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April 30, 2023
Our next meeting is Monday, May 1, 2023. Our meeting is from 9:30AM to 11:30AM.
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We will be very busy at this meeting! | |
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After today's meeting we will have one more Monday CCA Advocacy committee meeting before the 2023 Colorado Legislative Session ends at midnight on Monday, May 8, 2023.
Saying it is "crunch-time" at the Capitol is an understatement! We are still watching to see if bills we support will get funded.
At this meeting Jeanette, Rich and other members of the CCA Capitol Gang will share the status of the bills we are supporting.
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View our meeting agenda to see a list that prioritizes bills for discussion
at the Monday morning meeting - CLICK HERE
Our approach is to review the bills one week and then the following week our members vote on whether to monitor, support, strongly support, or oppose but as we enter the last half of the session, bills move more quickly; so we may consider and take a position on a bill at the same meeting. If we keep a bill in our Bill watch account, we need a member to step up as a point of contact.
We ask that those who have volunteered to track a specific bill
be prepared to report to the group on its status.
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News from CCA Capitol Gang | |
The past week we sent out emails to legislators, individuals testified on bills, other individuals were at the Capitol talking to legislators and advocating for older adults, and we researched bills. See details below: | |
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SB23-213 Land Use - Introduced In House - Assigned to Transportation, Housing & Local Government. CCA amendments were added to the bill on Second Reading. Our CCA Advocate for this bill is Rich Mauro.
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HOA Bills - Sara Gagliardi and Jeanette Hensley will give us updates on the HOA Bills.
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HB23-1065 Local Government Independent Ethics Commission - Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole
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HB23-1090 Limit Metropolitan District Director Conflicts - CCA was Supporting this bill and it has been Postponed Indefinitely (PI’D)
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HB23-1105 Homeowners' Association And Metropolitan District Homeowners' - Refer Unamended to Senate Committee of the Whole
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HB23-1131 Majority of Unit Owner’s Required For Home Owner’s Association Budgets - Postponed Indefinitely (PI’D) on 2-14-23
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SB23-110 Transparency For Metropolitan Districts - Governor Signed: 04/03/2023
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SB23-178 Water-wise Landscaping In Homeowners' Association Communities - Senate Considered House Amendments - Result was to Concur - Repass
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The week of April 24th the CCA organization sent out Action Alerts to CCA Members, Legislators, and/or specific Committees on SB23-213 - Land Use bill. Please watch for more Action Alerts this week. We have two Monday morning CCA Advocacy Committee Meetings remaining. The 2023 Legislative Session ends Monday, May 8th and we will be meeting on May 8th. | |
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Questions about CCA Advocacy Committee
Jeanette Hensley - email - 303-249-5598
Co-Chair of CCA Advocacy Committee
Rich Mauro - email - Direct: 303-480-6778
Co-Chair of CCA Advocacy Committee and Senior Policy and Legislative Analyst Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG)
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Zoom Link for Monday's Meeting | |
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Topic: CCA: Advocacy Committee Meeting
9:30AM - 11:00AM/11:30AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8814815119?pwd=cXJGUFRVQ09kV1RzZ25QVG90RHBOQT09
Meeting ID: 881 481 5119
NEW Passcode: CCA2023#
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Meeting ID: 881 481 5119
Passcode: 01201897
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbZvU5bskJ
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News & Highlights from CCA & our Network | |
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Let's Celebrate our CCA Capitol Gang
on Their Special Outreach to Legislators
On Thursday, April 27th Christina Johnson and Jeanette Hensley delivered cookies and carmel corn to the legislators and the Governor's, Lt. Governor's, and Treasurer’s office as well as the State Patrol and the Sargent at Arms. It was a busy day on the floor and Christina and Jeanette received many thanks and astonishments from legislator's staff, that we stopped in and provided them with some goodies. Several staff members shared that they have received calls from constituents about the increase in property tax, the homestead exemption, and other general questions. Our compliments to Christina and Jeanette on doing this outreach and to all of our members that call and email legislators on issues important to protecting older Coloradans.
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May is Older Americans Month
Every May the Federal Administration for Community Living leads our nation’s observance of Older Americans Month. Here in Colorado, we are going to celebrate Older Coloradans all year!
Colorado Center for Aging and their network are stepping forward to bring together older adults, their families, and those organizations that serve older adults, in a series of educational webinars in May and June and an in-person event happening in July. Past July we will continue our series with monthly webinars that keep exploring and educating all ages of Coloradans on aging issues and show how older adults remain engaged, independent, and included in the community.
At our events, Colorado Center for Aging (CCA) will also be highlighting legislation that CCA has worked on with their advocacy network that benefits and protects older adults in Colorado. Keep in mind that the legislation we work on now, is legislation that may help you when you are an older adult in need of assistance. Each of our webinars and the in-person event will explore resources and help you understand what you do not know. Learn more on our event website - www.OlderColoradansMonth.org
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Colorado Commission on Aging Meetings
The Public is welcome to attend
The Colorado Commission on Aging (CCOA) was established under the authority of the Older Coloradans Act Section 26-11-101, C.R.S. to serve as the primary advisory body on all matters affecting older persons. The CCOA is a Governor-appointed, citizen-led, multidisciplinary Commission, comprised of representatives from both the public and private sectors to coordinate and contribute to guiding state programs, services, projects, policies, procedures, and resources in the area of aging and coordinate and guide the implementation of the strategic action plan on aging (Master Plan on Aging). The CCA members interested in aging issues in Colorado are encouraged to attend the committee meetings. All meetings are virtual until further notice. The meetings are:
- CCOA committee meets monthly every 3rd Thursday of the month
- CCOA Executive Subcommittee meets first Tuesday of the month
- CCOA Age-Friendly Subcommittee meets 4th Friday of the month
- CCOA Public Policy Subcommittee 2nd Monday of the month
Find times and Zoom link for the meetings on the CCOA web page -
https://cdhs.colorado.gov/our-services/older-adult-services/state-unit-on-aging/colorado-commission-on-aging
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CU Program for Low-Income Seniors: Senior Smiles
Patients who are currently participating in the CU Dental Team Care Clinics or those who are accepted through the CU School of Dental Medicine screening process and are age 60+, do not qualify for Medicaid or Old Age Pension Health and Medical Care Program, do not have private dental insurance, and their income is at or below 250% of the most current federal poverty guidelines based on family size, and are a Colorado Resident are eligible for Senior Smiles - LEARN MORE
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Lessons in Statuses: 280 remaining bills -
It will be late nights and maybe long weekends?
Friday, April 28, 2023 - "Are they in or out; Are they signed or killed? How we classified 609 of 611 bills ... Our Current Status of Bills lists depend on statuses put up by the GA. Some laid over bills will continue; some are done. Lots of bills laid over today will be heard tomorrow. So there's a bit of a limbo ..." - READ MORE
Source Colorado Capitol Watch – https://www.coloradocapitolwatch.com/
Colorado Capitol Watch provides the Bill Tracker service that Colorado Center for Aging uses - Link to our CCA Bill Tracker - CLICK HERE. Our CCA Bill Tracker lists only the bills that CCA is following.
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Denver-area assessors warn of major spike in property taxes
as Colorado legislature rushes to provide relief
"Property taxes owed next year in the Denver area may increase by as much as 50% because of skyrocketing home values, county assessors warned Wednesday, as the Colorado legislature races to ease the financial burden before the 2023 lawmaking term ends May 8. In Denver, the median increase in assessed home values, which are used to calculate property taxes, was 33%, Denver Assessor Keith Erffmeyer said. The median increase in Jefferson County was 36.5%. In Douglas County, County Treasurer Dave Gill wrote to homeowners that they should expect a 40% to 50% increase in their 2024 and 2025 property tax bills ..." READ MORE
Source https://coloradosun.com
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Interview: Gov. Jared Polis outlines his plan to
cushion the blow ahead of huge property tax increases next year
"Democratic Gov. Jared Polis Thursday outlined terms of a legislative package aimed at limiting what could otherwise be huge residential property tax increases next year.
The governor said property values are up about 20 percent statewide. Assessors say median increases run anywhere from 33 percent to 47 percent along the Front Range and are even higher in some mountain communities. Lawmakers will introduce a bill in the next few days to cushion the blow for homeowners. Polis said it will increase the amount of a home’s value that is exempted from property taxes and provide a temporary rate reduction ..." - READ MORE
Source https://www.cpr.org/
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Colorado clinics could soon be reimbursed
for linking patients to healthy food, housing services
This article refers to
SB23-002 Medicaid Reimbursement For Community Health Services
"An increasing number of clinics and hospitals in Colorado are trying to address the social issues that affect their patients’ health - lack of warm clothes and school supplies, food scarcity and unsafe housing. The problem is, the state’s Medicaid insurance program does not reimburse for that work. This could change, though, as state lawmakers approved a plan Wednesday that could lead to a $12 million - $14 million annual program to fund the community health work ..." - READ MORE
Source https://coloradosun.com/
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Colorado’s upzoning bill doesn’t include upzoning anymore
The upzoning bill isn’t an upzoning bill anymore. For now, at least.
"Senate Democrats on Wednesday morning stripped out the most consequential and controversial parts of Gov. Jared Polis’ land-use bill. The action happened in the Senate Appropriations committee, which is normally a sedate place tasked with approving funding requests. Instead, this meeting produced dramatic changes to one of the Polis administration’s top priorities ..." - READ MORE
Source www.cpr.org/
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Colorado rent control bill fails in committee
A proposal to allow local rent control laws in Colorado has failed.
"Since 1981, the state has banned local governments from setting limits on how much landlords can increase their rents. A bill in the state legislature would have undone that prohibition, allowing cities to enact rent control or rent stabilization policies. Sen. Dylan Roberts, an Eagle County Democrat, joined three Republicans to vote down the measure at a committee hearing on Tuesday. 'This one’s really hard for me. I fully agree and see everyday that housing is at a crisis,' Roberts said. But, he went on, 'I’ve become convinced that rent control, even in a local manner like this, could - and probably would stifle development.' The rent-control measure would not have directly created any limits on rent prices ..." - READ MORE
Source https://www.cpr.org/
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Work is (finally) underway on the long awaited pipeline
to bring clean water to Southeastern Colorado
"Construction began today on a new $600 million water pipeline near Pueblo. The Arkansas Valley Conduit will eventually bring clean water to dozens of communities that have dealt with naturally occurring contaminants in their drinking water for decades.
Bill Long is the president of the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, one of the regional partnering agencies working with the federal Bureau of Reclamation on the project ..." - READ MORE
Source https://www.cpr.org
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Keeping this article resource in for another week ...
Discovering and Developing Missing Middle Housing
"Benefits of Missing Middle Housing The word 'middle' as used in the term 'Missing Middle Housing' principally refers to the midsized housing types that exist between single family homes and large (often high-rise) apartment or condominium buildings. But 'middle' also relates to the home type’s level of affordability ..." - READ MORE
Source https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/housing/info-2022/missing-middle-housing.html
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May is Older Americans Month
Every May the Federal Administration for Community Living leads our nation’s observance of Older Americans Month. Here in Colorado, we are going to celebrate Older Coloradans all year!
Website www.OlderColoradansMonth.org
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May 1, 2023 - Monday, 9:30AM - 11:00AM
CCA Advocacy Committee Meeting via Zoom
There will be a CCA Advocacy Committee Meeting on Monday, May 1, 2023 from 9:30AM to 11:30AM. Newcomers and visitors are welcome - LEARN MORE
Website https://coloradocenterforaging.org/
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May 8, 2023 - Monday, 9:30AM - 11:00AM
CCA Advocacy Committee Meeting via Zoom
There will be a CCA Advocacy Committee Meeting on Monday, May 8, 2023 from 9:30AM to 11:30AM. Newcomers and visitors are welcome - LEARN MORE
Website https://coloradocenterforaging.org/
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May 11, 2023 - Thursday
6th Annual Older Adult Mental Health Awareness Day - Virtual Meeting
Public health practitioners, professionals in the aging network, mental health providers, health care professionals, and anyone interested in ensuring the mental health of older adults should attend this free, virtual event on May 11, 2023. The symposium is brought to you by NCOA, the U.S. Administration for Community Living, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Register now to join us on May 11. When you register, you will be automatically signed up for all of the day’s sessions. Click the green Register button above to get started
https://connect.ncoa.org/products/6th-annual-older-adult-mental-health-awareness-day
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Cyber-Seniors provides FREE technology support and training for senior citizens
Founded in 2015 by the creators of the award-winning documentary film CYBER-SENIORS, this non-profit organization provides senior citizens with tech-training using an intergenerational, volunteer model.
Website https://cyberseniors.org/
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CU Anschutz COAST-IT Program
The Multidisciplinary Center on Aging at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is actively reaching out to more older adults in the community for the COAST-IT (Connecting Older Adults and Students Through Inter-professional Telecare) program. Older adults will have the opportunity to engage with a student from either the CU Anschutz School of Medicine, School of Pharmacy, College of Nursing, or School of Dental Medicine programs to mentor the future generation of healthcare clinicians.
Contact Joanna Fitzgibbons at joanna.fitzgibbons@cuanschutz.edu for more information
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Denver Public Library Technology Classes & Workshops
From computer basics to digital privacy to applying for benefits online, Denver Public Library offers a variety of technology classes and workshops.
Website https://www.denverlibrary.org/techclasses
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Senior Planet
If you’re a senior aged 60 and older, these live online classes are designed just for you! Learn about finance, wellness, fitness, computers and technology, and so much more. You will also find a real community of fellow life-long learners.
Website https://seniorplanet.org/classes/
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Library Services through Strong Library
Thanks to Denver voters, Freegal Music+, an ad-free, unlimited streaming platform, and Statista, an easy-to-use portal for integrating statistics and reports, are available to anybody with a DPL library card. These new services are made possible because of #StrongLibraryStrongDenver, supported by the DPL Fund. Learn more here:
https://www.denverlibrary.org/stronglibrary_strongdenver
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CCA Advocacy Committee Meetings 2023 | |
The first CCA Advocacy Committee will be meeting every Monday while the legislature is in session. Note that we may not have meetings on certain Federal and State holidays. | |
If you are not a member of Colorado Center for Aging - Join Today! | |
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Colorado Center for Aging is a 501c3 non-profit organization,
born out of the roots of Colorado Senior Lobby (CSL) - LEARN MORE
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