As we kick off this 2010 legislative session, we are joining our Democratic colleagues in renewing our commitment to address Colorado’s challenges head-on, and working for Colorado families. Our record shows we are doing what’s best for the people of Colorado by providing a clear direction forward, and our upcoming legislative agenda reflects that.
Overall, our legislation will focus on job creation and job training while balancing the budget.
It’s a difficult economy, and a difficult time for the state budget. Gov. Bill Ritter and lawmakers have been cutting government spending, streamlining bureaucracies, cutting red tape, and balancing the budget by closing a $2 billion shortfall. More cuts lie ahead, but we’re cutting in a way that will lead us to a strong and sustainable recovery well ahead of other states. As we continue to cut, we will take a systematic approach to remaking a leaner, more efficient, smarter government.
We’ll see legislation that will create a new level of government accountability through “performance budgeting,” showing clearly which programs and agencies work and which don’t. We will also see legislation that will help us save money in Medicaid by reducing fraud and abuse, so that Colorado families have access to better health care. And we’ll have a new school transparency bill that will show educators and families what works and what doesn’t in our schools. In this tough economy, we need to make sure every dollar counts.
We will continue to show steady leadership as we get our economy moving again. We should all be proud of Colorado’s record. Our new energy economy is working and we can attribute thousands of new jobs and 1,800 new companies to our work thus far. These are jobs in Colorado for Coloradans, jobs that cannot be outsourced, and these are small businesses getting off the ground.
Nationally, Colorado is regularly ranked as one of the best states in which to do business. We’re committed to bringing new, high-paying jobs to the state and making sure Colorado continues to recover sooner than the rest of the country. We will continue with our aggressive job-creation agenda and will provide support for innovative new small businesses. This session will bring about new legislation to increase the renewable energy standard, staking our claim as the undisputed leader in new energy. We’ll also work to make it easier for small businesses and families to move to renewable energy. And we’ll help reduce energy costs for Colorado families by boosting the use of clean, homegrown natural gas. Overall, we’re making sure Colorado has a more diversified energy economy so that Colorado consumers have more choices.
Working for families means not standing idly by and allowing special interests to trample on the many so that only a few benefit. We will not allow reckless partisan games to get in the way of you and your family’s prosperity. Instead, we are prioritizing getting people back to work by making it easier for Coloradans to access job training and retraining; providing incentives to encourage new jobs for health workers like doctors and nurses who work in underserved and rural communities and who deliver primary care; and continuing to boost the renewable energy economy.
We’re also undertaking simple, straightforward measures to make Colorado families’ lives a little easier in these tough times. We’ll make sure no Coloradan goes hungry when times are hardest by expanding America’s Food Program. And we will make sure that recovery comes to all neighborhoods, even those blighted by foreclosure, so that they are vibrant, successful places to raise a family and buy a home.
Even in tough times, there are still grounds to be made on education. We will work closely with Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien so Colorado continues to lead the Race to the Top, receiving federal funds to improve public education here and returning to the state your own tax dollars. We’re continuing to make our teachers better through new, more useful teacher evaluations. And we’re going to save money and create a better student assessment tool by getting away from the costly, time-consuming and unhelpful CSAP tests.
Because of the economy, this is going to be a tough year, but we will continue to work for you, your family, and small businesses, and lead Colorado forward.
Terrance Carroll of Denver is speaker of the state House, and Brandon Shaffer of Longmont is president of the state Senate.
