Category: Politics & Elections

WASHINGTON D.C. – Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) today released the following statements after five Colorado-specific public lands bills were unanimously approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Gardner and Bennet introduced the bipartisan bills earlier this year.

“Protecting and promoting Colorado’s public lands is not a partisan issue, and I’m proud to work across the aisle to move these priorities forward,” said Gardner. “Each piece of legislation is important to Colorado and I’ll continue to support efforts that will ensure future generations of Coloradans are able to enjoy our state’s natural treasurers.”

“Our public lands define Colorado and help drive our outdoor recreation economy,” Bennet said. “These bipartisan, commonsense bills will expand outdoor access and preserve and protect wildlife habitat for years to come. The Committee’s approval of these measures is a win for Colorado, and we’ll continue to work to advance these measures in the Senate.”

·       The Bolts Ditch Access and Use Act (S. 285) would authorize special use of the Bolts Ditch headgate and the segment of the Bolts Ditch within the Holy Cross Wilderness Area, allowing the town of Minturn, Colorado to use its existing water right to fill Bolts Lake. This would solve a problem created in 1980 when Congress designated Holy Cross Wilderness area, but inadvertently left Bolts Ditch off of the list of existing water facilities.

·       The Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument (S. 287) legislation will allow for enhanced wildfire protection as well as additional habitat for wildlife and recreational opportunities for visitors. Established as a national monument in 1969, the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument is located west of Pikes Peak and less than 40 miles from Colorado Springs. The monument is home to diverse fossil deposits, maintaining a collection of over 12,000 specimens. It also provides recreational experiences and curriculum-based education programs for its visitors. A private landowner submitted a proposal to donate 280 acres of land adjacent to Florissant Fossil Beds Monument, but due to current law the land donation cannot take place. This commonsense legislation would permit a landowner to donate private land to Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.

·       The Wedge Act (H.R. 688) would aid the Forest Service in acquiring several parcels of land adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park. This Act would help preserve critical wildlife habitat, Colorado River headwaters, and a highly visible view shed in the area commonly referred to as the Wedge.

·       The Crags, Colorado Land Exchange Act (H.R. 618) is a federal land exchange where the Forest Service would acquire pristine land in the Pike National Forest allowing for more outdoor recreation near Pikes Peak.

·       The Elkhorn Ranch and White River National Forest Conveyance Act (H.R. 698) would correct the discrepancy that took place from conflicting land surveys and require the Forest Service to convey acreage to private ownership that is rightfully private property, according to the Forest Service’s own conclusion and recommendation.  For nearly 100 years, 148 acres of land has been used as private land even though it is included in Forest Service survey maps, and this legislation allows for the resolution between the Forest Service and the private landowner.

DENVER — Democrats in the State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee killed, on a party-line vote, a Republican-led effort to address Colorado’s ailing transportation infrastructure without a tax increase. Though still requiring voter approval, House Bill 1171, sponsored by Representatives Terri Carver (R-Colorado Springs) and Perry Buck (R-Windsor), would have directed 10 percent of state sales and use tax revenue to transportation projects statewide; approximately $250 million to service a $3.5 billion bond for projects listed in the statute and an average of $280 million annually for road maintenance.

“When I have town halls around my district in western El Paso County, voters are shocked that we don’t have transportation funding as a regular part of the state General Fund budget,” said Carver. “Transportation is a core government function, and should be a priority in the state General fund budget. How can we ask voters for a tax increase for transportation, when we have not made transportation funding a priority in the state budget?”

Representative Buck added:

“Democrats cannot continue to prioritize everything above Colorado’s road and bridges, and then seek more tax revenue when there isn’t anything left for transportation. House Bill 1171 is a common-sense approach to prioritizing transportation funding and it’s disappointing that the only solution House Democrats will consider is a tax increase.”

Prior to the 2009 session, a percentage of sales was diverted to state transportation funding.

Kennedy Bill Ensures Policymakers & Taxpayers Know What They’re Paying For

A bill by Rep. Chris Kennedy, D-Lakewood, to increase transparency about health care costs in Colorado’s hospitals earned initial approval from the House on second reading this morning.  

“This is all about hospital transparency—transparency for consumers and for policymakers,” said Rep. Kennedy. “With as much money as we spend on hospitals, we need to better understand how that money is being spent. The bill requires hospitals to submit two reports to the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing so that we can analyze and break down how we are spending money in our healthcare system.”

Rep. Kennedy continued with an example of how this data can help create better policy.

“Over the last few years, we’ve actually reduced our uncompensated care in this state from $2.6 billion down to $1 billion a year, and yet we have no idea how that breaks down between metro-area and rural hospitals. With this bill, the hope is we learn some information to craft future policies that will make healthcare more affordable and allocate our hospital provider fee dollars more effectively.”

HB17-1236 requires hospitals to send cost reports and their financial audits to the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF), which will then prepare an annual report of hospital expenditures, including inpatient and outpatient care, administrative and capital costs, and uncompensated care. HCPF would then submit the information to the General Assembly, the Governor and the Medical Services Board.

   The bill proceeds to a recorded third reading vote.

Rep. Tracy Kraft-Tharp’s bill to give state agencies the ability to waive penalties for small businesses that run afoul of state regulations passed the House Business Affairs & Labor Committee this afternoon in a bipartisan rebuttal to years of partisan efforts to tilt the playing field against Coloradans.  

Under HB17-1270, also sponsored by Rep. Polly Lawrence, R-Roxborough Park, first-violation companies with 50 employees or fewer – about nine out of 10 companies in Colorado — that fail to file the appropriate paperwork, where the aggregate penalty is a fine of $500 or less, could be given 30 days to correct the lapse without penalty. State agencies would have discretion on a variety of categories, but not in several specified categories, including those involving public safety, wage theft or violations of federal law.

The bill would also urge state agencies to improve public dissemination of rules changes and order a review of the most-violated rules to see if notification and training, or the rules themselves, should be revised.  

Testifying in support of the measure were representatives of organizations as diverse as the Colorado Competitive Council, Conservation Colorado, the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, the AFL-CIO and the Denver Metro Chamber.

“This is not just me, this is not just Rep. Lawrence,” said Rep. Kraft-Tharp, D-Arvada. “This is stakeholders that have been meeting for months. Let’s support them, let’s move along and support smart regulatory reform that cuts red tape while also ensuring the health and safety of Coloradans.”

Despite bipartisan sponsorship and support from an array of labor and business groups, only one Republican voted for the bill, even though they have supported similar efforts in the past. The vote to send HB17-1270 to the House floor was 8-5.

Also today, the BAL Committee approved Rep. Kraft-Tharp’s HB17-1119, which would give the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment discretion to relax the automatic $250-a-day minimum fines for two-time offender companies failing to carry workers compensation and use fines collected for workers comp violations to create a fund to assist employees who suffer on-the-job injuries while working for companies violating the workers comp law. The bill passed on an 8-5 vote and goes to the Finance Committee.

DENVER — Today, the Senate approved Senator Bob Gardner’s (R-El Paso County) proposal to curb Colorado’s grey market marijuana grows. 

House Bill 17-1220 sets a limit for the number of marijuana plants a medical marijuana patient or caregiver may raise in a residential area. 

Current law allows a local government to establish a per resident limit for the amount of marijuana plants grown in a home. This unenforceable policy has spurred the growth of cartels and unlawful grows in Colorado’s suburban and residential neighborhoods.

HB 1220 establishes 12 as the maximum amount of plants allowed for medical marijuana patients or caregivers unless otherwise permitted by local law enforcement officials.  

“Most of our patients and caregivers are doing the right thing,” said Gardner. “We want to ensure that we are giving those with genuine medical need for these plants the ability to continue their treatment, while keeping our communities as safe as possible from the cartels and criminals who are encroaching on suburban Colorado. Giving law enforcement the tools to be able to root out those bad actors, build a case, and press charges strengthens the system for patients with real need.”

House Bill 1220 now moves on to the governor’s desk for approval. 

Hearing to Focus on Security Issues in the Asia-Pacific

WASHINGTON D.C. – Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity, will chair a subcommittee hearing titled, “American Leadership in the Asia-Pacific, Part 1: Security Issues.”

What:                         Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Hearing

When:                         Wednesday, March 29, 2017, 2:15 p.m. EST

Where:                        Dirksen Senate Office Building 419

Witnesses:  

•      The Honorable Randy Forbes, Naval War College Foundation Senior Distinguished Fellow, United States Naval War College

•      The Honorable Robert L. Gallucci, Distinguished Professor In The Practice Of Diplomacy, Edmund A. Walsh School Of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

Bill Allows Vets to Receive College Credit for Certain Military Training

A bill, the Veteran Service to Credit Act, by Reps. Dafna Michaelson Jenet and Jessie Danielson to facilitate applying college credit for military service passed the House Education Committee unanimously this afternoon.

“Even with some of the most intensive training in the math and science fields imaginable, veterans can be required to take courses in subjects they have already mastered in order to earn a college degree,” said Rep. Michaelson Jenet, D-Commerce City. “That’s not the way it should be. This bill fixes that—our veterans deserve credit for their training, and deserve support to pursue their academic goals.”

“We have an obligation to our veterans to honor the American dream they fought for,” said Rep. Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge. “Our bill helps them find a way to get credit for their experience, and provides guidance to the veterans on how to apply that credit to a particular path of study. We want to make Colorado the most veteran-friendly state in the nation.”

HB17-1004 honors the training and skills of veterans to help them attain their academic goals by giving Colorado colleges and universities national American Council on Education standards for qualifying military training as class credit.

The bill now continues to the House Appropriations Committee.

WASHINGTON D.C. – Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO), along with 33 of his Senate colleagues, sent a letter to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MI) and Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) urging the full funding of the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program.

The letter reads in full:

Dear Chairman Cochran and Vice Chairman Leahy,

As Members of Congress representing counties with federal public lands within their boundaries, we write to request that you work together to ensure the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program is fully funded.

PILT provides critical resources to nearly 1,900 counties across 49 states to offset lost property tax revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt federal lands within their jurisdictions.  It supports the many critical services that counties provide on federal public lands.  Without full funding for the PILT program in fiscal year (FY) 2018, counties across the nation will be unable to provide essential services such as law enforcement, education, search and rescue, road maintenance and public health to their residents and millions of federal lands visitors.

Moving forward, we hope Congress can work together to enact a fiscally responsible, long-term solution to fully fund PILT and eliminate the ongoing funding uncertainty counties face.  As counties across the country work to balance their own budgets, enacting full-funding for PILT is essential to provide certainty that the federal government will continue to uphold its long-standing commitment to public lands counties. 

We look forward to working with you to resolve this pressing issue facing our communities by fully funding PILT in FY 2018 and ensuring long-term predictable funding for this important program.

Sincerely,

State Affairs Kills 3 Bills Seeking Proliferation of Guns, High-Capacity Magazines

The six Democrats on the House State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee stood with parents and teachers this afternoon when they defeated a bill that would have laid the foundation for more guns in schools.

SB17-005 would have allowed any teacher in Colorado who completes an employee handgun safety course to carry a concealed handgun in their classroom.

“I’ve heard from parents and teachers and so many constituents in my district—they don’t want this and they don’t feel it would make them any safer,” said Rep. Susan Lontine, D-Denver. “Teachers should not be asked to take on the role of law enforcement or security guards. Teachers are in schools to teach.”

“This bill may create an opt-in for school districts, but it wouldn’t be an opt-in for the parents who don’t want their kids to be in a classroom with an armed teacher,” said Rep. Jovan Melton, D-Aurora. “Because in many districts, there’s not another school for their children.”

Testimony against the bill included many parents and educators concerned about the danger of more guns in schools.

“I ask you as a mother and a teacher to vote no on this bill,” testified Rachel Barnes, a Colorado resident and mother.

Later in the evening, the committee also defeated SB17-006, which would have lowered the age requirement to 18 years for members of the United States military to apply for concealed carry permits without adequate safeguards, and SB17-007, which would have allowed Coloradans to buy and sell magazines of any size, including the 100-round magazine used by the shooter in the Aurora theater massacre in July 2012.

Salazar-Esgar Bill Affirms Colorado State Agencies’ Right Not To Assist With Unconstitutional or Illegal Federal Orders

(March 22) – In the first real floor fight of the session, the Ralph Carr Freedom Defense Act by Reps. Joe Salazar and Daneya Esgar earned initial approval from the House on second reading this morning. The bill protects Colorado state agencies from being forced to participate in overreaching federal programs targeting religious or ethnic communities.

“We the people are a nation of many and we cannot be divided anymore based on how we look, where we came from or how we pray,” said Rep. Esgar, D-Pueblo, on the House floor. “We are simply saying to the federal government—if you’re asking us to do something that’s illegal and unconstitutional, we will not stand for it here in Colorado.”

“I don’t want history to repeat itself—I want principled legislators to stand together and say we are going to do everything we can to protect Coloradans and show that we care about humanity,” said Rep. Salazar, D-Thornton.

Through several attempted amendments, the House Republicans tried to weaken or alter the bill and to exempt undocumented Coloradans from the protections under the Ralph Carr Act. Had the amendments passed, it would have been a stark departure from settled law that establishes that the rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution apply to everyone in the country, regardless of immigration status.

“The reason that we, the USA, are a beacon of hope for the rest of the world, is because the rights of the United States apply to everyone,” said Rep. Dan Pabon, D-Denver. “Every single amendment in the Constitution applies to everyone in the United States of America.”

Close to the end of the debate, Rep. Phil Covarrubias, R-Brighton, seemed to excuse the internment of Japanese Americans, including U.S. citizens, during World War II. “We keep hearing about how things went down with the Japanese people—for anyone that has never been in the heat of combat, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and all of that was going on—there’s no time to ask questions and find out who is a citizen and who’s not,” he said.

The Ralph Carr Freedom Defense Act prohibits state and local governments from giving information about a Coloradan’s race, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status, or religious affiliation to the federal government unless it is for a legal and constitutional purpose.

The bill also prohibits state and local governments from working with the federal government to create or maintain any registries, identify with physical or electronic markers, or intern or detain a person based on race, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status or religious affiliation. The bill does not prohibit law enforcement from sharing information about criminals with federal agencies.

HB17-1230 is named after Republican Colorado Governor Ralph Carr, who in response to a 1942 Executive Order signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt vigorously opposed the creation of the Japanese internment camps in Colorado.

The bill continues to the House floor for third reading.