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Tom Massey, House District 60, 303-866-2747

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Legislative Update

General Updates RACE TO THE TOP. The U.S. Department of Education did not select Colorado as a Race to the Top winner in the first phase of the education reform competition. Colorado's application scored fourteenth out of sixteen finalists competing for the $377 million in education funding.

CU TUITION HIKE. On an 8-1 vote, the University of Colorado Board of Regents chose to raise tuition by up to 9 percent beginning in the fall of 2010. The increases will apply to all four campuses in the CU system.

TABOR LAWSUIT. Former Rep. Douglas Bruce is suing Governor Ritter and the State of Colorado, claiming that they have illegally taken $200 million out of the constitutional TABOR reserve fund to address budget shortfalls.

BALLOT UPDATE. The proposed "Definition of Person" ballot measure secured the necessary signatures to appear on the November ballot and has been designated as Amendment 62.

CENSUS. As of today, the Census response deadline, 52 percent of eligible Coloradans have completed and returned their forms. Throughout April, Census employees will visit the residences of those who have not returned their questionnaires in an effort to encourage participation.

RITTER UPDATE. " Gov. Ritter declared April Fair Housing Month. The Governor's office will work with the Department of Regulatory Agencies to highlight existing protections in place to prevent unfair housing and predatory lending practices.

Policy Office BILLS OF NOTE. " Health insurance becomes gender-neutral - Gov. Ritter signed a bill prohibiting health insurance companies from using gender to determine premium rates for health insurance (HB 1008). " Colorado takes on EPA standards - A measure allowing the state to establish its own clean air strategy, and to avoid federal interference in state emissions policies, received final legislative approval this week. Under the bill, coal-fired power plants along the Front Range may be required to convert to natural gas or other low-emitting sources. The bill is awaiting the governor's signature (HB 1365). " TABOR exemption for education introduced - Voters this November may be asked to approve a measure allowing the legislature in future years to raise taxes for education without voter approval. The proposal, introduced in both the House and Senate, goes beyond classroom funding and includes programs such as family literacy, public school building needs, career and technical education accessibility or affordability, and improvement of teacher effectiveness (HCR 1002 and SCR 2). One of the measures would need to receive the support of a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate to go to the ballot. " Senate signs off on Enterprise Zone Credit reform - A bipartisan bill backed by Gov. Ritter to make the Enterprise Zone Credit Program more accountable passed the Senate this week. It will be considered in the House next week (SB 162).

BUDGET. The House this week approved a 14-bill budget package, including HB 1376, the $19.6 billion budget this week ($7 billion of which is General Fund). Despite well-publicized cuts to various programs and departments, the budget appropriates more than was budgeted last year ($19.2 billion). The increase in spending is partially due to the maintenance of effort requirements attached to accepting federal stimulus dollars (which prevents the legislature from making cuts) and increases in caseload for mandatory programs such as Medicaid and Unemployment Insurance.

The governor this week signed a separate budget-balancing measure to decrease the state's contributions to PERA while increasing employee contributions by an equal amount (SB 146).

SCHOOL FINANCE ACT. The Senate passed an amended version of the School Finance Act this week (HB 1369). There were two significant changes. The first would require school districts to submit a report to the legislature on the potential financial benefits of consolidating school districts within individual counties. The second affects a provision in the House version that requires districts that do not receive enough state aid to fully implement a 6.35% reduction in total program by making up the difference through a reduction in their mill levy override revenue. The Senate version eliminated this provision and would allow these districts to keep the additional revenue approved through a mill levy override.

UNEMPLOYMENT. According to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Colorado's unemployment rose to 7.7 percent in February as the number of working Coloradans declined by 3,300.

Federal Level HEALTH CARE. President Obama signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act. In addition to installing the final components of the Democrats' health reform package, the bill moves the origination of federally-guaranteed student loans from private banks to the U.S. Department of Education and increases annual maximum Pell Grant Scholarships for low-income students.

OFFSHORE DRILLING. The Obama administration shifted course and announced a plan to allow offshore oil and natural gas exploration and drilling along sections of the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Alaskan coast. The Pacific coast and the Atlantic coast north of New Jersey would remain closed to oil and gas under the plan.

STIMULUS. " United Launch Alliance was awarded $6.7 million to develop its commercial spaceflight project.