Denver – Term-limited Republican Gov. Bill Owens submitted his final budget proposal to lawmakers Wednesday, asking them to approve a plan increasing general-fund spending next year by $401 million.
“While this budget will be certainly changed before Colorado’s next governor signs it into law, the majority of our request in the general fund reflects mandated spending,” he said.
The governor said the state will be required to spend an additional $132 million for K-12 education under Amendment 23, which was approved by voters. He said the state also will have to find a way to provide $54 million for 22,000 new Medicaid patients and $15.4 million for more prisoners.
Owens also recommended increasing funding for higher education.
The governor said the state will have enough money in the 2007-08 budget year, which begins July 1, to restore 96 percent of the cuts in higher education made during the recession.
Henry Sobanet, Owens’ budget director, said the governor also is recommending an additional $2.4 million for youth corrections, $2.3 million for the developmentally disabled and $1.9 million for child welfare.
“We do have obligations to them,” Sobanet said.
The governor is scheduled to meet with lawmakers Nov. 14.
Additional local news briefs:
CASTLE ROCK
Hearing set for man accused in dragging
Jose Luis Rubi-Nava, accused of dragging his girlfriend to death behind his truck, will hear the evidence against him Dec. 21, a date set in a preliminary hearing Wednesday.
Rubi-Nava, 36, has been in jail since shortly after the naked body of Maria Franco Fierros, 49, was found at the end of a 2-mile trail of blood on Surrey Ridge Road in Douglas County on Sept. 18.
A picture of the couple was found nearby.
Rubi-Nava’s brother and half- brother were in the courtroom Wednesday, as they have been for each of the preliminary hearings.
“It has been very, very hard for the family,” Rubi-Nava’s half-brother, Jorge Ayala, told reporters after the brief hearing before Judge Paul King.
Rubi-Nava is charged with premeditated murder, second- degree kidnapping, two counts of forgery and possessing a forged instrument.
He is a Mexican citizen who was sharing an apartment with Franco Fierros in Glendale. She worked in fast-food restaurants, while he worked construction jobs.
FORT COLLINS
Man hurt as car rolls during police chase
A 23-year-old Fort Collins man was arrested after leading 10 law-enforcement officers on two chases through downtown Fort Collins early Wednesday, police said.
Anthony Standard, 23, rolled his car into a ditch, suffering serious injuries, police said. He was admitted to Poudre Valley Hospital, where he is listed in serious condition.
According to the Colorado State Patrol, a federal immigration agent on foot tried to stop Standard from driving his car erratically. Standard is alleged to have run over the agent’s foot and sped away, police said. Federal agents were joined by three state troopers and five Larimer County sheriff’s deputies.
Police said they were unable to catch Standard, but a license-plate check gave them his address. The officers went to Standard’s house, on Vermont Street, just moments before Standard arrived.
He sped off again and crashed into a ditch at Mulberry Street and Timberline Road, police said.
A trooper hit a guard rail and suffered minor injuries. He was treated and released.
THORNTON
Teen hangs himself from on-ramp pillar
Construction workers on Interstate 25 in Thornton came to work Wednesday morning to find a 19-year-old Thornton man who hanged himsel f off a bridge pillar.
Thornton police identified the man late Wednesday afternoon but did not release his name.
Police spokesman Matt Barnes said the man committed suicide and foul play was not suspected. The family has been notified.
The workers found him just after 7 a.m., hanging from a pillar on the north entrance ramp at 144th Avenue. Barnes said the man could not be seen from the highway because he was hidden from view by the bridge.
BOULDER
Powder dump forces forest gate closings
Heavy snow accumulation has resulted in several gates at the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest being forced to close early, the Boulder Ranger District said Wednesday.
Many forest roads are closed during the winter season for road-bed protection or wildlife habitat protection. However, these early closures will make access to some areas more difficult than usual.
Most roads do allow snowmobiles to pass beyond closed gates, unless posted otherwise. Snowmobilers are advised to read signs to find out what’s allowed and what is prohibited.
