DENVER – The need to properly fund Colorado’s transportation infrastructure and the long-standing quest for a reformed Hospital Provider Fee took center stage Thursday in Gov. John Hickenlooper’s State of the State speech.
“Over the next decade, Colorado has $9 billion of unmet transportation needs, and that need will only grow,” Hickenlooper said.
That will require a bipartisan approach to securing the money, he said. One solution is creating an enterprise fund with the Hospital Provider Fee – an idea that was proposed last session and failed.
“Talking about the Hospital Provider Fee on the second floor of the Capitol (where the Senate and House meet) is about as popular as the Oakland Raiders,” he said.
While the avenue of funding is unclear, the desire by Coloradans to spend more on roads is not, Hickenlooper said. “Coloradans share our desire to make these investments. They know that our future economy demands a modern infrastructure.”
Hickenlooper’s labeling of transportation as the top priority for Colorado drew criticism from Republicans because of a lack of progress on the issue.
“My take on this is: If we keep saying it’s a top priority, then let’s show that it’s a top priority,” said House Minority Leader Patrick Neville, R-Franktown.
The mass listing of top priorities at the Capitol was something Neville mentioned in his opening day remarks on Wednesday and again after the governor’s speech.
“I keep saying to folks that if we have a lot of priorities, we actually have none,” Neville said.
If transportation is at the top of the Legislature’s to-do list, then Neville said there should be a transfer of money from some “niceties” the state pays to use for transportation.
While Neville didn’t allude to what these “niceties” might be, Hickenlooper indicated Republicans might choose to divert money from assistance programs and public education.
“If that’s what you want, introduce that bill,” Hickenlooper said. “Make that case. Tell us who loses health care or what schools have to close to add a mile of highway.”
Lawmakers also must show an increased sense of fiscal responsibility and accountability to Coloradans, Neville said. “If your mortgage was your top priority in your own personal budget, you start with that. You make sure that’s funded where it needs to be.”
Neville said there should be a concerted effort to begin “shovel-ready” projects this session instead of passing the buck down the line until a bipartisan agreement on dedicated funding can be forged.
The need to improve other facets of the state’s infrastructure, including broadband access to the rural counties of Colorado, was also near the top of Hickenlooper’s goals.
“Infrastructure is more than laying new roads and expanding transit. It’s running the fiber and deploying new technologies for reliable, affordable internet in every part of the state,” Hickenlooper said.
To reach that goal, Hickenlooper announced the creation of a broadband office that will aim to provide 100 percent access to rural communities by 2020.
Increased access to broadband would be a boon to House District 59, which includes Archuleta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, La Plata, Ouray and San Juan counties, said Rep. Barbara McLachlan, D-Durango.
“We absolutely need to get broadband access to all the small communities ...” McLachlan said. “We’re not doing the cash registers anymore.”
On the subject of education, Hickenlooper expressed concern about the growing need for post-secondary education to meet the requirements of jobs of the future.
The issue was a key point raised by the Department of Higher Education last week during its presentations to the Joint Budget Committee.
With projections showing that some level of higher education will be required for 75 percent of jobs in Colorado by 2020, that is something lawmakers need to attack head on, Hickenlooper said.
“We need to include pathways not just to four-year degrees but also to technical training and skills certificates for the many jobs in Colorado that require advanced skills,” he said.
Closing the gap between the skills the workforce has and those that are needed will require resolving what Hickenlooper sees as the most complicated aspect of the “fiscal thicket.”
This stems from conflicting constitutional provisions such as the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, Amendment 23 and the Gallagher Amendment. The governor’s officer projects the conflicting provisions will cause funding for public schools to drop by $170 million for the 2017-18 fiscal year if left unresolved.
McLachlan said there is no single answer to the funding issues faced by the school systems, but it too should be a priority.
“It’s something that we need to work on,” she said. “We need to make sure it’s a priority that we work toward funding education instead of saying ‘we can’t do it and walk away.’”
Hickenlooper countered a GOP announcement that it would introduce a bill to repeal the Colorado Health Care Exchange.
The governor said he views health care as a right, not a privilege, and that it should be provided to Coloradans in some form by the state.
“If changes are inevitable, I will fight for a replacement plan that protects the people who are covered now and doesn’t take us backward,” he said.
Senate President Kevin Grantham, R-Cañon City, announced Wednesday that the Republican caucus would roll out Senate Bill 17-003, which will aim to repeal the Colorado Health Care Exchange on Jan.1, 2018, but allow the exchange to continue for one year while loose ends are tied up.
Senate Minority Leader Lucía Guzmán, D-Denver, said the Democratic caucus would stand against any moves to remove the health care exchange unless there was a viable alternative.
“We’ll fight that. That’s not healthy for the people of Colorado to just take something out without replenishing it,” Guzmán said.
lperkins@durangoherald.com
Dissecting the speech
Gov. John Hickenlooper delivered his annual State of the State address on Thursday. The governor’s remarks focused on transportation, economic development, health care, infrastructure and the marijuana gray market.
Colorado Public Radio reporters and editors who cover energy, politics, health, education and business gathered to review and provide footnotes for the governor’s speech. Portions of the speech are highlighted and followed by an
annotation with analysis
and/or context from CPR reporters and editors.
To read their report, go to
cpr.org
.
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