On Wednesday, the Republican bill on transportation finally came to the floor for debate. I have been highly critical of the bill thus far, which is
what motivated me to offer an amendment to improve the bill. I'm pleased to report that my proposal was accepted and a compromise was struck.
First, rather than permanently divert 10% of our general fund (approximately $350 million) to pay for bonding, my amendment drops the general fund commitment down to $248 million (the actual bond payment) and it will now sunset in 20 years. Also, part of that bond payment (approximately $150 million) will come from revenue that will be returning to the general fund.
Second, we will
delay going to the voters for bonding until 2019. Why wait? Multiple transportation funding questions on a single ballot could potentially cancel each other out, and it's highly likely there will be a citizen initiative to fund transportation in 2018. While we wait to see what happens this fall, we will continue moving forward by committing $500 million of one-time extra revenue to CDOT.
This deal wasn't perfect. For example, the bonding package (if it moves forward) only contains 10% for multi-modal projects, there is no revenue set aside for local governments, it only addresses about 1/3 of our transportation needs. But, when it comes to compromise, there must be some give and take.
The bill will eventually head to the House, where I suspect some of these concerns will be addressed. Nevertheless, I'm pleased we were able to make some improvement to the bill thus far.
Debating my compromise amendment to Senate Bill 1 on the floor Wednesday night
JBC delivers recommended budget for debate
On Friday, after a series of votes to address a wide variety of high-priority needs, the Joint Budget Committee finalized its draft of the state budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year.
After I forged my amendment on Senate Bill 1 for transportation, some were concerned that we may have committed too much money to transportation. But, as the JBC Chairwoman Rep. Millie Hamner notes, "Our strong economy is allowing us to invest in education, infrastructure and a variety of other priorities that have been bottled up for many years."
Due to higher economic forecasts that will likely boost state revenues, the draft budget allocates an additional:
Education: $576.5 million for education, including $265.5 million to avoid growing the so-called "budget stabilization factor," the state's arrears to its public school districts; $150 million more to reduce the "budget stabilization factor," the biggest buydown since what used to be called the "negative factor" was created in 2009; $114 million for our public colleges and universities; $30 million expressly for rural school districts; $10 million to address the teacher shortage; and $7 million for school safety.
Transportation: $495 million to fix Colorado's crumbling, overburdened transportation systems
PERA: $225 million to help cover the cost of efforts to ensure the long-term stability of PERA, the retirement fund for teachers and other public-sector employees
Child Care: $12.3 million for the Child Care Assistance Program, to reduce waiting lists and expand access to child care for hardworking Colorado families
Prisons: $11 million set aside for solutions coming out of the legislative working group on our state prison system
Opioid Epidemic: $6.5 million set aside for legislation to address the opioid addiction epidemic in Colorado
The budget, also known as the Long Bill, will be introduced in the House on Monday and will probably land in the Senate the following week.
Rachel Zenzinger won election to the Colorado State Senate, representing District 19, in November 2016. She serves on the Senate Trasnportation Committee, Education Committee, and Statutory Revision Committee. She is also a member of several interim committees including the CDOT Efficiency and Accountability Committee and the School Finance Interim Committee.
Coffee With Constituents
Please join me on Friday, April 13 from 7 - 8 am at the Indian Tree Golf Course,
7555 Wadsworth Blvd, Arvada, CO 80003, for my monthly "Coffee With Constituents" event. I provide the coffee and you provide the questions. Hope to see you then!
Kate Sneed, SD19 intern, with constituent Lynn Lonzanida for
Small Business Day at the Capitol
Legislative Town Hall
Mark your calendars for our next bipartisan and bicameral town hall meeting on the third Saturday of the month, April 21 from 10:30 am - 12:00 pm at Covenant Village,
9153 Yarrow St, Westminster, CO 80021.
Celebrating #DollDay in honor of the annual Kids Count report
Next "What's Brewing at the Capitol" event
I want to thank the folks that came to the "What's Brewing" event last Wednesday. The Senate was called back to the floor to debate Senate Bill 1 on transportation funding and we went well into the evening. Hopefully everything will go smoothly at our next event. Mark your calendar for Wednesday, April 18 at 6:30 pm, location TBD.
I attended the musical "Hamilton" with my daughter this weekend
Tracking your Senator
On Monday, we celebrated
Aerospace Day at the Capitol... On Tuesday, we welcomed the
Colorado Academy of Physician Assistants to the Capitol... I also presented HB18-1018 on Human Trafficking in State Affairs... I also presented HB18-1042 on Private Interstate Commercial Vehicle Registration to the Transportation Committee... We also heard a presentation from Dr. Paul Williamson about SkyTran... On Wednesday, we celebrated Senior Day at the Capitol... We also celebrated Small Business Day at the Capitol and SD19 constituent Lynn Lonzanida Consulting participated... On Wednesday, my aide Aaron Silverstein hosted "What's Brewing at the Capitol" at Some Place Else Brewery (in my absence)... On Thursday, Minority Leader Lucia Guzman stepped down and we elected Sen. Leroy Garcia as our new Minority Leader... We also celebrated Ag Day at the Capitol... We also recognized the Tuskegee Airmen living in Colorado... Also, I presented HB18-1193 AP Pilot Program Extension in Senate Education as well as SB18-159 on Community Schools... On Friday, we had a Statutory Revision Committee meeting.
Sen. Guzman resigning as Minority Leader of Senate Dems and electing Sen. Garcia to the position
If there is an event you think I should attend, please notify me!
Donations
Can you help us by making a contribution? While the campaign activity has concluded, we still need your help so that we may continue keeping in touch with constituents. Your contribution helps pay for events, direct mail, the website, newsletter, and other tools that make voters aware of what is happening down at the State Capitol. THANK YOU!
