Hudak's Senate Notes - 2nd half of March 2009

Month: 
March
Year: 
2009

TIME MARCHES ON

It's hard to believe that March has ended already!   The pace at the Capitol was almost frantic during the last few weeks.  Our committees met until late in the evening so often, in order to get through all the bills, that it was a rare pleasure for me to get home for dinner, and one day when I was seen leaving at 5:30 p.m., a person joked that I must have been skipping out early.  

 TOWN HALL MEETING:

My next town hall meeting will be on Saturday, April 18, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., at the Standley Lake Library.  (Please note that this is a different location from the last town hall meeting.)  We will have presentations on health care and an update on the state budget.

KEY ACTIONS (the most important things that have happened in the Legislature recently):

  • SCHOOL FINANCE ACT - The School Finance Act was introduced in the Senate this year (it rotates between the House and the Senate for introduction).  It is being co-sponsored by the Vice Chair and Chair of the Senate Education Committee, Senators Chris Romer and Bob Bacon.  The bill includes the increase in school funding required by Amendment 23, of growth plus inflation, plus an additional 1% (which must be added until 2011).  The centerpiece of the bill, however, is a plan for incentive funding for at-risk students ("at-risk" is defined by School Finance law as eligible for free or reduced price lunch; i.e., low-income).  The incentive funding goes to "centers of excellence" - schools with academic growth above the statewide average that have over 50% of their population consisting of at-risk students.  The bill also changes the way that charter schools are funded for at-risk students.  Charter schools have been receiving funding for at-risk students based on the percent of at-risk students in the district.  This has cost the state over $6 million for students who were not at-risk, either by overpaying the charter schools with a lower percentage than the district, or overpaying districts whose charter schools have a higher percentage.  The bill phases in over a 4-year period the change to the actual percentages.  The Senate passed the bill during the week of March 30 - April 3, and the House will pass it during the week of April 6-10.
  • FORECLOSURE - Some bills introduced this year address the foreclosure crisis.  One of them is HB 1276, which gives a "time-out" to responsible Coloradans who cannot meet the current terms of their mortgages, so they can work with lenders to save their homes from foreclosure.  Another is HB 1227, for which I am the Senate sponsor, which adds as a reason landlords can be prosecuted under the law on "equity-skimming" the situation where the owner of a rental property in foreclosure continues to collect rent even after the property has been sold at a foreclosure auction.
  • BUDGET CUTTING - As the House and Senate finally completed passage of the budget-cutting bills for the current fiscal year, which cut $600 million from what was originally appropriated, the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) began drafting the "Long Bill," the annual state budget bill.  The economic forecast that came out on March 20 - which the JBC uses for the Long Bill - said that the state will have about $750 million less revenue in 2010 than this year, as well as another $150 million less than was budgeted for the current year (beyond the $600 million already cut).  Therefore, the JBC will be introducing additional budget-cutting bills for the current fiscal year when it introduces the Long Bill for the 2010 fiscal year, in the Senate on Monday, April 6.  The plan is for the Senate to pass these bills during the week of April 6-10 and the House to pass them during the week of April 13-17.  Then, during the week or two after that, there will be "conference committees" to iron out the differences between the Senate and House versions.  The Legislature must by law complete its work by midnight on May 6. 

MY BILLS: 

As mentioned in previous editions of Hudak's Senate Notes, I am the prime sponsor of four bills; this is their status:

  • SB 38 - Clarification of Judicial Fees - Passed the Senate and House; awaiting the Governor's action.
  • SB 90 - Parent Involvement in Education - Passed the Senate; awaiting a hearing in the House Education Committee.
  • SB 160 - Alternative Teacher Programs & Licensure - Passed the Senate and the House Education Committee; awaiting House action. 
  • SB 163 - Education Accountability System - Passed the Senate Education Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee; awaiting Senate action.

I am the Senate sponsor on six House bills; this is their status:

  • HB 1072 (with Rep. Middleton) - Library Districts - Passed the House and the Senate; signed into law by the Governor on April 2.
  • HB 1116 (with Rep. Frangas) - Children's Dental Program Moneys - Passed the House, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, and the Senate Appropriations Committee; awaiting Senate action.
  • HB 1125 (with Rep. Merrifield) - Limit Incentives for School Attendance - Passed the House and the Senate; awaiting the Governor's action.
  • HB 1227 (with Rep. Frangas) - Neighborhood Equity Skimming and Nuisances - Passed the House and the Senate; awaiting the Governor's action.
  • HB 1264 (with Rep. Benefield) - Higher Education Costs for State Inmates - Passed the House and the Senate; awaiting the Governor's action.
  • HB 1296 (with Rep. Green), Extension for Reading Assistance Grant Program - Passed the House and the Senate Education Committee; awaiting final Senate approval.

It is still true that I am sponsoring the longest and shortest bills of the year:  SB 163, which is currently 149 pages long, and HB 1296, which is one sentence long.