March 2010 begins

Month: 
March
Year: 
2010

MARCH ON! 

 

March begins with a return to “normal” business, which is welcome after several late nights at the Capitol in February because of two bill marathons – one to eliminate a bunch of tax exemptions and the other to do budget-cutting for the current fiscal year. Somehow we managed to squeeze our regular bills into the calendar around those groups of special bills. On the last meeting day of February (Friday the 26th), the State Senate passed 50 bills!
 
 
REMINDER: LEGISLATIVE COFFEE THIS THURSDAY
Please join your fellow community members and me on Thursday, March 4, 7:15 - 8:15 a.m., at Panera’s, 7739 Wadsworth Blvd., for coffee (or tea or breakfast). There are no agendas or programs for these Legislative Coffees – so take advantage of the opportunity to discuss legislative issues of concern to you.
 
CUTTING THE BUDGET
State revenue for the current fiscal year (which ends on June 30, 2010) has not kept up with the very conservative forecasts that the budget was based on when we passed it during the 2009 legislative session. Therefore, the Legislature passed a group of 30 bills to reduce appropriations to state departments by a total of nearly $400 million. The result is that the state General Fund spending for FY 2009-10 is now approximately $523 million less than it was for FY 2008-09!  (It is almost unprecedented for the General Fund to go down from one year to the next.) At the same time, the state population is still going up, and so are demands for state services.
 
CAUCUS ON THE 16TH!
Because 2010 is an even-numbered year, it’s a year with “general elections,” and that means party caucuses will be held. They are on March 16 at 7 p.m. Here are the precinct caucus locations for the Democratic Party in Senate District 19:
  • Arvada High School – 7192730001, 7192730002, 7192730004, 7192730005, 7192730006, 7192730007, 7192730015, 7192730017, 7192730019, 7192730021, 7192730023, 7192730024, 7192730025, 7192730027, 7192730028.
  • Arvada West High School – 7192730003, 7192730008, 7192730009, 7192730010, 7192730011, 7192730012, 7192730013, 7192730014, 7192730016, 7192730018, 7192730020, 7192730022, 7192730026, 7192730029, 7192730030, 7192730031, 7192730032.
  • Standley Lake High School – 2192930001, 2192930003, 2192930004, 2192930005, 2192930008.
  • Mandalay Middle School – 2192930002, 2192930007, 2192930011, 2192930013, 2192930015, 2192930016, 2192930018, 2192930019, 2192930020.
  • Moore Middle School – 2192930006, 2192930009, 2192930010, 2192930012, 2192930014, 2192930017, and 7192030001, 7192030002, 7192030008, 7192030010, 7192030012.
  • Thomson Elementary – 2192930021, 2192930022, and 7192030004, 7192030005, 7192030006.
  • Parr Elementary – 7192030003, 7192030007, 7192030009, 7192030011, 7192030013.  
 
For other caucus information, go to the website of your local county political party.
 
ROCK THE VOTE
If you need to register to vote for the first time or update your registration with changes in name or address, you can do it here: http://www.rockthevote.com/partner/.
 
TOWN HALL MEETING
My next town hall meeting will be on Saturday, March 20, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., at the Standley Lake Library. Come and spend some time with your Senator!
 
MY BILLS
For descriptions of the bills I’m sponsoring and some additional information, see my website under “Legislative,” “Hudak’s Bills,” “Bills from 2010” (http://is.gd/9rOsR). This is the status of the Senate bills that I am sponsoring:
  • SB 5 – Continuity of Kindergarten Services – Passed the Senate Education Committee; referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
  • SB 7 – Collaborative Management of Multi-Agency Services – Passed the Senate.
  • SB 54 – Education Services for Juveniles Charged as Adults – Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee; referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
  • SB 66 – Reporting of Child Abuse or Neglect – Passed the Senate.
  • SB 128 – Invasion of Privacy – Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee; awaiting a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee.
  • SB 129 – HCBS Autism Services Coordination – Passed the Senate.
 
This is the status of the House bills for which I am the Senate sponsor:
  • HB 1023 (with Rep. Waller) – Employer Liability in Negligent Hiring – Passed the House; passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.
  • HB 1026 (with Sen. Hodge and Rep. Solano) – Quality Child Care Grant Incentive Program – Passed the House.
  • HB 1046 (with Rep. Tyler) – Receipt of Tax Payment by County Treasurer – Passed the House and the Senate.
  • HB 1118 (with Rep. Jim Kerr) – Regulation of Distressed Real Property – Passed the House; scheduled for the Senate Local Government Committee on March 16.
  • HB 1128 (with Rep. Looper) – Registrations Regulatory Efficiency – Passed the House Health and Human Services Committee; referred to House Appropriations.
  • HB 1135 (with Sen. Newell and Rep. Ryden) – Define Domestic Violence in Child Custody – Passed the House; awaiting a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
  • HB 1228 (with Rep. Benefield) – Dependent Coverage Health Benefits – Passed the House State Affairs Committee; referred to House Appropriations.