The 2010 Colorado legislative session opened Wednesday with addresses from leaders of both parties that foreshadowed the battles over the state budget expected to dominate the next 4 1/2 months.
And there were glimpses of other potential hot-button issues, including stricter regulations on payday loans and placing tougher limits on initiative referendums. Some 160 bills were introduced Wednesday, highlighted by a measure to kick-start constitutional reforms with voters and legislation cracking down on abuse of handicapped parking stickers.
The state has dealt with a nearly $2 billion shortfall over the past two budget years and faces a deficit in the budget year that begins in July that could be more than $1.3 billion. The state has weathered the crisis largely through the use of one-time sources of money, such as cash funds and federal stimulus funds, and through one-time cuts such as eliminating a property-tax break for seniors last year and furloughing state employees.
Some cuts, though, did affect programs for the mentally ill and developmentally disabled.
This year, however, Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, is pushing for a broad package of cuts to many programs as well as revenue-raising measures such as eliminating a number of tax breaks for businesses to help balance the 2010-11 budget.
“We’ve always had a small government, and in the past year we’ve made it even smaller,” House Speaker Terrance Carroll, D-Denver, told a House chamber packed with lawmakers and visitors.
“We’ve cut in such a way that will allow us to focus most on what matters to people,” Carroll said, saying the Democratic-led legislature would demand more accountability of government while protecting the vulnerable and not the “special interests trampling on the many so the few can benefit.”
House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, who, like Carroll, is serving his last term in the legislature, said there were only two choices.
“We can increase the burdens on citizens to pay for our existing level of programs, bureaucracy and services, or we can make deep budget cuts and live within our means,” May said.
He said Democrats should have taken a sharper scalpel to government sooner.
“We would be better off if problems from the past two years had not been delayed, compounded and pushed into this year,” May said. “We cannot continue to use payday-loan-like policies to balance our budget. We should do what needs to be done this year, so that next year, we actually are better off.”
Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, told senators that Democrats have been dismissive of Republican proposals for cutting the budget.
“They will criticize our ideas as $1 million solutions to $1 billion problems,” Penry said. “To them, I would respond by paraphrasing former Illinois Sen. Everett Dirksen, who famously opined, ‘A million here, a million there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.’ “
Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, said the 2010-11 budget would be “lean and responsible.”
“Declining state revenues require substantial cuts in the services the state provides,” Shaffer said. “However, we will craft a budget that keeps our communities safe, our classrooms open and our hospitals accessible.”
Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.com
On the agenda
Education reform, workers’ compensation regulations, sorting out the state’s knotty constitution and even creating “express lanes for lobbyists” to allow them to bypass Capitol security lines were among the topics addressed in 160 bills introduced Wednesday. The measures ranged from complicated to straightforward, and a number were sponsored by both Democrats and Republicans. A look at some bills:
Constitution commission
Senate Concurrent Resolution 1 would ask voters in November to set up a special commission that could propose a slew of constitutional reforms in 2012. Lawmakers would have to approve the resolution by a two-thirds vote to put it on the November ballot.
Auto registration
Various bills tinker or repeal last year’s measure that increased registration rates and added mandatory late fees.
D.A.R.E. donations
Senate Bill 59 creates another tax-checkoff category to allow taxpayers, when filling out their income tax forms, to donate to drug abuse resistance education.
Fallen service member
Senate Bill 47 spells out who is in charge of a military person’s remains should that person die. El Paso County Republicans who are sponsoring it said the current confusion has resulted in “expensive and emotionally damaging litigation.”
Homeowner protection
Senate Bill 45 in part requires mortgage holders to send written notice 60 days before filing a foreclosure. The current law is 30 days.
Lobbyists
House Bill 1092 authorizes Capitol security to issue ID cards to lobbyists, much like lawmakers and staff already have, so they can skip going through security lines to get into the building.
Workers’ compensation
Various bills would impose new workers’ comp regulations, including some new rules for Pinnacol Assurance, the state-chartered worker’s compensation insurance fund. The changes for Pinnacol range from prohibitions on surveillance of injured workers to the makeup of the insurer’s board. The bills include House Bills 1009, 1012 and 1038; and Senate Bills 11, 12 and 13.
Illegal immigration
Senate Bill 33 requires employers to use the federal E-Verify system to determine the immigration status of workers and imposes fines and penalties for violating the law.
Handicapped parking
House Bill 1019 allows police to confiscate handicapped parking hang-tags that are being misused, makes it illegal to create fake handicapped hang-tags and allows cars to be towed when they have parked in handicapped spaces improperly.
Pill insurance
House Bill 1021 would require insurers to cover maternity care and birth control, though it specifically exempts abortion services from the requirement.
Phone books
House Bill 1068 bans phone companies from delivering phone books to your house unless you ask for them. Violators would be guilty of the new misdemeanor of “paper waste,” punishable by fines of up to $1,000.
Gender and insurance
House Bill 1008 would bar health insurance companies from using gender as a basis for setting different premium rates for men and women.
Deadly force
House Bill 1094 would allow owners, managers and employees of businesses to use deadly force against intruders under certain conditions.
Road funding
House Bill 1088 would require big cities to pay for their share of upkeep on state highways.
Felon-free schools
House Bill 1082 bars violent felons and people convicted of sex crimes or drug felonies from working as non-licensed employees in public schools.
School budgets
House Bill 1036 requires public and charter schools to post their checkbooks online for public perusal.
Immunizations
Senate Bill 56 requires public and charter school districts to inform parents about immunization recommendations.
Campus safety
House Bill 1054 would ensure that college freshmen get a safety training course on what to do during emergencies.
Gun rights
Senate Bill 51 would strip from the governor the ability to suspend the sale, dispensing or transportation of firearms in a state of disaster.
Highway signs
House Bill 1079 would bar the state from using public money to put up signs showing what construction projects were paid for by the federal stimulus.
Higher-ed savings
Senate Bills 40 and 39 would help adults save for post-secondary education tax-free and help the unemployed attend colleges or vocational schools with scholarship cash.
Early childhood
House Bills 1028, 1030 and 1035 and Senate Bill 5 would make it easier for families to enroll and stay in early childhood programs and provide scholarships for would-be preschool teachers.
Lynn Bartels, Tim Hoover and Jessica Fender
