Stung by criticism over how the Joint Budget Committee attempted to balance the budget this year, two lawmakers on the panel have fired back at their colleagues with a challenge:
Show up, or shut up.
Sen. Moe Keller, D-Wheat Ridge, and Rep. Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, are co-sponsoring a measure that would require all lawmakers who don’t sit on the JBC to attend a minimum of five of its meetings in November and December. “Legislators complain that they’re not a part of the system and that they are not informed,” said Keller, chairwoman of the JBC. “I’m calling them on it.”
The JBC redrew the budget for the current fiscal year, which ends in June, several times to stanch the bleeding and had to find a way to fill an $800 million hole for the year that begins in July. Along the way, some lawmakers complained the JBC was too powerful and ignored the wishes of other committees. House Speaker Terrance Carroll, D-Denver, has agreed to allow an ad-hoc committee this summer to examine the budget process and the JBC’s structure.
Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, a frequent critic of the JBC, has called for expanding its membership and giving other committees a greater say in the budget. He said required attendance at JBC meetings wouldn’t address his concerns about the budget process.
“Just because you require someone to go to church every Sunday doesn’t make them a believer,” Gardner said. “We need a fundamental overhaul of our budget process.”
But Rep. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, called Keller and Ferrandino’s proposal a good idea. Curry also has been critical of the JBC’s power and, as chairwoman of the House Agriculture Committee, pushed back against cuts to agriculture programs.
“I don’t blame them,” Curry said. “They’re raising a really good point. It’s not fair to be critical and not have participated.”
Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.com
