I was just made aware that the date for the virtual campaign kickoff event was listed incorrectly in the newsletter.
The correct date is Sunday, June 28 at 2:00 pm. If you'd like to join us, please
CLICK HERE TO RSVP and we will send you a zoom link.
If you cannot attend and would still like to make a contribution in honor of my kickoff,
CLICK HERE TO DONATE.
We apologize for the error. Thanks!
That's a wrap! Legislative session comes to a close
The 2020 legislative session came to a close last Monday, wrapping up what I believe was the most unique session in our state's history. We faced a number of unprecedented challenges, but we pulled through it and came together to prioritize important legislation that supports struggling families and strengthens our communities. We also passed historic legislation that addresses improvements to police accountability, worker's rights, and environmental protections.
Bill signing ceremony for the 2020-21 Long Bill, also known as the State Budget
Below you will find a list of bills that I carried and passed this session. They are listed in ascending order and separated by chamber of origin. My list of bills this year reflects a tale of two sessions: the early numbered bills were introduced prior to the onset of the pandemic, while the middle to high numbered bills came about in the final three-week stretch of session.
My early bills reflect district priorities and committee work from my assignments on the Statutory Revision Committee and the Making Higher Education Attainable interim committee. A good number of house bills were related to my work on the Joint Budget Committee. The last set of bills listed were part of a package of COVID19 relief bills aimed at providing economic and financial relief for families and small businesses that are struggling to get back on their feet.
Due to the compressed timeline, several of my bills were set aside until next year. I was disappointed, especially considering several of these bills had already passed through the Senate unanimously; but I understood why we needed to limit our focus to the most critical items.
I did enjoy notable success with several key bills: SB20-006 on the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative, SB20-009 on the Expansion of Adult Education, and HB20-1366 which created a new Higher Education Funding Model. I am also proud that the business community named two of my bills as the "Biggest Wins of the 2020 Legislative Session." They were HB20-1413, which created a Small Business Loan Program; and HB20-1039 on Rule Making Transparency.
Finally, I want to thank my legislative aide, Aaron Silverstein, for all of his hard work in the office this session. I am also grateful to our office volunteer, Cathy Schuster, for seting up our in-district events. I also want to acknowledge our two interns, Blaise Hakkonnen and Samantha Barcelona--even though their experience at the Capitol was cut short, they did a tremendous job. And lastly, I want to thank you, my constituents, for entrusting me with the job of representing you at the Capitol. Despite the unusual nature of this session, it was an honor and a privilege!
HB20-1423 Suspend Scheduled State Legislator Salary Increase
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, and Vice Chair of the Statutory Revision Committee.
Virtual campaign kickoff
I will be kicking off my re-election campaign with a virtual event on Sunday, June 28 at 2:00 pm. If you are interested in joining us, you can RSVP by clicking HERE. Upon your reservation, we will send you a Zoom link to the event. If you would like to make a contribution in honor of my kickoff, you can do so HERE.
Rachel for Colorado
campaign stickers
RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE: Legislative town hall featured Capitol reporters
I want to thank the folks who were able to attend our virtual town hall meeting last Saturday. I especially want to thank our Capitol reporters
Andy Kenney with
Colorado Public Radio,
Jesse Paul with
The Colorado Sun, and
Erica Meltzer with
Chalkbeat Colorado, for serving as our guest panelists and for sharing with us their perspective on the legislative session.
Be sure to mark your calendar for our next town hall meeting on Saturday, July 18 at 10:30 am (topic TBD). If you missed the town hall, you can view the recording below.
Legislative town hall featuring
Capitol reporters
Ballot initiative 271
Fair Tax Colorado
There are a number of petitions circulating in the community for proposed ballot initiatives. One of those initiatives is 271, also known as Fair Tax Colorado.
This proposed citizen's ballot initiative would: Repeal the constitutional requirement that all taxable net income be taxed at one rate. Furthermore, it would create a tiered tax structure where:
1.) 100% of Coloradans receive a tax cut on the first $250,000 in taxable income as it lowers the current 4.63 percent tax to 4.58 percent;
2.) 50% of revenue raised is dedicated to pre-primary through twelfth grade education; and,
3.) Taxpayers across all income levels will pay a more equal portion of their income in state and local taxes.
On Friday, the JBC received our quarterly revenue forecast from our state economists. The Legislative Council Staff and the Office of State Planning and Budgeting publish forecasts of the Colorado and U.S. economies and state revenue each March, June, September, and December.
The General assembly uses these forecasts to develop the state budget, monitor state spending in relation to revenue, and determine and report the amount of excess state revenue under TABOR. Here are the presentations and full reports:
As you can see by the reports, our economic activity outperformed expectations in May slightly, but the recession is still severe. Next year's revenue is predicted to go up slightly from where we ended up in this year's budget by about $1.3 billion. Despite the improvement, however, we will still be down from last year's budget by approximately $2 billion.
