We are approaching the last three days of the 71st General Assembly, and several key bills have yet to be voted upon. Namely, we are waiting on the outcome of
Senate Bill 001 on transportation, as well as
Senate Bill 200, the bill to address the unfunded liability of the Public Employee Retirement fund. The PERA bill has been assigned to a Conference Committee and we may see the same for SB001.
What is a Conference Committee? Before a bill can pass, the two chambers must agree to identical
legislative text. That means whenever the Senate and the House pass two different versions of a bill, those differences must be resolved. Leadership assigns two members of the majority and one member of the minority from each chamber, for a total of six legislators, to iron out the differences.
Once the conference report comes back to the House and Senate for approval, it cannot be amended. It is an "up or down" vote--meaning take it or leave it--in each chamber. I suspect we will see some dramatic conclusions to these and several other conference bills in the last few days!
Bill signing ceremony to extend the
Advanced Placement Incentives Program
Last three bills...
I was extremely pleased that two of my last three bills passed through the Senate unanimously this week. I'm still waiting on my third and final bill to cross the finish line, but let's begin with the ones that have already passed.
Several years ago, the legislature passed a bill that allowed e
lectronic motor vehicle lien and title transactions. But that was only "Part 1" of a long-term modernization plan for the Department of Motor Vehicles. HB18-1299 is "Part 2" of this plan, which allows electronic motor vehicle registration capabilities, making it easier for people to do business with the DMV.
The second bill to pass unanimously was HB18-1413, which created a school safety grant program where schools and organizations receive training, develop best practices and protocols, conduct research and development, and upgrade technology and infrastructure used for training related to school safety incident response. This training will be provided by the Frank Deangelis Center located in Jefferson County. Click HERE to view a YouTube video about the center.
And finally, the bill that is still in the mix is HB18-1364 concerning the sunset of the Colorado Council for Disabilities. It acts as an entry point for anyone with questions or concerns on state disability laws, advises the Governor and the General Assembly, and administers the Disabled Parking Education Fund. Recognizing the value of the Council, we used the review as an opportunity to provide a better framework for their success and relocated the council to the Department of Human Services. The bill heads to the Appropriations Committee on Monday and then hopefully the full Senate.
Presenting the School Safety Grant Program bill with John McDonald, Steve Bell and members from the Jeffco Sheriff's office
School Finance Act yet to pass through Senate
The School Finance Act came to the Senate this week, but it has yet to come out. The bill will provide an additional $475 per pupil and will buy down the $828M budget stabilization factor (aka "negative factor") by $150M, as well as put additional funds toward rural schools, English Language Learners, and will increase the number of ECARE slots for early childhood education.
While this year's school finance act is far better than prior years, we still have a long way to go, including funding free, full day kindergarten. Sen. Andy Kerr (D) of Lakewood offered an amendment that would have put us on a path to fully fund kindergarten within five years, but it was defeated. We are not certain why the sponsor, Sen. Owen Hill (R) of Colorado Springs, has delayed the third reading vote, but with three days left of session we are certainly running out of time!
Arguing in favor of Sen. Kerr's amendment to the School Finance Act to include more funding for
full day kindergarten
Rachel Zenzinger
Rachel Zenzinger won election to the Colorado State Senate, representing District 19, in November 2016. She serves on the Senate Transportation Committee, Education Committee, and Statutory Revision Committee. She is also a member the CDOT Efficiency and Accountability Committee, School Finance Interim Committee, Transportation Legislative Review Committee, and the Statewide Internet Portal Authority. She also served as Senator for SD19 in 2014.
Coffee With Constituents
Please join us for our final
"Coffee With Constituents" of the session, Friday, May 11 from 7 - 8 am at the Indian Tree Golf Course,
7555 Wadsworth Blvd, Arvada, CO 80003. The gathering will occur two days after the legislative session ends, so I will provide a wrap-up of the session. Hope to see you then!
With constituent Daniel Kimbrough who is visiting with Colo. AFL-CIO
Legislative Town Hall
Please plan to join Representatives Tracy Kraft-Tharp, Lang Sias and myself for our monthly bipartisan and bicameral town hall meeting on the third Saturday of the month, May 19 from 10:30 am - 12:00 pm at the Standley Lake Library. We will be hosting journalists Jesse Paul of the Denver Post and Marianne Goodland of Colorado Politics to give a recap of the session
.
With Sen. Cheri Jahn who is term-limited and retiring from the Senate
Tracking your Senator
On Monday, I passed
HB18-1070 BEST funding for school construction... On Tuesday, I passed
HB18-1354 on powersports warranties... we also heard a memorial for former
Senator Kenneth "Ken" Kester... On Wednesday, we recognized Colorado University professor and author
Patty Limerick... We also observed a moment of silence and rang the chimes in memory of
Specialist Gabriel D. Conde, United States Army... I presented
HB1413 and
HB1299 to the Senate Finance Committee... On Thursday, I was appointed to serve on the
Senate Finance Committee... I also presented
HB1364 in State Affairs... I had a bill signing at the Governor's Office for
HB1193 on AP Incentives Pilot Program... On Friday, we recognized
Sen. Cheri Jahn who is retiring from the Senate... I passed
HB1413 and
HB1299 unanimously out of the Senate... We celebrated
College Day at the Capitol where we sported our college gear... And, I was happy to welcome my nephew
Joseph Palmer to the Capitol who came with his class from Traut Core Knowledge Elementary School in Ft. Collins.
With Patty Limerick, Faculty Director of the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado
If there is an event you think I should attend, please notify me!
Donations
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