It has been several weeks (almost two months) since my last newsletter update. That's because I took some time off in late September and early October to get married. My husband, Steve Caulk, and I celebrated our honeymoon on a cruise to Mexico, and upon our return moved into a new home in Arvada. We are slowly getting settled, just in time for the Joint Budget Committee to begin again.
Zenzinger/Caulk wedding day
The past two months have not been all play, however. The
School Finance Interim Committee met several times and produced two bill recommendations to modify the school finance formula. The draft bills will come before the committee for a final vote on December 10. You can read about the committee's work in this article from Chalkbeat
HERE.
School Finance Interim Committee meeting
The
Making Higher Education Attainable Committee also met several times and concluded last week by putting forward three bill recommendations for the upcoming session.
You can read more about those recommendations in this article from Colorado Politics
HERE.
Making Higher Education Attainable Interim Committee meeting
I also chaired one meeting of the
Statutory Revision Committee in early October. The purpose of this committee is to
examine the statutes for defects and anachronisms in the law and recommend changes. We identified several changes and will be bringing those ideas forward in the upcoming session. You can find those recommendations HERE.
Centennial South Correctional Facility
In October, the Joint Budget Committee went on a three day tour of the Pueblo area to check out state facilities and programs. Among the many places we toured, I was most affected by the State Mental Health Institute in Pueblo, the Centennial South Correctional Facility in Canon City, and the Pueblo Regional Center for people with developmental disabilities. The JBC will grapple with several funding decisions concerning mental health, corrections, and developmentally disabled services in the coming year, so it was good to get a hand-on perspective.
Colorado State Patrol in Pueblo
The JBC also met in late September to receive the Quarterly Revenue Forecast and supplemental budget requests. We will begin our regular meeting schedule this coming Tuesday, November 12 and we will continue meeting daily from 9 am - 5 pm until the new session begins January 8. One of the first things on our agenda is to review the Governor's budget recommendations and hear from our analysts details on the departmental requests. You can find our meeting schedule and budget briefing topics HERE.
Colorado State Fairgrounds
As the interim comes to a close, legislators must begin preparing our bill drafts for the new session. We must file the first three of our five bills by Monday, December 2. If you have any ideas for legislation this session, please reach out to me. While it was refreshing to take some time off and focus on my family for a few weeks, I'm ready to get back to work!
Rachel Zenzinger
Rachel Zenzinger won election to the Colorado State Senate, representing District 19, in November 2016. She also served as Senator for SD19 in 2014. Sen. Zenzinger is a member of the Joint Budget Committee, the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Chair of the Statutory Revision Committee, a member of the Interim School Finance Committee, and a board member of the Statewide Internet Portal Authority.
Legislative Awards
During the interim, I was honored to be recognized by several organizations for my legislative work this past session:
Friend of Homecare Award presented by the Home Care Association of Colorado
Stanley A. Leftwich Award presented by the Colorado BOCES Association for Outstanding Contributions to Cooperative Education in Colorado
Legislator of the Year Award presented by Alliance for contributions to improving the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
Friend of Affordable Housing Award presented by the Rocky Mountain Home Association
Woman of Metro North nominee presented by the Metro North Chamber of Commerce
Legislator of the Year Award presented by the Economic Development Council of Colorado
Common Sense in the Courtroom Award presented by the Colorado Civil Justice League
Legislator of the Year Award presented by the Developmental Disabilities Resource Center
Legislator of the Year Award presented by the Emergency Medical Services Association of Colorado
EMSAC Legislator of the Year award
Tracking your Senator
In September, I attended the
Colorado Sun Anniversary celebration... Attended the
SIPA Board meeting... Presented on a panel at the
Choice Equity Convening for the Charter School Institute... Attended the
Arvada Harvest Festival Parade... Attended the
School Finance Interim Committee meeting... Attended the
Labor Convention Legislative Reception... Attended the
Higher Ed Interim Committee meeting and campus tours... Attended the
Women of Metro North Awards ceremony... Attended the
Colorado Builds priority setting meeting... Met with stakeholders of the
Community First Choice coalition... Attended the
Arvada Chamber Community Impact Breakfast... Attended the
JBC revenue forecast and supplemental request meeting... Hosted our monthly
Town Hall Meeting... Attended the
Higher Ed Interim Committee meeting... Met with representatives of
COPIC... Hosted a forum for the
Westminster City Council candidates...
In October, I chaired the
Statutory Revision Committee meeting... Attended the
Economic Development Council of Colorado awards ceremony... Attended the
SIPA Board retreat... Attended the
CCJL awards ceremony... Went on a three day
JBC tour of the Pueblo area... Hosted our monthly
Town Hall Meeting... Attended the
School Finance Interim Committee meeting... Presented a tribute to
Mark McGoff for his years of service on the Arvada City Council... Attended the
DDRC awards ceremony... Attended the
Governor's Fiscal Policy Task Force meeting...
In November, I met with
CMU President Tim Foster... Attended the
Higher Ed Interim Committee meeting... Met with officials from
Colorado Concern... Met with officials from the
Colorado DA's office... Attended the
Governor's Transportation Task Force meeting... Met with officials from
CEA... Met with officials from
Anadarko... Met with
OSPB Director Lauren Larson... Hosted a
School Finance Interim Committee stakeholder meeting... Presented to the
Great Schools Thriving Communities coalition... Attended the
Jeffco Schools Legislative Delegation meeting... Attended the
SIPA Board meeting... Met with officials from
BOCES... Met with
UNC President Andy Feinstein... And, attended
EMSAC Awards ceremony.
Legislative Tribute presented to
Councilor Mark McGoff
If there is an event you think I should attend, please notify me!
Donations to
Rachel For Colorado
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