Vaad's Viewpoint

February 2010

Thursday February 4th was the 23rd Legislative Day of the 2010 Session. We have been dealing primarily with the budget revenue shortfall since the beginning day January 13th. I have been enthusiastically opposing all tax increases. In fact on Friday the 29th of January, I debated against these bills until after midnight. I have also been actively pursuing the majority party members to get them to see things the way we do concerning these bills. The Democrats continue to rush over the brink passing significant tax increases on businesses in Colorado. Check out the video clip below from just prior to the final House vote on the package of 12 bills raising taxes for Colorado businesses. (Click the button in the middle of the video to play)

Governor Ritter has committed to forcing electrical utilities in Colorado to accelerate the attainment of 30% of their power that is generated by renewable energy sources. He took the extraordinary step of appearing before the State House Committee on Transportation and Energy to lobby for House Bill 1001 recently. This bill was crafted behind the closed doors of the executive chambers into the night and was not available to committee members until less than 24 hours before the hearing. I am the “ranking member” of this committee and I and my Republican colleagues tried unsuccessfully to slow this uncalled for rush over the brink. It will surely have the effect of increasing our utility bills and those of industries that are already struggling.

It seems obvious that our friends ‘across the aisle” are being strongly urged to get in lockstep. They apparently intend to raise every potential source of revenue possible rather than thoughtfully considering downsizing government, even temporarily.

During the week of February 8th I will be bringing forward 2 of my bills providing mid-range and long-range alternatives for addressing the State’s budget challenges. I’ll bring you up-to-date on the outcomes in my next letter. Please send along your thoughts and suggestions when you can. I represent you!

As always, my concern and compassion is for Colorado families and small businesses, and I will be keeping your best interests at heart. Thank you for all your support!

Yours truly,
Glenn Vaad

April 13

The big news this week in the Legislature is the massive budget cuts that the State will have to make in order to reach a balanced budget, and where that money is going to be coming from.  

The Joint Budget Committee (JBC) is recommending a $300 million reduction in the amount of state funding for higher education to help balance next year’s budget. A possible alternative to this are two pending bills to get necessary funds from the state’s worker’s compensation fund. These bills have profound impacts on the status of Pinnacol Assurance, the company that manages the fund. The company which is currently a quasi-governmental agency, could be considered as a private mutual insurance company and therefore it would be protected from government “takeover.”
 
Higher education is very important to the success of our students, communities and state. In these tough economic times, keeping the cost of higher education at an affordable level for Colorado students is essential for several reasons. Tuition is a huge financial strain on families and making sure that tuition is affordable means that more people can go to college.
 
In addition, many people are going back to school to learn new skills and become reeducated to better succeed in the job market. If 300 million is cut from higher ed, schools will have to make some tough decisions including raising tuition as high as 31%. Community colleges may be forced to close, or run with fewer programs.
 
This is not what we should be doing.
 
I have spoken in the past about how important it is to keep up with the global workforce, and how Colorado can make itself attractive to businesses to set up their home base here by having an educated work force. A lot of this training comes from our higher education institutions, especially community colleges. In order to stay competitive we shouldn’t be cutting support for higher education.
 
However, taking money from Pinnacol is not the answer. First, it would be a one-time solution and the state will end up in the same situation next year. Secondly and more importantly, government takeover of a perceived private institution run directly opposite of the protection we all have a right to expect from our government.
 
Attorney General John Suthers said on Friday that he believes that any legislation would be unconstitutional, and he would not be defending it in court.
 
The Senate passed both SB 273 and SB 281, which have to do with transferring the money from Pinnacol and putting the company back under the control of the State this afternoon. All but one Republican voted against this.
 
 
Higher education should not be taking a hit like this. Nor should the State be nationalizing companies. All areas and departments should be sharing the budget burden and taking a serious look at their budgets and cutting out unnecessary spending. That’s what businesses are doing during the economic downturn, and government should do the same.
 
I will keep you posted as these bills and the budget bill progress.

March 13

Oil and gas regulations

The House passed House Bill 1292 last week.  This 175 page bill authorized the continuation of all rules and regulations that were otherwise scheduled to expire without the approval of the Legislature. The biggest area of contention concerned the three pages that discussed the regulations for oil and gas.

Over two days (Thursday and today) of floor debate, I argued against the continuation of the three pages of new oil and gas regulations.  I believe these proposed regulations are very bad for Colorado’s oil and gas industry and will cost us jobs and other lost revenues for mineral rights owners.

In the end though, I was compelled to vote for the legislation because it is my responsibility to provide for the safety and welfare of our citizens.  This is provided in part by literally hundreds of other rules and regulations that would have been discontinued if the bill died. Rules that assure safety of banking, healthcare, automobile issues, real estate, mortgage financing, public education, agriculture, labor and employment, public safety, etc were on the line if the bill didn’t pass.

The oil and gas regulations will have one more review if the State Senate passes HB-1292 when a public hearing is held in early May of this year. 

Thank you to all of you who took time to sent me your input as I tried to re-direct the oil and gas rules.

Other bills that have been in the news:

There are some very hot-button issues that have come up this session that have been in the news. Sometimes, there aren’t follow up reports as to what happens to the bills.

HB 1192, which would have allowed convenience and grocery stores to sell full-strength beer died in committee this week.

SB 170, which would give in-state tuition to illegal immigrants living in Colorado, is still in the Senate. If it does make it to the House I will be voting against it because I think that it’s unfair to citizens who are here legally.

In the next few weeks, the legislature will be looking at the State Budget for the fiscal year 09-10.

We are expected to get our next economic forecast for the state on March 21, and it is estimated that we will be 750 million dollars short of what we thought we were going to get. This means we will have to make some tough cuts for next year. I will continue to keep you posted on the budget process and please email me with any thoughts or concerns.

March 9

Hello everyone! We are already halfway through the session and I just wanted to give you a brief update about what I have done down here at the capitol.
 
I created four bills this session, and signed on as the House sponsor for one Senate bill.
HB-1066 puts into law specific authority for activities of the Department of Aeronautics which is a division of Department of Transportation. It dispenses aviation fuel tax money to local airports and also is in charge of distribution of surplus equipment among all the airports in Colorado. While they had been doing all of those things before, this gives them legal authorization. It passed in the House and just passed second reading in the Senate.

HB-1079 would add the town of Berthoud to the AIMs Community College district so that those residents would qualify for the in-district tuition. It passed the House and is about to go into 3rd reading in the Senate.
HB-1183 would increase the penalties on real estate appraisal violations. What happens is that some appraisers commit fraud by appraising real estate for whatever value the owner wants. This way, the owner can get more tax credits or refunds from the State. My bill will make it a higher offense to commit this fraud. It passed the House, and is in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

My final bill, HB-1114, would have devolved the control and upkeep of local roads and highways to the local governments, making it their responsibility. Unfortunately, it didn’t make it past the House Transportation Committee.

I am also co-sponsoring SB-222 bill with Senator Lundberg that would require signs to be posted at traffic lights that use cameras to catch traffic violators. It passed the Senate, and will be heard soon in the House Transportation Committee.

Thank you to everyone who came to the town hall meeting in Evans with Sen. Scott Renfroe and the town hall meeting in Frederick with Sen. Shawn Mitchell.

Attending town hall meetings is a great way to get your voice heard. I always enjoy talking to everyone and getting your opinions and ideas because I am here to represent you! I am hoping to have at least two more town halls before the end of the session, and I will let you know when and where.