State Affairs Committee heard two of my bills yesterday; HB 1011, which is aimed at stopping the exchange of money or a thing of value in order to pull an initiative off the ballot. The Attorney General's offce and Secretary of State testified that the bill achieved the goal of stopping the appearance of corruption in paying off a proponent or opponent but that was not good enough for the Democrats on the committee to ignore their advice and to continue to allow corruption to take place in initiative pay-offs.  Commissioner Wayne Williams who testified in favor of the bill made the excellent point that our Colorado Constitution allows for the people to be able to vote on initiatives that are verified - and this practice violates their right to vote.  I would agree - it also uses the signatures of the people of Colorado as a bargaining chip - something I believe to be aggregious to the entire ballot initiative process. The bill was defeated on a party line vote.

 

HB 1178 deals with making all gifts, grants and donations to specific bills and committees in state government transparent to the people of Colorado as well as our Joint Budget Committee.  The bill asks that all state departments submit their information annually on legislation funded by gifts, grants and donations.  The state of Colorado seems to be relying more on federal grants with matching components of grants and donations and taxpayers should know who is funding government.  The bill will have amendments introduced in State Affairs tomorrow and will be voted hopefully to the House Floor for second reading.

 

HB 1160 - is a co-prime bill with myself and Rep. Joe Rice (D)that allows health insurance carriers to offer incentives for enrollment in a wellness program. This bill allows extra incentives for employees who enroll in wellness programs.  The bill will have amendments introduced tomorrow in Health & Human Services Committee and I'd encourage small business owners who stand to get discounts from this bill to contact Rep Dennis Apaun (D) of Colorado Springs to vote to support the bill (303) 866-3069.   It is going to be a close vote - likely coming down to one vote so I'd appreciate your support.

 

SJR 011 - Breast Cancer Screening Recommendations - Senator Boyd and I ran this resolution rejecting the federal panel's recommendations on screening for breast cancer in favor of the American Cancer Society recommendations along with personal physician recommendations.  This resolution passed unanimously in the Senate and will certainly pass in the House tomorrow.

 

Thanks to all of you who have made calls and sent emails to help pass these bills - it is such an honor to serve you! If you have any questions or concerns about legislation my contact information is below and feel free to call or email me.

 

The state budget will start in the House this year around mid-March - I will keep you posted as the numbers become available.