to Paula Noonan at penoonan@comcast.net

DENVER – The House Chamber was silent Monday morning, each member standing erect while a video screen slowly revealed the names of the Columbine High School massacre that happened 10 years ago today.

House Minority Leader Mike May wiped his eyes. Rep. Gwyn Green, D-Jefferson County, held clasped hands together up to her lips and her eyes moistened with tears. In the balcony, spectators stood and some wept quietly.

The emotion of the moment was such that some in the House chamber got goose bumps when the video was over and all that was heard was the defiant chant of “We are…Columbine” by the students as the video went to black.

‘Triumph over Tragedy’

Rep. Jim Kerr, R-Jefferson County and Rep. Ken Summers, R-Jefferson County, brought forth a joint resolution – SJR-1019 – to honor the victims of Columbine entitled “Triumph over Tragedy.”

Kerr read off a series of dates – Dec. 7, 1941, Sept. 11, 2001 and Nov. 22, 1963 – and said, like those dates, April 20, 1999 would be “a moment frozen in time.”

He also played a video featuring Columbine High School Principal Frank DeAngelis.

“The memories of those who died will make us stronger in broken places,” DeAngelis said, playing off a quote by Ernest Hemingway.

The tragedy, which resulted in the deaths of 13 and injured 23 others, became a defining moment and became a shorthand term for school shootings.

Not defined by shootings

But Kerr and Summers wanted the world to know that the school would not be defined by the tragedy. Summers, who was a pastor at the time of the shooting, said people need to look beyond the question of why it happened but instead focus on how people respond to it.

“Columbine will not just be a metaphor for tragedy,” Summers said. “But a triumph over the worst of humanity.”

And Rep. Nancy Todd, D-Denver, hoped Columbine would inspire people to “be a little more gentle, a little more caring” with each other.

The resolution passed unanimously, 65-0.

Ritter unable to make remarks on House Floor

Gov. Bill Ritter was supposed to address the joint assembly, but his appearance was cancelled because it’s against the rules for him to do so. There was no word on whether he would issue a statement later in the day or make remarks about the tragedy.

House Speaker Terrance Carroll stepped down from the podium to make remarks and said that only two times in his life was he at a loss for words when speaking from the pulpit – once when his mother died and when he was asked to speak after Columbine.

Carroll leaned on the Apostle Paul when speaking to the House.

“As the Apostle Paul said, ‘we were cast down but not destroyed,’” Carroll said. “Ten year ago on this day, so many of us felt destroyed, perplexed and lost.”

“We have overcome being cast down. We have overcome the feelings of being destroyed and we have overcome the feelings of being perplexed,” he said. “We’re here just not to memorialize, but we are celebrating that there is life.”

Five House members then sang “God Bless America.”

Senate passes resolution

The Senate also spoke on the resolution and passed the resolution unanimously.

State Sen. Mike Kopp, R-Jefferson County, who was co-sponsor on the resolution, said everyone would remember where they were on the day it happened and had the full resolution read aloud on the Senate floor in the early afternoon.

Each victim’s name was read slowly on the floor as a part of the resolution as well.

Then Kopp reflected on how he kissed his children goodbye in the morning and sent them off to school with the expectation he would see them in the afternoon.

“And what a blessing it will be again when we get home to see them once again,” Kopp said. “For some families, that blessing did not return that day.”

State Sen. Linda Newell, D-Jefferson County, lives not far from the school and said she is constantly haunted by the tragedy.

“For those of us who live so close to Columbine, there are reminders every day,” she said. “Today I want to stand up and be proud of the progress we’ve made.”

But then she asked, “Are we going to be her in another 10 years asking the same questions?”

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

DENVER - Little Zoe Middleton had an early lesson on the kindness of strangers when her mother, Representative Karen Middleton, D-Aurora, brought her to the Capitol on little baby goes to work with mom day.  

Rain and snow fell outside the Capitol, but little Zoe was well protected, as many legislators, mostly the women on the floor, gave her hugs and kisses, apparently feeling all warm and fuzzy on passing the state budget bill.  Zoe responded with smiles and absolutely no tears.

Mom then took Zoe out to the crowded lobby, where Jane Urschel of the Colorado Association of School Boards asked Zoe what she thought of SB09-256. Zoe gave Urschel her “I’m not talking” look, and left the details to mom.

Comments to Paula Noonan at penoonan@comcast.net

DENVER - He wasn’t wearing a nametag and clearly seemed to be a lobbyist on the House Floor, but nobody seemed to mind the presence of the giant mascot standing next to Speaker Terrance Carroll on Friday morning.

Cam the Ram, mascot for Colorado State University, was there in support of senate joint resolution bill 09-036 which declared April 17 as CSU System Day at the Capitol. And, fresh off of bipartisan support for the budget cuts Thursday, lawmakers seemed to be in a good mood - joking with one another and even crossing a more sacred line to support the bill - University of Colorado graduates supporting the resolution.

Rep. Kevin Priola, R-Adams County, used to be a Ralphie Runner when he was a student at CU. He supported the resolution, but couldn’t resist taking a dig at Cam - who was sporting some large biceps.

“He’s either working out a lot or he found some medication at the vet school,“ Priola said to laughs.

The jovial discussion about recognizing the university was notable given just a few days ago, the same lawmakers were grappling with a way to deal with a $300 million hole in the higher education budget. With that resolved for now, the lawmakers could afford to stride to the microphone to make a few jokes and earnestly praise the school.

But House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, jokingly noted they may have spent more time talking about the resolution than the actual budget.

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

The Colorado Dems Senate caucus elected Majority Leader Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, as Senate President to replace Senator Peter Groff on May 7.  The election was unanimous.  Shaffer, sponsor of the Pinnacol bills, ultimately pulled the $500 million grab when the Governor, legislature, and Pinnacol could not reach an agreement.  One Pinnacol bill, to restructure Pinnacol as a state entity, is still on the table.

Senator John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, was elected Senate Majority leader to replace Shaffer.  He believes the caucus will be easy to lead with its current high level of talent.  “We’ve been shaken by the tractor,“ he said.  To which Senator Moe Keller replied, “Oh, that’s what that was?“  Morse believes that Democrats can continue to make a leadership difference in the state, especially with the budget bill still an outstanding item.

While the state Senate lived high drama debating the merits of taking $500 million from Pinnacol Assurance to balance the state budget, the House of Representatives, presciently, picked through the state’s long bill, looking for the dozens of bits of small change necessary to fill Colorado’s $300 million deficit.

Nips and Tucks to $300 million

Eureka.  Democrats and Republicans spotted numerous “nickels and dimes” to amend the long bill.  In a 61 page document, departments across state government saw nips, and a few will experience big chunks of missing money.

Most important for Republicans were amendments 2 and 7 to SB09-259, the long bill.  Both passed on voice votes. 

Colorado’s Virtual Library  on the chopping block

In amendment 2, Agriculture’s Markets Division will lose 4.7 FTE’s to save $414,804.  In Amendment 3, Agriculture will see an additional $364,326, or 5 percent of its budget, trimmed.

With Amendment 2, the Department of Education will lose $75,000 for its School Leadership Academy.  Also gone is $1 million  for the Colorado Virtual Library.

ER and home health down for a 3 count

If you’re sick and poor, a home health care provider or an acute care provider, you’ll be affected by the 4.33 percent provider rate cut for acute care and the 2.17 percent provider rate cut for home health and community health services.  $27,827,447 of the savings will come from the general fund, $394,526 from the Health Care Expansion Fund, and $29,641,039 from federal funds.

While Governor Bill Ritter said he would protect additional cuts to higher education, Amendment 2 includes a $709,895 trim to Colorado Commission on Higher Education, or 6.9 FTE, and puts the money into the College Opportunity Fund Program.

Judiciary IT project on the ropes

The Courts Administration division of the Judicial Department wants to swap out its outsourced IT for an in-house public access system and e-filing system.  The House picked up $2,594,733 by dumping the project.

Amendment 7 allows the state to balance its higher ed accounts using the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  The state will substitute $120,676,055 in federal funds for state funds for the remaining days of  the 2008-2009 budget.  It will put in $1,854,728 of state money and $48,145,274 of federal money for the 2009-2010 budget.

State employees may get 8 day unpaid vacation

Other possible cuts include 8 furlough days for “non-essential” state employees in addition to the salary freeze and frozen hiring.  The seniors “Homestead Act” will be put off again, recouping about $90 million.  Some cuts require a magnifying glass to see.  On p. 101, line 6, of the long bill, the figure $21,774.02 will be replaced with the figure $21,773.83 for a 19 cents savings. 

The House has passed the long bill on the second reading.  The third reading is next, then on to the Senate, then back to the Joint Budget Committee to reconcile House-Senate differences and make the final decisions. 

Teabaggers’ message hits home

Teabag protestors at the Capitol must feel like their message from Wednesday was heard by the House on Thursday.   Unfortunately, as the photo of a little girl huddled in her heatless Silverton school showed in Sunday’s Denver Post, the cuts will be felt in growing shivers across the state for the remainder of ’09, into ’10, with a deep freeze coming up in 2011.

Comments to Paula Noonan at penoonan@comcast.net

DENVER - Charter schools received a big boost on Tuesday with SB09-176, sponsored by Representative  Ed Casso, D-Adams County, a bill to allow charter schools to participate in bond elections supported by school districts.

“Senate bill 176 represents a new era in working together for the betterment of our children,” said Casso.  “It shows how far we have progressed in a short amount of time.  Local school districts and charter schools can now work together to address school bonding and capital construction needs.  And that certainly is a good thing.”

Representative Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs, said, “This bill is a very significant compromise between our traditional schools and charter schools.  This is an evolution that we’ve been headed towards for years now, especially from a long range planning standpoint.”

School districts running capital bond elections will now consult with charter schools within the districts to determine construction needs.  The bill allows charter schools to be included in long range construction planning and  any bond election, unless the schools opt out.

Tension between charter schools and traditional school districts must be resolved with this bill, as charter schools will be included in any district’s priorities for construction needs.

The bill passed 64-1, with Representative Debbie Benefield dissenting.

DENVER - Rapid transit moved from the back alley to high speed rail Tuesday when SB09-094 sponsored by Representative Claire Levy, D-Boulder, was passed by the House on a 39-26 vote.

The bill gives transit a more prominent position in the Colorado Department of Transportation, creating a transit division with five employees now, and another five employees as funding becomes available.   CDOT currently has five employees dedicated to transit, but the bill formalizes that arrangement and brings state funding into the picture.

“The bill creates a new division of transit,” said Levy.  “It explicitly instructs the division to support the idea of high speed rail.  The mission is to create a state-wide transit plan.  It will allow us to facilitate mobility in Colorado, and it’s very complementary to the division which already exists and will enhance it.”

Representative Glenn Vaad, R-Greeley and a former engineer with CDOT, disagreed, stating, “My basic problem with this bill is it’s promising advocates of mass transit something they’re not going to get.  And with only five employees to start it out, it’s very disproportionate.”

Others opposed the bill because of the general funding problems for transportation.   Farmers and ranchers worried that the state would take their property for easements to run rail line.

The bill passed on a 39-26 vote.

DENVER – They showed up Wednesday outside the Capitol steps about 1,000 strong, holding signs, waving flags and donning small tea bags in protest of expansive government and excessive taxes.

The tea bags, in fact, might’ve been the only hint of subtlety shown – a reference to the Boston Tea Party and the anger Colonial America felt toward England for high taxes on the product. Oh, and the rally coincided with rallies across the country on April 15 – Tax Day. Get it?

To make sure the crowd got it, the speaker list was dotted with some of the state’s most ardent, anti-tax conservatives, including radio talk show hosts “Gunny” Bob Newman and Jon Caldera.

Republicans must ‘atone’

Caldera, who also heads up the conservative think-tank Independence Institute, did try and offer a little balance when he said the Republican Party had lost its way in recent years by expanding government under President Bush.

“If we Republicans ever are to stand for limited government again, we me must atone for that,” he said. He then riffed off of Obama’s campaign chant of “Yes we can” by saying “No you can’t” to a host of issues ranging from bailouts of corporations to government subsidies for new energy technology.

Pinnacol bills gone

The rally came just hours after House Democrats announced they were not going to go forward with seizing a $500 million surplus from the worker’s compensation insurance agency, Pinnacol Assurance. Democrats, with a couple of rogue Republicans, were poised to do just that when the plan fell apart and the bills that would’ve allowed that to happen died before reaching the House floor.

House Majority Leader Paul Weissmann, D-Boulder, issued a statement about the Pinnacol situation.

“The recent discussion about Pinnacol has uncovered extremely complicated issues that deserve a longer discussion than the last couple of weeks of the session,” Weissmann said. “We will continue to pursue a plan to create a more accountable Pinnacol Assurance that protects policy holders and contributes to the health of our state.”

The Pinnacol raid, as Republicans labeled it, was an anathema to conservatives even as Democrats in the State Senate argued it was a state agency and that the money would help shore up a $300 million shortfall in Colorado’s higher education budget.

Kopp rips Democrats

But the crowd seemed blissfully unaware of the development even as one of the most ardent critics of taking the Pinnacol money, Sen. Mike Kopp, R-Jefferson County, addressed the crowd.

He didn’t inform them of that development, but managed to take a few shots at Democrats and Gov. Bill Ritter through invoking the Republican hero, Ronald Reagan.

“When he said the government’s view of the economy could be summed up in three simple phrases; ‘If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it,” Kopp said. “And according to Bill Ritter and the Democrats, if it’s being successful like Pinnacol, raid it,”

With lawmakers on a lunch break during the rally, several poked their heads over the balcony above the west steps to watch the crowd while some of the conservative lawmakers actually stood with the speakers. Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, stood near Newman and first-term Rep. Kevin Priola mingled with the crowd on the steps.

The crowd also engaged in several chants, including “Where’s Ritter?” The governor, in fact, was in Colorado Springs to meet with Boeing employees and then later to meet with the Southern Colorado Black Leadership roundtable.

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

Governor Bill Ritter may have just taken Pinnacol Assurance off the table to solve the state’s budget problems.  The Governor is no longer negotiating with Pinnacol because “there remain too many unresolved issues and questions for Colorado citizens and Pinnacol shareholders and customers.“

The Governor says he and the Joint Budget Committee are now focusing on “a number of other steps to erase the shortfall caused by the economic downturn, without devastating cuts to higher education.“

Pinnacol is not completely off the hook.  The Governor acknowledges that the legislature should examine “Pinnacol’s legal and financial structure, its unique status as a non-taxable, state created entity, and all aspects of the legislation that governs Pinnacol.“ But for the time being, Pinnacol’s $25 million building and $600-700 million reserve remain in tact. 

Since the Governor has now jumped in to protect Pinnacol, it will be interesting to see what funding sources will be hit.  So far, the Democrats have eyed $40 million from a water pipeline project and several hundred million in tax exemptions.  Republicans want furloughs and to sell state buildings, excepting, apparently, Pinnacol’s.  

The Governor complimented State Senator Brandon Shaffer, D_Longmont, the sponsor of the Pinnacol bills.  “I appreciate and applaud Senate Majority Leader Brandon Shaffer and other bill sponsors for raising these important policy and fiscal issues.“

Majority Leader Shaffer replied, “Extraordinary times require us to make tough decisions… What’s important is that funding for higher education is preserved.  All of us pray that we steer the wisest course for a prosperous Colorado.“

At this late date in the session, steering any course would be useful.  The legislature is back to plastic surgery, nipping and tucking money from wherever it can find it.

Comments to Paula Noonan, penoonan@comcast.net

DENVER - It’s probably never happened before, but today, two young college women in short shorts, with pink hair, tattoos, and shaved heads, received a standing ovation on the floor of the House of Representatives. 

Ad hoc student group at Capitol

They were part of an ad hoc group of college students from up and down the front range who went to the Capitol to express their concern about how the state is funding higher education.

It all started at the Auraria campus where hundreds of students gathered to show their support for legislative efforts to prevent taking $300 million from the higher education budget.  Students marched from Auraria, down the 16^th Street mall, to the Capitol building.

Breaching the Capitol walls

Mandi Jones from Metropolitan State College encouraged students to enter the Capitol to meet with legislators.  “We felt like we were breaking through the walls,” said Jones.  “For most of us, it was our first time to try to talk to legislators.  We didn’t really know how to do it, but the students weren’t going to be stopped.”

An on-the-spot civics lesson

There were so many students that Capitol security let them pass through.  “We didn’t know where to go, but we were directed to Room 271 where the secretary there told us we had to make appointments or write notes to the legislators,” said Jones.

Students started madly writing letters to all 100 legislators when someone suggested that they go to the House floor where the long bill on the budget was being debated.

House Sergeant of Arms hero of the day

Students met with the Sergeant of Arms who suggested that they send notes to legislators on the House floor.  Before the kids knew what was happening, legislators started filing out to meet with them. 

“Students swarmed the legislators to let them know how we thought.  Lobbyists standing there to meet the legislators were amazed that Representatives were speaking to all the students,” said Jones.  It didn’t take long before lobbyists were asking the students to pitch their issues.  “Tell them you want health care,” said one lobbyist.

House legislator takes students in

A legislator asked if some of the students wanted to go to the House floor.  She took in six students, including the two girls with shaved heads.  The students sat on the benches against the wall, turned off their cell phones, and listened.  Before long, Representatives, both Republicans and Democrats, started talking with the students.

Contrast with Pinnacol

It was all quite a contrast from the day before when Pinnacol employees showed up at the Capitol in their “Protect Pinnacol”  t-shirts, paid for by Pinnacol Assurance.  It was apparent today in House Appropriations that some legislators took that “march” as a direct dig at their efforts to balance the budget and save higher education.

As students left the Capitol, Jones talked with them.  “Everyone felt they were respected and listened to,” said Jones.  “I think some of us will be back on Thursday for the next House session on the long bill and higher ed.”

Comments to Paula Noonan at penoonan@comcast.net

DENVER – While Rep. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs, spoke Tuesday on the House Floor about a bill that he believed would grant students greater transparency for where their fees were going, his words were often interrupted by the voices of students rallying outside the Capitol.

Gardner said that “nothing less that the First Amendment was at stake” during the debate – however, the First Amendment appeared to be alive and well on the Capitol’s western steps.

There, about 300 students holding signs and chanting were rebelling against proposed cuts of $300 million to the higher education budget. That budget cut has been the focus of long debates in the Senate last week and battles in the House Appropriations Committee this week as lawmakers seek to shift about $500 million in budget surplus from Pinnacol Assurance to fill the hole.

Zoe Hallez Williams, who was one of those leading the protest, said the budget shouldn’t be balanced on the backs of college students. Using a bullhorn to make her point to the crowd, she told them “this isn’t the end. This is just the beginning.”

She is urging students to show up to the House Chambers when lawmakers will take up two bills that could use the Pinnacol Assurance money to avoid cuts.

She also said she was encouraged by comments from Gov. Bill Ritter’s office indicating that the $300 million in higher education cuts were not acceptable.

“What he is saying is a step in the right direction,” Hallez Williams said. “But that’s just part of the first step. We need to make sure our legislators know these cuts shouldn’t be on the table now or in the future.”

The rally featured students holding signs saying, “Don’t cut my future” and “Don’t cut my dreams.” A boom box in the back blasted Public Enemy’s “Bring the Noise” while speakers said cutting higher education could lead to costly delays in the development of scientific advancements in the lab and an educated job base for the state in the future.

The resolution of the budget measure must come soon and the Pinnacol plan appears to be the one with the most steam behind it. However, many lawmakers – including Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Arapahoe County – fear the transfer of the $500 million could leave the state vulnerable to lawsuits. Attorney General John Suthers has also said that would be the case.

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

Pinnacol Assurance could use some workman’s comp insurance right now as it’s losing its bruising war with the state legislature over a $500 million surplus in its insurance fund that the state wants to balance its budget.

JBC battle 1

The first battle began when Senator Al White, R-Steamboat Springs, pitched to the Joint Budget Committee that Pinnacol had a big pot of money that could save higher education.  Thus, two bills, SB09-273 and SB09-281, went to the state Senate.  There, Pinnacol lost several battles, despite threats of a lawsuit and the predicted demise of the company.

Cause hurt by Pinnacol t-shirted employees swarming Capitol

Pinnacol apparently injured its case further yesterday when swarms of its employees appeared at the Capitol with Pinnacol t-shirts and buttons.  They then lobbied legislators, some of whom see themselves as the “owners” of the insurance company. 

When Rob Norris, vice president of Pinnacol, testified today in House Appropriations that Pinnacol paid for the t-shirts, buttons, and full page ad in The Denver Post on Sunday with Pinnacol dollars, some House members were clearly unhappy.

Too much spent on fancy building

Representative Don Marostica, R-Longmont, queried Norris about the value of the new Pinnacol building at Lowry.  While Norris didn’t know, the number is $25 million, which added to the perception among some legislators that Pinnacol had spent too much money on its building and is hoarding its surplus.

Surplus protects reserve protects insurance contracts

During his testimony, Norris also explained that Pinnacol has a reserve, with the surplus on top.  The reserve is used to protect against catastrophic claims and the surplus is there to protect the reserve.  Norris cited the problems of AIG, which didn’t have enough reserve or surplus to cover the risk of its policies.  Pinnacol doesn’t want to go down that trail.

Pinnacol not AIG

Representative Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, objected to the AIG analogy, because Pinnacol’s business does not carry the risk or leverage of AIG’s.  The state’s insurance commission says that AIG needs a $113million surplus to “adequately” cover the risk of its portfolio.  Norris said there’s a difference between “adequate” and “reasonable,” and that Pinnacol’s reserve is “reasonable.”

Pinnacol fixed workman’s comp

Steve Durham, lobbyist for the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and Home Builders, supported Pinnacol.  He said that when workman’s comp was under the Division of Labor, it ran up a $500 million unfunded liability, which was why the legislature in 1988 created CCIA, the early version of Pinnacol.  When CCIA also messed up, the state created Pinnacol.

Pinnacol rectified the unfunded liability problems, and then some.  Ben Cramer, a workman’s compensation attorney testifying in support of the bills, says that Pinancol has made its surplus either by charging its clients too much or not paying out enough in workman’s comp.  Either way, he said, Pinnacol’s surplus should be used by the state to fix its problems.

Premiums down, dividends up

Tony Gagliardi, representing small, independent businesses, supported Pinnacol, saying that premiums have declined over the last few years and dividends have been paid out.  His larger point, though, is that taking Pinnacol’s money is a one-time fix and the legislature needs to find a permanent source of funds.

Business looking to close tax loopholes to preserve Pinnacol

When several legislators asked Gagliardi if he and the independent businesses he represents would support closing tax exemptions giving various businesses up to $1.2 billion in tax breaks, Gagliardi said he would welcome that discussion.  “Higher education is important to all of us in business, so we have to find a better way to fund its needs.”

Mark Simon, a party in a lawsuit against Pinnacol that, in its Dickensian way, went on for ten years, said that Pinnacol was predatory and needed to be stopped.

While not all legislators agreed with that assessment, they did vote 9-3 to reorganize Pinnacol, with a vote to move $500 million out of its surplus to come in early Tuesday afternoon so the bills can move to the House of Representatives on Wednesday or Thursday.

Comments to Paula Noonan at penoonan@comcast.net

Pinnacol employees and supporters swarmed the state Capitol today to take down two bills:  SB09-281 and SB09-273.  These bills will snatch $500 million from the workman’s compensation insurance company to give higher education money to keep state colleges open.

Shaffer rejects Suther’s memo on Pinnacol

Majority Leader Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, came out swinging, attacking Attorney General John Suthers’ memo that he would not support any grab of Pinnacol money out of its various reserve and surplus funds.

Republicans countered that taking the money was socialist, that the Senate was not just taking money, but the entire company. 

Pinnacol lawsuit likely

Pinnacol has threatened a lawsuit if the bill passes.  Based on that, Senator Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, said that the money won’t be available, even if the Governor signs the bill.  At this time, the Governor is monitoring the situation.

According to Senator Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, “The question is not can we do it but should we do it.  If we want to, we can; that’s the subversive power of the state.”

Is Pinnacol a socialist company?

Senator Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora and an attorney, said that the Republicans were making the case that the benefits the state gives Pinnacol mean it’s already a socialist company.  “This company is treated differently from all other companies.  It doesn’t pay taxes, it has a board appointed by the Governor.  Meaning that what the Republicans say is socialist is already there in statute with this company.”

Shaffer added that Pinnacol benefits from its complete tax freedom which allows the company to compete unfairly against other free enterprise insurance companies.  Pinnacol currently has over 60% of the state’s workman’s compensation business.

No ‘No” to bureaucrats

Senator Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, countered that the legislature’s problem is that “we cannot say NO to bureaucrats,” and that the state is turning Pinnacol into a company that will be run by bureaucrats.

Way out of the wilderness

Senator Chris Romer, D-Denver, said there’s another “way out of the wilderness” that will happen this summer when the legislature examines $1.3 billion in tax exemptions.  Addressing Pinnacol employees in the gallery, he said, “Today is not the day to cut higher ed, but to help us through tough times.”

The bills passed 18-15 in the Senate on 3^rd reading.

Comments to Paula Noonan at penoonan@comcast.net

DENVER - Senate President Peter Groff will take a post in President Obama’s administration - helping to lead the Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Center, the U.S. Dept. of Education announced Friday.

Rumors had been swirlilng and the news broke Thursday that Groff was going to take the position and resign his post as senate president. When the session started, Groff made history by being the first African-American to hold that position.

Gov. Bill Ritter issued a statement Friday afternoon, saying it had been a “privilege” to serve with him in state government.

“When history looks back on the whole story of leadership in the Capitol, we should not limit ourselves to focusing only on his history-making climb to become president of the Senate,“ Ritter said. “Instead, we should remember his tremendous leadership ability. During his time in the Colorado General Assembly, Sen. Groff earned a strong reputation for being thoughtful in his leadership, skillful on the issues and congenial with legislators from both parties. In addition, he fought hard to protect civil rights, promote educational reform and improve the quality of life for all Coloradans.“

And House Speaker Terrance Carroll - who also made history by becoming the first African-American to lead the House - said he would simply miss having Groff around the Capitol.

“Peter is more than a leader, more than a barrier-breaker, more than a role-model,“ Carroll said. “Peter’s been a friend and a mentor to me and to so many African-Americans and so many Colorodans.“

Groff has not said when he will step down from the Senate. The session ends May 6.

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

It may sound like an 1800s folk tune, but there’s “a train wreck ‘acomin’” if the legislature doesn’t find alternatives to balancing the state budget on the back of higher education.

Pinnacol reserve on the block

The state Senate’s Pinnacol bills, SB09-273 and SB09-281, may temporarily save higher ed by bringing $500 million to the budget out of Pinnacol Assurance Company’s $700 million reserve.  The state’s insurance commissioner, Marcy Morrison, says $133 million is sufficient for Pinnacol to cover potential workman’s comp catastrophes. So the legislature sees this pot as a rainy day fund for its disaster.

Tax exemptions and tax reform another option 

The House may introduce some bills to close tax exemptions. There are over $1.3 billion in tax exemptions currently out there. The House may also do some income tax reform, asking Coloradans who pay taxes in more than one state and who make over $250,000 to pay the full amount in Colorado rather than deducting the other state’s tax amount off their bill.  That’s roughly $250 million.

It’s a train robbery!

Republicans have howled that taking money from Pinnacol is like robbing a train and will socialize industry, even though Pinnacol is a subdivision of state government and hasn’t paid any state taxes.  It’s probably Pinnacol’s policy holders who have the greater “howling”claim, since it’s their money in the reserve, and they are probably now wondering why more of it wasn’t sent back to them in dividends.

So the Senate bill will make Pinnacol cough up 5% of the reserve back to its policy holders as the state takes its $500 million.  It’s complicated.

Higher ed, k-12 funding a train wreck happening

But… if none of this happens and the state falls back to dinging higher ed, Jane Urschel, chief lobbyist for the Colorado Association of School Boards, sees a huge, noisy collision with students from kindergarten through college caught in the smash up.

Senator Keith King’s, R-Colorado Springs, bill to reduce k-12 funding by an additional $100 million died in the Senate Thursday night.  K-12 educators breathed a sigh of relief, as many of them are already seeing their budgets drop because of lower property taxes and decreases in other funding sources. 

SB09-256, the School Financing Act, sees more money going to charter schools, according to Urschel, which lowers dollars for traditional public education.  The bill may look different when it goes through the House.  If the House changes the bill, it will go to Senate-House conference committee just about the time that the Obama administration is deciding which states will get Race to the Top money and other stimulus dollars.  

The K-12 School Finance Project has met with higher education folks, and higher ed sees 9% tuition increases for state funded community colleges and a potential 65% reduction in school budgets.  Those numbers lead to school closures if solutions aren’t found. This is also complicated.

Tax exemptions a bridge over troubled waters?

To get Obama’s stimulus money, both higher ed and k-12 need to be adequately funded.  So when the state House of Representatives starts closing tax exemptions, some of which have been around since the 1940s and many started in 1999 when the state economy was on a happier train ride, you may see a third train ‘acomin’ – the lobbyists for business, labor, and services industries who don’t want their parlor cars crunched into rubble.

DENVER – The debate over using money from Pinnacol Assurance to cover a $300 million hole in higher education and solving the budget crisis raged for hours on the senate floor – going well into the evening Thursday.

But the two main bills – SB-281 and SB-273 – passed by a voice vote mostly along party lines.

Tantamount to ‘stealing’

Republicans lined up repeatedly to say it was tantamount to stealing from a private company’s coffers while Democrats said Pinnacol was a sub-division of government and was subject to helping the state solve its budget crisis.

Pinnacol Assurance, the state-run pool that supplies workman’s compensation insurance to more than 58,000 businesses, had a $600 million surplus and the Democratic-controlled majority and the Joint Budget Committee believe it is best-positioned to avoid the cuts to higher education.

The bills essentially allow the state to reach into those surpluses, cover the higher education gap and use another $200 million to pour into the general fund. They also return a 5 percent dividend refund to policyholders.

But the debate has been heated, even between the Joint Budget Committee, the senate and House of Representative members stuck on the sideline watching the mess unfold.

Sources said the debate could go on into the evening and possibly could be carried over to Saturday as lawmakers haggled over other budget amendments.

JBC indignant

The battle started in earnest when Senate President Peter Groff, D-Denver, asked the JBC to take another look at possible cuts that might be made to the budget to save slashing higher education by $300 million. When the JBC met in the afternoon, they were largely indignant.

Rep. Don Marostica said as much to Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Las Animas and Sen. Moe Keller, D-Jefferson County.

“I guess I can’t figure out why you came back,” Marostica said. “You have a Senate bill over there and you need to vote on it. Were you forced across the street?”

And Rep. Jack Pommer,D-Boulder, also on the JBC, said their six-member group had agonized over the cuts – going over it line-by-line and had few options but a $300 million cut to higher education.

Tapia worried during the JBC meeting that the fix was a one-time solution and that the legislature would be faced with another shortfall next year. And Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Douglas County, said a lawsuit would be coming from Pinnacol.

The JBC put its stamp of approval on the bills and the use of Pinnacol’s surplus to cover the deficit.

Debate on the floor

Then it went to the Senate floor, where lawmakers pounded fists, raised their voices and debated for hours.

“Not on my watch,” Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Boulder, bellowed. “What brought this idea – this concept – and got us looking at every agency and making sure every stone is not left unturned is that we are close to having to eliminate funding for higher education. This is not a panacea and I will acknowledge that. But this is the only real solution we have in front of us today in how to fill that hole.”

Harvey went up and slammed the podium with his fist.

“Not on my watch will we socialize a private company,” he said.

Pinnacol is a unique entity. It was formed in 1915 and the then-Republican-controlled legislature in 2002 turned it into a company that pays dividends and has a chief executive officer. But it doesn’t pay federal or state taxes and the governor appoints its board.

Private entity?

Democrats argued it is a government entity. Republicans argued it was a private company being punished for being successful. Sen. Scott Renfroe, R-Weld County, said he’s been a member of the Pinnacol pool as an employer and said his premiums have dropped regularly. He said the company should’ve paid more dividends back if it had such a great surplus, but Renfroe objected to the government taking it over.

“The state has no right to that money,” he said. “That’s the policy-holder’s money.”

Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Adams County, and Sen. Mike Kopp, R-Jefferson County, said the road Democrats were going down was one of socialism – with Mitchell comparing the senate’s decision to vote on the bills in the same vein as Venezuelan Dictator Hugo Chavez. Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Larimer County, called it the “cold, cruel hand of government.”

But Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, didn’t see the action nearly as gravely.

“The sky is not going to fall if we do this,” Romer said.

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

Senate President Peter Groff, D-Denver, may take a job with the Obama administration as Regional Secretary for the US Department of Education, and State Senator Jim Isgar, D-Durango, may take a job as Regional Secretary for the US Department of Agriculture, according to a source who didn’t want to be named who has close ties to both legislators. 

Groff may leave the Senate before the general session is over, leaving a second vacancy in Denver, along with State Senator Jennifer Veiga, who is moving to Australia, apparently getting as far away from the budget mess in Colorado as possible.  Groff’s potential role became apparent upon several trips back and forth between Washington, DC and Denver. If he leaves early, everyone can expect a scramble for Senate leadership and his seat, and there will be much work remaining for new legislators given the uproar over the state budget.

DENVER - The higher education rubber has hit the road in the state Senate’s Democratic and Republican caucuses.  Senate Democrats say, “Taking $300 million out of higher education is unconscionable.”  The Republicans say, “Taking $300 million out of higher education is unacceptable.”  There’s agreement between the parties on the $300 million cut to higher education – it shouldn’t and won’t happen.

What are the alternatives?

The Democratic caucus met to identify conceptual and specific alternatives to grabbing $300 million from higher education.  The caucus brainstormed for five hours to come up with long term and short term solutions to the state’s intractable budget problems.  Their ultimate goal is to locate an ongoing funding source for higher ed, but Senators are willing to look at short term solutions to get through the immediate ’09-’10 budget crisis.

Pinnacol pot up to $500 million

Short term solutions include taking $500 million from Pinnacol Assurance, the workman’s compensation insurance enterprise that’s a subdivision of state government.  Pinnacol has a $700 million surplus that may serve as a pot for balancing the state budget.

Other pots chip away

Other options include taking $60 million from the Colorado Water Conservation Board’s loan to the Southeast Water Conservancy District for a pipeline to provide water to farmers in SE Colorado.  The loan may not be needed for another year, and the $60 million can be replaced by severance tax money.

Tobacco tax dollars are also out there.  HB09-1223 has $24.4 million of tobacco money that can be transferred to the state’s General Fund.  Another $30 million can be captured by removing a sales tax exemption on cigarettes.

State salary and benefits cuts on the table

Senator Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, said that the state can save $6.9 million for every 1% decrease in salary and benefits to state employees, and $1.75 million for every furlough day.  State employees have already been hit with salary cuts in November and December of ’08.  Senator Moe Keller, D-Wheatridge, and chair of the Joint Budget Committee, added that salary cuts are permanent reductions.  Due to TABOR and other budget restrictions, once the money is lost, it’s lost.  State employees are already 14.4% below the prevailing wage.

Tax exemptions and credits up to $1.3 billion

Senator Chris Romer, D-Denver, urged recouping money from tax exemptions.  The state currently offers approximately $1.3 billion in tax exemptions.  This includes items such as food and pharmaceuticals.  But many other industries and items also receive tax breaks.  Romer’s idea is to withdraw all but the most critical tax exemptions, and let anyone who wants an exemption make their case to the legislature.  He believes that over $300 million can be captured by cancelling the exemptions.

Romer also suggested taking away tax credits to people who pay taxes in more than one state.  If an individual has more than $250,000 in income made in two states, that person would pay the full tax rate in Colorado.

Removing tax exemptions and tax credits would provide an ongoing revenue source for higher education, solving long term funding problems.

More flexibility for community college funding possible

Other options include allowing community colleges to form their own special districts such as Ames Community College in Weld County.  This option would give a community college region the opportunity to go to the voters for additional funds to support their schools  so they don’t have to rely exclusively on state funding and student tuition.

Republicans take line item approach

The Republicans took a line-item approach to budget cutting.  They went through the 400 page budget document looking for dollars here and there to nip.  They would trim community mental health programs, physical health programs, and anti-recidivism programs in the state’s prison system.  Senator Evie-Hudak, D-Arvada, predicted that Republicans would close all private prisons.  Senator Linda Newell, D-Centennial, suggested that the prisoners be released in Republican districts.

Senator Moe Keller, D-Wheatridge, noted that Republicans wanted to take money from the Council of the Arts but not tourism. 

R’s find $300 million, D’s find $120 million and still looking

Even so, Republicans found $300 million to the Democrats’ $120 million and looking.

To see the budget document from which the legislators’ are making decisions, click here: http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/jbc/09LBNarrative.pdf

The long bill, the state’s budget document, goes to the Senate floor Thursday, April 9.  

Comments to Paula Noonan at penoonan@comcast.net

DENVER – The presentation Wednesday by three men in dark suits from the Joint Budget Committee to several House of Representatives committees could’ve been summed up in four simple words: There is no money.

Rep. Don Marostica, R-Larimer, sat with Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, and Rep. Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, and told each committee in an informal presentation at the Old Supreme Court Chambers that cuts loomed everywhere – from funding Gov. Bill Ritter’s renewable energy projects to key funds for transportation.

Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Douglas County, said the budget numbers for the Colorado Department of Transportation particularly troubled him.

“I suppose we can’t be too happy about anything we’re seeing in this brown book because of the effect it’s having on the people of the state of Colorado,” McNulty said. McNulty sits on the House Transportation and Energy Committee.

CDOT cut by 30 percent

Marostica’s presentation to that committee revealed a JBC-recommended drop in CDOT’s funding to $973 million – a 30 percent reduction from the pervious fiscal year. However, because of President Barack Obama’s stimulus package, the cuts appear less severe as more than $400 million will be infused into the state for road and bridge projects.

“I’m glad we have that,” Marostica said. “You’d have some really big cuts if we didn’t have that.”

Glum faces

For the most part, lawmakers on the committees as well as those sitting in the audience listened with glum faces. And even most of the questions for Marostica, Pommer and Ferrandino were laced with qualifiers acknowledging the budget crunch facing the state.

Rep. Glenn Vadd, R-Weld County, asked about the JBC’s report proposing the elimination of limited gaming revenues for road construction and maintenance for gaming-related highways. That reduction, he was told, would be $10.1 million.

And another $1 million would be cut from high visibility drunk driving enforcement, according to the JBC.

“We do have to do it,” Marostica said of the cuts. “Whether we like it or not,”

Pommer said some of the rationale behind the cuts was to preserve general fund money.

“We’re doing it again to try and shore up the general fund,” he said.

General funds decline by $811.6 million

The general fund budget has been a nightmare for lawmakers this session, with proposed cuts in almost every area of government and public services. The March 2009 forecast showed general revenue funds will decline by $811.6 million in the current fiscal year and will drop by another $98.1 million the following fiscal year. The drops reflected in the fiscal year 2009-10 Long Bill – SB-259 – were only offset in some places by one-time federal dollars that will come into Colorado.

A few areas the JBC was able to recommend increases were in K-12 education – a $146.2 million jump - and smaller increases in the Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services and the Judicial Branch – the largest of which was Corrections, getting a $22 million increase.

The governor’s office was not spared in the budget, either.

Funding for items such as the Solar Incentives program were eliminated entirely and the severance tax transfer to the Colorado Renewable Energy Authority was decreased by $2 million.

The JBC consists of Pommer, Ferrandino, Marostica and State Sens. Moe Keller, D-Jefferson County, Abel Tapia, D-Arapahoe County and Al White, R-Steamboat Springs.

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

The state’s budget crisis has found its way to Pinnacol Assurance Company, the home of a $500 million surplus and potential bail-out for Colorado’s higher education system. Two bills, SB09-273 and SB09-281, passed the Senate Appropriations Committee and will find vigorous argument on the Senate floor.  SB09-273 is sponsored by two Republicans, Don Marostica and Al White.  SB09-281 is sponsored by two Democrats, Brandon Shaffer and Paul Weissmann.

Money needed for higher education

Colorado’s budget is tied in knots because of the recession and many amendments in the state’s constitution that constrain how state monies are distributed.  K-12 receives substantial sums through the School Equity Act and Amendment 23.  Transportation is supposed to receive any extra funds that the state earns above the Arveschoug-Bird 6% limit.  TABOR disallows any tax increases without a vote of the people, and ratchets down the budget base with each recession.  That leaves higher education holding an empty bag for the 2009-2010 budget when it comes to funding, a bag that students are supposed to fill up with tuition increases or school closings or both. 

The state has 27 institutions of higher education, from community colleges to graduate schools. Institutions are looking to increase tuition at least 9 percent, and some schools, probably community colleges, may close.  If these draconian events play out, “our college system will be hurt not just for a year,“ said Senator Bob Bacon, D-Ft. Collins, “but for many years to come.“

Pinnacol Assurance no longer a mutual insurance company with SB09-273

Pinnacol Assurance Company is a mutual insurance company.  That status allows Pinnacol to distribute dividends to its policy holder-owners.  SB-273 strips out the “mutual” in insurance, which allows Pinnacol’s Board of Directors to send funds to the state treasury.

Pinnacol not liking legislature’s end run

Pinnacol firmly rejected the legislature’s attempt to grab roughly $500 million from its reserve fund.  Dan O’Neill, general counsel to Pinnacol, said the state has no right to the money, as Pinnacol is independent from the state even though it receives special status from the state.  As a “subdivision” of the CO government, it receives favorable tax exemptions from the state and federal government.  It hasn’t paid any taxes in many years.  Its mission is to provide any Colorado company with workman’s compensation insurance, no matter how risky the policy.

O’Neill asserted that money earned by Pinnacol is Pinnacol’s.  The company has sent over $227 million in dividends to its policy-holder owners since 2004 and expects to ship out another $65 million in 2009.  It has reduced its rates by 42% over the past four years.

Greg Fulton of the Colorado Motor Carriers’ Association testified that Pinnacol, which had experienced difficulties earlier in the decade, had turned around its operations.  “Almost all of our members use Pinnacol and it’s an excellent company.  It’s keeping rates low.“  He added that Pinnacol is a “well-oiled company” that shouldn’t be penalized for doing the right things.

Shaffer - Pinnacol CEO in dispute over fund amount

Shaffer ran some numbers for Senate Appropriations showing the dollars available from Pinnacol’s reserve.  In December, 2008, Pinnacol reported a surplus of $698 million, but the state’s insurance commissioner, Marcy Morrison, set the necessary reserve amount at $113 million.  That leaves $585 million excess, which is the available pot.

Ken Ross, CEO of Pinnacol, had some different numbers.  He put Pinnacol’s assets at $2 billion, with the company needing roughly $1.3 billion to cover potential losses.  There’s roughly $624 million that the company uses to reduce rates and provide dividends.  If Pinnacol loses the $500 million, it will not be able to do either.

King upset over management changes

Senator Keith King, R-Colorado Springs, doesn’t like the portions of SB09-273 and 281 that change the management and corporate  structure at Pinnacol.  The changes rein in Pinnacol’s “private enterprise” status, requiring the company to pay out 5% of its surplus in dividends to small businesses and reducing or eliminating the power of the CEO to “exercise any power or judgment over Pinnacol Assurance.“  SB09-273 conveys control over the “Pinnacol Assurance fund” to its Board of Directors, who, with passage of the bill, must convey the $500million to the state general fund.

Senator Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, complained that the bills would not only “take money from a private company, but take over a private company.“  Harvey was a No vote on “this effort to socialize Colorado.“

University professor hopeful for funding reform

Colorado State University professor John Strayer, political scientist, offered the perspective from higher education.  He praised the “parade of impressive business people here testifying against the bills.“  But he noted that if the bills don’t pass, higher education in Colorado will face a huge crisis.

“We need a dedicated stream of revenue to help higher education,“ said Strayer. “I hope that these folks (business people) and other folks in this state will join together to not let this happen again.“  Strayer noted that 52 Colorado legislators have 64 degrees from Colorado state institutions.  “These degrees were supported, at least in part, by other people.  The buildings for our colleges and universities were built by other people. I beseech you to move forward so that we can get out of this fiscal pickle.“

Both bills move to Senate Floor

The next stop for both bills is on the Senate floor, where debate is bound to be long and contentious.

Comment to Paula Noonan at penoonan@comcast.net

It is immoral, said Senator Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo.  It is immoral, said Senator Mike Kopp, R-Littleton.  It is immoral, said Senate President Peter Groff, D-Denver.  It is immoral, said Senator Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch.  It is immoral, said Senator Chris Romer, D-Denver.  It is immoral, said Senator Nancy Spence, R-Centennial.  It is immoral, said Senator Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs.  It is immoral, said Senator Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud). It is immoral, said Senator Keith King, R-Colorado Springs.

No, it’s about fairness

It’s about fairness and justice and effort, said Senator John Morse, D-Colorado Springs.  It’s about what’s legal and constitutional, said Senator Kopp.

No, it’s about the constitution

It’s unconstitutional, said Senator Spence.  It’s constitutional, said Senator Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver.  It’s about HOPE, said Senator Groff.  It’s about LAW, said Senator Harvey.  We’re sworn to uphold the constitution, said Senator Dave Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs.  It’s time to change the LAW, said Senator Groff and Senator Schultheis.

No, it’s about righting injustice

It’s about righting injustice, said Senator Foster. It’s about unfairness and rules, said Senator Schultheis.

It’s about fighting ingenuousness

I expect everyone to vote for the amendments to allow all foreign students and all students in the country to receive in-state tuition in Colorado, said Senator King.

Nondiscrimination down for the count

SB09-170, the Nondiscrimination In Higher Education Funding bill, lost today on an 18-16 vote, with four Democrats joining all Republicans to defeat the bill.  Senators Morgan Carroll, MaryAnne (Moe) Keller, Linda Newell, and Lois Tochtrop, all Democrats, joined Republicans to kill the bill allowing students with at least three years in Colorado high school to receive in-state tuition, excluding any state scholarships or voucher funding.  The students would have to be accepted to the colleges and provide a document stating that they would seek citizenship upon completion of their education.

Legislators used the same words related to immorality, injustice, inequity, unconstitutionality, and unfairness.  But they approached the bill at 180 degree opposite positions.

After five hours of debate, one side’s morality won and the other side’s morality lost.

DENVER – A second reading of HB-1094 passed easily on a voice vote on the floor of the House of Representatives Monday morning, paving the way for it to be a crime in Colorado to talk on your cell phone while driving.

One of the bill’s sponsors, Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, gave an impassioned speech on the floor about the advance of technology and how lawmakers have a responsibility to protect lives as conveniences remove protections for people.

“We have come to accept convenience over safety,” she said. “(This) is a measured response to a very serious traffic safety hazard.”

Colorado would become sixth state to enact such a law

If the measure – which would make talking on a hand-held cell phone a traffic infraction – passes and Gov. Bill Ritter signs it into law, Colorado would become the sixth state in the nation to enact such a ban.

The other states are California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Washington. The District of Columbia also has a similar ban in place, according to the Governor’s Highway Safety Administration.

But Rep. Frank NcNulty, R-Douglas County, said the Democrats were picking and choosing what distractions in vehicles were worthy of a new law. He said any number of distractions in a car can cause accidents, including music, eating and kids in the back seat.

“I hope we don’t get to the day we ban children in the back seat of the car,” McNulty said.

At any moment, 500,000 talking on cell phones while driving

The bill is significant. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, at any given moment in the country, 500,000 people are in their cars driving while talking on a cell phone. The threat is perceived as great enough by several nations that they have also banned talking on a hand-held device while driving. Among those countries are Australia, Germany, Japan and Russian.

According to the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, distracted driving while talking on a cell phone is responsible for 2,600 deaths a year.

9-year-old’s death motivated bill

The origins of the bill in Colorado center on the death of 9-year-old Erica Forney, who was on her way home from school in Fort Collins when a woman talking on a cell phone while driving her SUV hit and killed her.

Forney’s mother testified in favor of the bill when it was in House Transportation and Energy Committee in February. It passed in that committee, with McNulty being one of the bill’s chief critics.

Rep. Randy Fischer, D-Larimer, spoke on the floor in favor of the bill as well and said had Levy not carried it forward, he had planned to do so at the beginning of the session as well.

He said the advancement of technology requires lawmakers to be proactive.

“I don’t believe using cell phones or using other electronic devices is seen as being careless,” he said. “A tiny little cell phone has so hypnotized us that we are really unaware of distracting it really is.”

The bill will has heavy support from large insurance companies such as State Farm and MetLife. The telecommunications industry and wireless providers such as AT&T and T-Mobile are monitoring the bill.

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

DENVER – House Bill 1010 essentially got sent to what is called in Hollywood parlance, “development hell.”

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Tom Massey, R-Chaffee and former Rep. Anne McGihon, D-Englewood, hoped to provide tax breaks for film companies who chose to shoot productions in Colorado. It also sought to create the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media within the Colorado Office of Economic Development.

Budget constraints

But with the state’s budget under severe constraints, the House Appropriations Committee was reluctant to shift limited gaming revenues brought in by the state to cover the cost of the commission. So, instead, there will be no tax credits for filmmakers. However, lawmakers hoped that when the state was more flush with cash, they could revisit the bill and fund the film commission.

Rep. Mark Ferrandino said he was torn on the bill.

“I just don’t know if this is the right time to do this,” he said. “We don’t have the dollars today to make sure we have the investment for the future.”

Future economic engine

Massey wanted 6 percent of threshold of limited gaming dollars to fund the commission and argued it would be an economic engine for the state down the road.

McGihon, who recently left the house to take on more work at a Denver law firm, sat next to him while he testified. She was unable to speak, however, because of committee rules concerning former lawmakers

“This is a job creations bill,” Massey said. “This is about creating jobs in the immediate and foreseeable future and generates new revenues for the state in our counties and municipalities.”

New Mexico filming haven

Surrounding states have made big pushes to attract Hollywood filmmakers – notably New Mexico, which has been the home of such shoots as the Oscar-winning films “Brokeback Mountain” and “No Country for Old Men.”

New Mexico, in fact, has made a concerted push to attract Hollywood by offering rich tax incentives for filmmakers – including a 25 percent tax rebate on productions as well as a loan program that will fund a project up to $15 million.

Massey argued the establishment of a commission would create jobs that surround productions – crews staying at hotels, eating at restaurants, catering contracts – while bringing the state less tangible dollars in the forms of promotion for tourism.

Massey also said the establishment of the commission wouldn’t harm this year’s budget. He said the tax credits for film companies shooting in Colorado wouldn’t be due until 2012.

Don Marostica, R-Larimer, said he liked the principles of the bill and the concept of bringing Hollywood dollars to the state. However, he also worried about the economic consequences of spending money for it when lawmakers were considering $300 million cuts to higher education.

“We really are in a dire position as far as funding goes,” Marostica said. “And we’re going to be that way for four to six years. How do we save this and not let it get away.”

The answer was provided by stripping the bill of the tax credit and makes the incentives for filmmakers to appear in the forms of grants and donations – essentially creating no economic impact.

Massey agreed and the amended version of the bill passed 11-0 and will go to a floor vote.

David Montero can be reached at davemontero@comcast.net

High school students can jump into college early with HB09-1319, earning college credits and getting tuition covered by their school districts.

High school/college credit programs rolled into one
The state has several programs that encourage students to take college courses in high school, but HB09-1319 rolls them into one, the Concurrent Enrollment for Public School Students plan.  “This is one of the most significant bills we can do,” said Representative Mike Merrifield, D-Manitou Springs, “because it affects so many other things, like drop out prevention and teacher retention.”

High hopes for bill for drop out prevention
The bill was applauded by almost everyone in the Old Supreme Court room in the Capitol.  Students and parents testified to the power of giving kids more to learn, tapping their curiosity and challenging their minds.

Consistent program and low cost key to bill
The bill had a long journey.  It took many hours of work with the P-20 (preschool through college) task force to put all the elements together.  Up until now, school districts were all doing something different.  Now, schools will:
•    Allow high school students to take college courses and receive college credit.
•    Pay for the tuition at in-state rates.
•    Give kids in their fifth year of high school access to the ASCENT program to promote college courses.
•    Offer remediation to kids who want to take college courses but can’t pass math and writing entry tests.
Students have to apply to the program and receive permission from their superintendent to take college classes.  Schools will enter into partnership agreements with colleges, with tuition set within the agreement. 

ASCENT program for high risk kids
The ASCENT portion of the program is designed to help kids who might otherwise slip through the cracks get their high school diploma and earn college credits.  “I can’t wait to see drop out rates 10 years from now,” said Representative Judy Solano, D-Erie.  “This bill will really make a difference.”

Supporters of gifted and talented programs were thrilled by the bill.

The bill passed unanimously to Appropriations due to the costs of a new board to oversee the ASCENT program.

Contact Paula Noonan at penoonan@comcast.net

Representative Ed Casso, D-Adams, believes SB09-174 will “save horse racing in Colorado.”  The horses have had a tough time since Centennial and Arapahoe tracks closed in Colorado.

Unfortunately, the bill doesn’t bring back the tracks.  It does allow bettors to go for the trifectas at venues simulcasting live racing events.  Both horses and dogs are included, so revenue opportunities are better.  Casso called the bill “common sense legislation,” and we’re always looking for some horse sense at the Capitol.

The bill passed in a runaway, 12-1, and will now go to Finance.

Higher education has taken a huge hit from the state’s Joint Budget Committee to balance the ‘09-‘10 budget.  The JBC sliced $300 million from the State Higher Ed board, which cuts the board’s budget almost in half.  Otherwise, according to Representative Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, the legislature will nip many smaller programs, including funding for the disabled.

The discussion on the cut was quick and to the point.  “Where else can we get enough money?  We’re chipping away and still not close,“ said Senator Al White, R-Steamboat Springs.  Senator Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, noted that this cut would pretty much put the Higher Ed board out of business.

Once the JBC passed the $300 million higher ed cut, White offered a motion to collect $500 million from Pinnacol, the state’s workman’s comp fund of last resort.  White said that Pinnacol is a profitable, semi-private agency that hasn’t paid taxes to the state.  The $500 million represents what White calculates the enterprise owes the state after seven years of skipping on taxes.

White also noted that the Pinnacol swipe will be hard to do.

Both the Higher Ed cut and the Pinnacol offset bills passed the JBC 6-0.  The JBC continues to look for more money to balance the budget.

Comment to Paula Noonan at penoonan@comcast.net