We had our first meeting of the School Finance Interim Committee this past Monday. Representative Alec Garnett (D-Denver) will chair the Committee, along with Sen. Owen Hill (R-Colorado Springs), who will serve as the vice chair. The Committee is made up of an equal number of Senators and Representatives from both parties.
Each member had an opportunity to share an opening statement about their expectations of the Committee's work over the next two years. I spoke about the importance of working in a collaborative and bipartisan manner so that the public could trust the Committee's recommendations.
We reviewed the RFP process for a vendor who will help guide the Committee in our work. The Committee decided to extend the RFP window in hopes of receiving a few more bids, and a subcommittee will meet August 23 to sort through the applicants and make a recommendation.
If you are interested in tracking the Committee's work, go to our
Legislative Interim Committee on School Finance page on our website, where you can find links to Committee documents, the schedule, and even the guidelines for the RFP. And, if you have any thoughts about the topics we are or should be discussing, please let me know!
First meeting of the School Finance
Interim Committee
Securing PERA
One topic on the minds of legislators right now is the current and future state of PERA. The Colorado's Public Employees' Retirement Association (PERA) c
urrently represents over 550,000 members and has more than 500 enrolled employers.
The PERA Board of Directors is responsible for maintaining PERA so that it remains solvent, mostly through managing Risk. If a fund's Risk to remain solvent is low, the fund has a low unfunded liability. If a fund's Risk to remain solvent is zero, the fund is said to be fully funded.
Several years ago, the General Assembly decided that a healthy amount of Risk for unfunded liability to be 30 years or less. Currently, full funding for the various funds (judicial, local government, DPS, state, school division) is anywhere between 54 years to 78 years. Therefore, the PERA Board must formulate and present a plan to the legislature to address this issue.
Some of the possible recommendations might include:
Increase the Employer Contributions
Increase the Employee Contributions
Change the Retirement Eligibility for future hires
Make changes to the Benefits Calculation by either adjusting the Highest Average Salary, the way Service Credits accrue, or adjusting the multiplier.
Freeze any annual increases (Cost of Living Adjustments)
We expect to hear a report by the end of October, and hopefully there will be some actionable recommendations for changes. I'll keep you updated as the issue progresses. For more information on PERA, visit the Secure PERA website.
At the Capitol rallying on behalf of public education with Alan Kennedy-Shaffer & Sen. Andy Kerr
Rachel Zenzinger
Rachel Zenzinger won election to the Colorado State Senate, representing District 19, in November 2016. Previously, she served in the same capacity during the 2014 legislative session. She is a member of the Senate Education Committee, Transportation Committee, Statutory Revision Committee, Student Safety and Youth in Crisis Committee, CDOT Efficiency and Accountability Committee, and the School Finance Interim Committee.
Arvada/Westminster Legislative Town Meeting
Please join us Saturday, August 19 at 10:30 am for our monthly legislative town meeting hosted by Rep. Kraft-Tharp, Rep. Lang Sias and myself. Next month's topic will be about Marijuana and where the tax money goes. We meet at the Standley Lake Library, 8485 Kipling St, Arvada, CO 80005.
Legislative Town Hall in July on the Westminster Downtown Development
Arvada Business Tour
We are pleased to announce our first round of business tours, to be held Thursday, Aug. 10. We will kick off the tour at a gathering with the Arvada Young Professionals at the Arvada Chamber of Commerce. Feel free to join us! We will visit a number of businesses throughout the city to acquaint ourselves with business issues in the area. We are also coordinating a tour of Westminster businesses, and we will announce the dates when they are finalized.
On June 27, I attended the
Statutory Review Committee meeting... On June 29, I was the guest speaker for an event sponsored by
Conservation Colorado... On July 10, I attended
Jeffco Superintendent Jason Glass' Listening Tour stops in Westminster, Five Parks, and Olde Town Arvada... July 13 I attended a ribbon cutting for
A New Spin Bike Shop in Arvada... On July 15,
Senator Andy Kerr hosted our monthly
Legislative Town Hall meeting on my behalf (while I was out of town)... On July 19 I met with constituent Carol O'Dowd who represents the
Colorado Association of Pschyotherapists about potential legislation... I also met with
Superintent Jason Glass one-on-one... And I attended a
Rally at the Capitol in support of public education... On July 20, I attended the
CDOT Efficiency and Accountability Committee meeting... July 21, I attended the
3rd Friday Breakfast of the Arvada Chamber of Commerce for a panel discussion on transportation... I also met with constituent
Sean Diller to discuss community engagement... On July 24, I attended the
School Finance Interim Committee meeting... On July 25, I attended the
Jefferson Parkway Open House at Ralston Valley High School... On July 26, I hosted
Andy Karsian State Legislative Liaison from CDOT as my program for
Kiwanis... I also attended the one year anniversary party of the
Denverite online local news publication... On July 27, I met with
Kristin Aslan of Red Rocks Community College to discuss their new non-profit certificate program... On July 28, I spoke to a group of
COPIRG canvassers about the importance of community engagement.
Meeting with constituent Sean Diller to discuss community engagement
If there is an event you think I should attend, please notify me!
Donations
Can you help us with a contribution? While the campaign activity has concluded, we still need your help so that we may continue keeping in touch with SD19 voters. Your contribution helps pay for brochures, direct mail, the website, newsletter, and other tools that make voters aware of what is happening down at the State Capitol. THANKS!
