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  Home Page » Opinion » Columnists » Life In The Legislature » Information Gathering Begins

Information gathering begins

by State Rep. Ellen Roberts
Life in the Legislature

October is here and students are back into the school routine. The leaves have changed and the temperatures are dropping. What else happens at this time of year? If you’re a state legislator in Colorado, you begin to determine what bills you will introduce in the next legislative session.

We are allowed five bills of our own and can carry bills that stem from committee work we were involved with during the interim. I’ve been working on several ideas stemming from the hospice and palliative care interim committee I’ve served on this summer. We’ve finished five of the six meetings intended to identify barriers to hospice and palliative care in Colorado.

A couple of the proposals I presented to the interim committee have to do with streamlining the advance medical directives in Colorado. We heard much testimony from health-care providers about the complex web of documents patients complete to indicate their preferences for future medical treatment. We received recommendations from many about how to improve the documents.

I’ve also proposed we consider the idea of increasing the time period for hospice eligibility from six months to nine months, which could expand access to hospice services for Medicaid patients who choose such care.

We’ll be discussing these proposals and others at our final meeting this month to decide what bills will be included as the work of the interim committee.

Other bill ideas have come from constituent contacts during the summer, such as the possible inclusion of business owners in the favorable tax treatment homeowners get for installing solar panels, making procedural changes to Colorado’s home-rule laws and possible career-ladder options for certified nurse assistants.

Also, based on a local request, I’m working on a bill that would allow voluntary contributions on state income tax returns to support call centers for 211 services statewide. Southwest Colorado is the only area of the state without access to services provided by calling the phone number 211 for streamlined and current information to help those struggling to find food, shelter or other services.

These call centers also can help take pressure off the 911 emergency services call number, which is intended for more-immediate emergencies.

There are a number of other bill ideas out there, and it’s too early to tell what my final list will look like, but this gives you an idea of some of the possibilities.

As was the case last year, I need to evaluate each proposal with an eye to what, if any, costs will be associated with it. If there are costs, then it’s unlikely I will carry the bill. We’re headed into even worse economic times at the state level next year, and cost reductions and economic recovery necessarily will be the top priorities.

In addition to working on bill preparation, I’ve been dealing with the many constituent contacts and requests for assistance. I’ve also had the chance to visit a number of places in the district to get a better sense of the work being done around our area. I really like getting to make these site tours as I get to know the issues and people in my area better, and the experiences help shape my votes in the next session.

Last week, I put more than 800 miles on my car attending a committee meeting in Denver, as well as meetings and events around the district. The good news is, in addition to learning lots of new things, the roads were clear, the weather was gorgeous and the fall colors were beautiful.

Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, represents the 59th District in the state House of Representatives. Reach her by phone at the Capitol, (303) 866-2914; fax (303) 866-2218; home phone 259-1594 or through her Web site, ellen.roberts.house@state.co.us.