We are halfway through the legislative session and it seems like we are rushing to the finish.
The session started Jan. 13 and adjourned Jan. 16. Then we took a 30-day leave to try to slow the COVID-19 spread.
After we reconvened in the middle of February until now has been a blur. Over 500 bills – sometimes more – have been introduced each day.
I know some representatives by their names, but have no idea what they look like. I told some this week that when the mask order goes away, we need to have a celebration. On that day we can burn our masks and rejoice for some sort of normalcy. Perhaps it could turn into a state holiday for years to come. The perfect name for this would be the Mask-Awayed Party. We have earned it.
I’m writing this on a late night following the beginning of the budget process, being sleep-deprived and without coffee or another stimulant, but I shall try to bring you up to date.
I feel like a sprinter trying to run a marathon. Thirty-three bills on second reading just today. Then we go to caucus to discuss amendments to the budget. Last year, the budget process was hacking and chopping; we cut more than $3 billion from our general fund budget. Federal stimulus dollars kept us from going completely under water.
I do not think anyone under the capitol dome ever thought that where we find ourselves today was even possible. Revenue has been much better than ever expected. Today we are able replace money siphoned from various programs and departments. We have been able to reallocate $124 million back to transportation and a similar amount for education and increase our reserves for a rainy day from 3% to 14% – and we still have about $800 million to use as we close out this fiscal year.
Today I introduced amendments that would provide $55 million for transportation projects in Southwest Colorado that are approved and waiting for funding; an additional $10 million for water projects; and $5 million for what I call “safe ride” for our students. Schools that are doing in-person teaching have demonstrated the concern of parents that school buses be sanitized and COVID-19-free. School districts have told me that even though fewer students are on buses, they have had to increase the number of trips and clean after each run. My amendment will allow for school districts to apply for grants to use an EPA/FDA-approved product that is non-toxic and non-abrasive.
Senate Bill 21-072 would create a regional electrical transmission line authority. Sen. Chris Hansen, D-Denver, who is a nuclear engineer, has been a great partner on this bill. We were presenting this bill while the disaster in Texas, with the failure of the electrical grid, was happening. In addition to connecting us to surrounding states so we are never subjected to the crisis Texas experienced, it will give our rural electric cooperatives the option to have access to transmission lines such as Tri-State or others at a fee set by the Public Utility Commission.
I am not promoting that co-ops separate from their current suppliers, but some have and others are considering it. Fiber in these transportation lines will be available for expanded broadband.
I also had the privilege of ushering through a suicide prevention bill this week. Western Colorado has a suicide rate much higher than the national average. This is not my first bill addressing this issue. A few years back, while presenting a teen suicide bill addressing bullying in our schools, I learned of a suicide that morning. Somehow we must provide the resources and medical attention necessary to prevent these unnecessary deaths. No parent should ever have to endure the loss of a child.
