Legislative News 2012

League of Women Voters^®
of La Plata County

2012_Legislation

The League of Women Voters of La Plata County provides the following information to supplement your education regarding pending legislation within the Colorado and Federal Legislatures. Unless specifically noted, the League does not support or oppose any of the specific legislative actions listed below.
To reference the LWVLPC 2008-2010 Legislative activities, click on our Legislation News Archive to your left.

Upcoming Meetings. US Legislative News. Colorado Legislative News. 2011 session news. Leg_session_news. LWVCO News. LWVCO Legislative Letters. Past Actions. Legislative References.

Upcoming Local Legislative Meetings

*Saturday, February 25, 2012: LWVLPC Legislative Lowdown
Our state legislators, Sen. Ellen Roberts and Rep. J. Paul Brown, will fill us in on their legislative priorities for the 2012 session and answer all your questions. Mark your calendar!

US Legislative News

Colorado Legislative News

*1/14/12 Denver Post:Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper gives complete State of the State, calls for entrepreneurship, civil unionsBy Tim Hoover and Lynn Bartels The Denver Post
In a folksy speech that evoked Stetson hats, Gov. John Hickenlooper today simultaneously cheered on Tim Tebow and civil unions while calling for a mass conversation with Coloradans about the state's future.
In Hickenlooper's second State of the State address, delivered before a joint session of the state House and Senate, the Democratic governor called for initiatives ranging from a ballot measure to reform the state's constitutionally imposed personnel system to a bicycle race on the Eastern Plains... Still, the governor said, despite improvements in recent tax revenues, the severe challenges facing Colorado's budget remain.
"We face the current budget challenge in a stronger position today than a year ago. We are moving in the right direction, but we are still in rough water," Hickenlooper said. "If you account for inflation, the state's general fund revenue is $1 billion less than it was five years ago when the state had fewer people and was economically stronger -- $1 billion -- and demand for government services has surged.
"The number of children enrolled in public schools has increased significantly and more people are enrolled in Medicaid." That's why, the governor said, he wants to focus state aid on the poorest seniors, giving assistance to rent and heating bills, rather than allowing a senior property tax break that costs the state nearly $100 million a year to take effect...

Colorado 2011 session news

*1/11/12 Denver Post:Colorado Speaker of the House Frank McNulty's prepared opening day legislative speech
Madam Majority Leader, Mr. Minority Leader, esteemed colleagues and honored guests, welcome to the Second Regular Session of the 68th General Assembly! Before I begin my formal remarks, let's take a moment to recognize our new House Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino, and the House's newest member, Rep. Dave Young. I look forward to working with each of you, and all of our returning members, to move Colorado forward through our work this session. Let's also take a moment to thank all of our families for being here today and those who might not be here--they sacrifice so much for us to serve our state.
Colleagues, I'm under no illusion that this session will be easy. In fact, everyone thinks the odds are against us. Times are tough. Too many Coloradans are still without work, and the state faces yet another year of difficult budget decisions.
Colleagues, the fact is we can succeed. We need look no further than last year to see what can be accomplished when Republicans and Democrats work together...

LWVLPC Legislative Session News

LWVCO News

*1/27/12 News from the LWVCO Legislative Day:

Subject: "Rethinking Colorado's Government" links Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:49:12 -0700

At the LWVCO Legislative Conference on Jan. 23, James Griesemer spoke about the DU Strategic Issues Panel report on Rethinking Colorado's Government. The report is available online at Report of the Strategic Issues Panel on State Government, and Professor Griesemer also said he could have paper copies sent to anyone who requested it by emailing him at jgriesem@du.edu. There may be other League members who couldn't attend the Legislative Conference who would be interested in the information, too, so Presidents, please pass this on to your local League members.

Thanks,
Julie Leonard
Executive Director
League of Women Voters of Colorado
League of Women Voters of Colorado Education Fund

LWVCO Legislative Letters

***The LWVCO Legislative Letter is made possible by the hard work of our dedicated Legislative Action Committee volunteers, along with Chris Watson, our lobbyist, the LWVCO office, and the support of all of you who donate to the LWVCO Lobby Fund and subscribe to the Legislative Letter. Thank you for your continued support and dedication to producing this important publication***

*1/31/12 LWVCO Legislative Letter #2:11 LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE, 2012

Basic to the goal of informing LWV members and voters is the concept of balance--looking at all sides of an issue. The LWVCO Legislative Conference on January 23 presented attendees with a balanced view of the recent redistricting process, of recommendations to improve Colorado's government from a panel consisting primarily of business leaders,and of the ins and outs of the recent Lobato lawsuit regarding our state's funding of public education. The morning was packed full of information critically important to citizen involvement in government and public policy...

*1/23/12 LWVLPC:
LWVLPC members:

LWVCO had just issued the first Legislative Letter of the 2012 General Assembly, which convened Jan.11 and will adjourn May 9, unless a special extension is requested.
Our elected officials to the CO General Assembly are Senator Ellen Roberts (R) and Representative J. Paul Brown(R).

This first LWVCO Legislative Letter #1:1 FACTS ABOUT THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS provides helpful information about CO Senate and House Committees and deadlines schedules for this Assembly. Note that the "Long Bill" refers to state budget for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013.

The advocacy agenda for the Colorado League this year includes:

Voting Rights and Enfranchisement
Fiscal Stability and Impact on Education and Higher Education
Water Quality/Fracking
Juvenile Justice
Child Welfare
Health Care including Reproductive Health Care

10 of the bills introduced this past week are being followed by the LVVCO State Legislative Action Committee and our lobbyist, and they are summarized on the last page of the Letter. We are supporting 6 of these, including:

SB 002 authorizing Civil Unions for all couples, which failed to reach a House vote last year
SB 015, enabling undocumented students who meet certain qualifications to attend CO Institutions of Higher Ed for in-state tuition, which also failed last year
HB 1003 authorizing the use of graywater (wastewater) under specific conditions
We are opposing SB 032, which is seeking a Federal waiver for Medicaid which, in our view, would lower standards for basic health care for Medicaid and Child Basic Health Plan (CHIP) recipients.

Check out the Letter for more detail.

Ellen Park LWVLPC Legislative Chair

Past Legislative Actions

Legislation References

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: February 18, 2012 10:11 PST.