A bill to allow counties and other local governments to invest in downgraded U.S. government-backed securities moved in the Colorado House on Friday, one month after GOP leaders had postponed action on it, losing out on a potential $164,000 every day in investment earnings.
“I’m going to be brief, because it costs the taxpayers $114 every minute that we talk about this bill,” said Rep. Dan Pabon, D-Denver, the sponsor of the bill, in urging fellow lawmakers to support it.
Under current Colorado law, local governments can’t invest in government-backed securities that have less than two triple-A ratings. However, last year’s historic downgrade of federal securities by Standard & Poor’s rating agency meant that historically solid investments in U.S. securities are now prohibited for local governments in Colorado.
The legislation would change that, allowing county treasurers, cities and school districts to park taxpayer money in these otherwise proven investments, which still produce high earnings.
The bill had received a unanimous vote in a House committee and had bipartisan sponsorship, but leaders of the GOP-controlled House hadn’t explained why the bill had sat on the House calendar since Feb. 8, other than to say “different bills move at different paces.”
The Colorado County Treasurers’ Association estimated that at the pace HB 1005 was moving, it was costing Colorado taxpayers a potential $164,383 a day in lost investment earnings.
Pabon said Republican leaders told him there were unspecified “political issues” around the bill.
Friday, the logjam broke when Republican leaders allowed the bill to progress, though there were mild fireworks. Pabon said the bill had cost taxpayers $3.6 million in lost earnings since it had first been laid over on the House calendar in early February.
And at one point, Rep. Larry Liston, R-Colorado Springs, asked who was president when the United States’ debt was downgraded, but both sides’ temptation to blow up the debate subsided.
The House gave the bill initial approval on a voice vote and must approve it once more before it can go to the Senate.
Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.com
