End of May 2010

Month: 
May
Year: 
2010
INTERIM BEGINS
 The 2010 session of the State Legislature (General Assembly) ended on May 12. We won’t reconvene until January 11, 2011 – we’re not allowed to, unless the Governor calls a “special session” for a specific, urgent purpose. The time in between sessions is called “the interim.” Legislators get paid only for 120 days (the session), but during the interim we continue to “work” by attending meetings, answering e-mails and phone calls, preparing bills we intend to sponsor during the next session, and doing a variety of other activities to stay in touch with our constituents. This year there will be very few interim committees because we did not provide state funding for them.
 
LEGISLATIVE COFFEE(S)
I will continue to hold my legislative coffees on the 1st Thursday of each month throughout the interim at Panera’s, 7739 Wadsworth Blvd. Because I won’t have to rush off to the State Capitol from June through December, they will begin at 7:30 a.m. and last until 9:00 a.m.   We’ll have lots of time to talk about any issues you request. The next one is Thursday, June 3.
 
TOWN HALL MEETINGS
I will also continue to host my monthly Town Hall Meetings on the 3rd Saturday of each month through the interim, with the possible exceptions of September and December, at the Standley Lake Library, 8485 Kipling Streetfrom 10:30 a.m. to noon. At the next one on June 19, the topics will be the expansion of King Soopers at 80th and Wadsworth and the redevelopment of the Westminster Mall.
 
THE VOTERS’ VOICE
If you live in Senate District 19, look for this year’s issue of The Voters’ Voice to be hand-delivered to your doorstep by a volunteer at some time over the summer. As always, it will have a summary of key bills passed during the recent legislative session. When it is done (probably this week), I will be posting it on my website. 
 
REVIEW OF LAST TOWN HALL MEETING
At my Town Hall Meeting on May 15, the speaker was Bob Wilson, member of the RTD FasTracks Sustainability Committee and candidate for RTD Board of Directors, District L. He gave an overview of the RTD FasTracks Plan. The projects impacting Jeffco are as follows: 
  • The West Corridor, a light rail line from Union Station to the Jeffco Courts and Administration buildings, which is being constructed right now.
  • The Gold Line, which will go from Union Station through Olde Town Arvada, ending in Wheat Ridge at Ward Road.
  • The U.S. 36 Corridor BRT (bus rapid transit), with HOV and HOT lanes, connecting Denver and Boulder.
  • The Northwest Rail, which will go from Union Station through Westminster and Boulder to Longmont. 
Also part of the FasTracks plans are the redevelopment of Union Station, which will become the “hub” for the rail and bus lines in the metro area; the East Corridor to DIA; the I-225 Corridor; and extensions of the central and southwest/southeast corridors. Funding has been secured through a public-private partnership for the redevelopment of Union Station, the Gold Line, and the parts of the East Corridor and Northwest Rail that go to the CRMF (Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility) at 48th Avenue and Fox Street. RTD will probably put a question on the ballot in 2010 or 2011 for a tax increase to pay for the other projects.
 
THE 2010 SESSION IN REVIEW
As you will see in The Voters’ Voice, the 2010 session of the General Assembly was very productive this session, despite having to make substantial budget cuts. One thing that helped us balance the budget was federal funding from ARRA (American Recovery and Reconstruction Act). The key accomplishments were in the following areas:
  • Job creation and economic development
  • Conservation and renewable energy
  • Health care access, affordability, and efficiency
  • Government transparency, accountability, and fiscal responsibility
  • Consumer protection
  • Access to higher education
  • Criminal justice and prison reform
  • Child protection
  • Regulation of medical marijuana
  • Oversight of charter schools
 
SENATOR HUDAK’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Of the 17 bills I sponsored this year, either as the prime sponsor of a Senate bill or the Senate sponsor of a House bill, these are the results:
  • Signed into law – SB 7, SB 54, SB 129, SB 193, HB 1026, HB 1046, HB 1135, HB 1228, and HB 1373.
  • Awaiting the Governor’s signature – SB 66, SB 128, HB 1118, and HB 1128.
  • Died in the legislative process – SB 5 (the intended funding was unavailable), HB 1074, and HB 1430 (died on the last day of the session when neither the House nor the Senate would accept the other’s version or compromise in a conference committee).
  • Vetoed – HB 1364 (the Governor said he vetoed this bill because a controversial amendment added in the Senate at the end of the legislative process was not included in the recommendations that were the basis of the bill and did not go through the hearing process where all stakeholders could give their input).
 
NEW SENATOR(S)
State Senator Paula Sandoval was recently elected to the Denver City Council, so she resigned from the Senate. She would have been term-limited at the end of the year, anyway. A vacancy committee elected Lucia Guzman to take her place representing Senate District 34 until the beginning of the next legislative session. There will be a regular election for the seat this year, and Senator Guzman will have some competition in the primary election in August. A couple of other State Senate seats will hold primary elections as well. Only 18 of the 35 Senate seats are up this year, because Senators hold 4-year terms, and half are elected each even-numbered year. Of the 18 seats, only 6 are open seats – the rest are incumbents running for re-election.
 
To get further information about the State Legislature, go to the General Assembly website at http://www.leg.state.co.us.