By Ali McNally, STATE BILL COLORADO
A bill allowing lobbyists to bypass security to enter the Capitol was killed Tuesday in a 7-4 vote by the House State, Veterans & Military Affairs committee.
Under proposed legislation HB-1092, lobbyists would use form of identification to bypass security in the Capitol by paying a fee and for a criminal background check. Rep. Larry Liston, R-Colorado Springs, who sponsored the bill, said that Colorado State Patrol officers who perform the checks spend “an inordinate amount of man power everyday” checking people entering the building. He added that the El Paso County courthouse has a process where attorneys can apply for a card with a modest fee to bypass security.
Those in favor of the legislation was Rep. Edward Casso, D-Commerce City; Rep. B.J. Nikkel, R-Loveland and Rep. Brian DelGrosso, R-Loveland. Rep. Joe Miklosi, D-Denver, did not vote because he wasn’t clear on the legislation’s terms about volunteer lobbyists.
“Some lobbyists have been here for 10, 15 and 20 years and know some of the police officers,” Liston said at the hearing. “These are men and women who work in the Capitol every single day. There’s never been an incident where lobbyists have caused turmoil. They would lose their livelihood.”
Four other testimonies were heard, including that of former Speaker of the House Ruben Valdez, now a lobbyist.
“I think that common sense will tell you that this bill is a good bill,” Valdez said. “I’m glad to have security, but there comes a point where it gets out of hand and defies common sense.”
Those opposed to the legislation, such as Rep. Nancy Todd, D-Aurora, said that all citizens should be allowed the same access as the lobbyists. However, she also felt that the bill could have fodder with some changes with its language.
“Putting this in state law is of great concern for me,” Todd said. “But don’t kill the bill. Let’s fix it.”
Two lobbyists testified in opposition to the bill. Colorado Common Cause director Jenny Flanagan agreed with Todd that the legislation wasn’t constitutional because ordinary citizens wouldn’t be granted the same access as the lobbyist.
“It took me less than a minute to get through security today,” Flanagan said. “[Under the legislation,] the lobbyist who can afford to get in line will be able to continue talking to the legislator through security, while the ordinary citizen can’t. All voices should be able to get into the Capitol the same way.”
Liston said he is committed to the bill and will bring it back next year regardless of today’s outcome.
Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver co-sponsored the bill, but was not at the hearing because he was attending another committee hearing for PERA.

From The Denver Post: As lawmakers consider eliminating a host of tax breaks for corporations, a key business group in Colorado has floated an idea that has raised eyebrows at the Capitol: Removing the sales-tax exemption on groceries.

Stay ahead by signing up for State Bill E-News! >

Warning that there will be a lot of shared pain, Colorado lawmakers gave initial approval Tuesday to a plan to rescue the state’s pension system that increases contributions from employees and employers and reduces benefits, AP reports. The Senate Finance Committee approved the plan after sponsors said without changes, it could run out of money in 20 years.

Stay ahead by signing up for State Bill E-News! >

A State Parks subcommittee that in 2009 gave grant applicants hundreds of thousands of dollars more than they asked for has come under scrutiny as environmental groups, hunters and law enforcement agencies seek a share of annual off-road vehicle sticker fees, The Denver Post reports. Rep. Mark Ferradino, D-Denver, who last year considered taking some of the off-roaders’ money to cope with a massive state budget hole, questioned whether the panel tried to spend down funds to make them a less likely target for future raids.

Stay ahead by signing up for State Bill E-News! >

A Douglas County Republican is making another try at getting rid of a tax that businesses hate, The Durango Herald reports. Sen. Mark Scheffel, R-Parker, won respect last year for his efforts to phase out the business personal property tax. But the money goes to cities and counties. Scheffel’s 2009 bill would have cost them $1.2 billion a year once it was fully phased in, so nothing came of the bill other than a study.

085_01

086_01

Stay ahead by signing up for State Bill E-News! >

Colorado lawmakers say they’re concerned about a big jump in the number of people seeking medical marijuana cards and about a big hike in the number of dispensaries opening up along the Front Range, TheDenverChannel.com reports. Sen. Chris Romer’s Senate Bill 10-109 will be heard in committee, at 11 a.m. Wednesday, in the old Supreme Court Chambers at the Capitol.

Stay ahead by signing up for State Bill E-News! >

Although state officials have investigated allegations of child abuse and harassment at a Greeley youth detention center in recent years, area lawmakers are not satisfied, The Greeley Tribune reports. A group of Republican lawmakers asked Gov. Bill Ritter in a letter Monday to order another investigation of the Platte Valley Youth Services Center.

Stay ahead by signing up for State Bill E-News! >

State candidates, stealth political groups and special-interest political committees in Colorado have amassed millions of dollars in campaign donations to kick off the 2010 elections, The Denver Post reports. At stake are the governorship, control of the state legislature, and the redistricting of state and federal legislative districts.

Stay ahead by signing up for State Bill E-News! >

By Peter Marcus, DENVER DAILY NEWS
Lawmakers are pushing legislation that would limit the ability of workers’ compensation providers from spying on employees who have made a claim.
The bill stems from discussions by the Pinnacol Interim Committee, after lawmakers looked to tighten control over the state’s workers’ compensation provider of last resort. Concerns were raised about the company spying on injured workers to validate claims.
House Bill 1012, sponsored by Rep. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, would only allow surveillance with reasonable cause.
The bill would prohibit an insurer or employer from spying on workers who have submitted claims unless the insurer or employer has a “reasonable basis” to suspect the employee has committed fraud. Employees would be allowed to request an expedited hearing before a administrative law judge to challenge the surveillance.
Insurers and employers would also be required to destroy all material collected unless the materials are “reasonably necessary” to resolve an ongoing claim of fraud. Violations would result in a $1,000 per day penalty.
Pace points out that of the $4.7 million spent last year to spy on 2,500 workers, only 11 were found to have actually committed fraud. He said workers are complaining that the surveillance is used to intimidate workers into accepting lesser payments.
“The insurance companies are abusing it, it’s evasive, and it’s our responsibility as legislators to stand up for average Coloradans, and not for the special interest and insurance companies,” said Pace.
Pinnacol, however, sees flaws with the bill. A spokeswoman for the insurer said Pace’s bill would slow down investigations that often require a quick response. She added that the challenges would clog up the court system and constrain investigators, which would lead to more fraud and higher costs to individuals.
“Our surveillance efforts are about finding out the facts in a case,” said Suzi Stolte, spokeswoman for Pinnacol Assurance. “What we want to do is shut down cases as soon as we know that they’re fraudulent. When we find out that information, the sooner we can shut down a case, then that is saving money and time for the policy holder.”

Distributed by Colorado Capitol Reporters

Stay ahead by signing up for State Bill E-News! >

By Gene Davis, DENVER DAILY NEWS
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a bill aimed at fixing the financially damaged retirement plan that covers more than 430,000 Colorado state employees.
Senate Bill 01, PERA’s Long Term Stability, will get its initial hearing today at the state Capitol. The bill introduced by Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, and sponsored by Sen. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, calls for larger contributions from employers and employees and a smaller cost of living increase to help balance the retirement fund that has dropped by approximately $23 billion.
“This bill represents a bipartisan, careful, balanced, responsible and fiscally conservative approach that will put PERA on a stable financial path,” said a statement from Shaffer.
But Barry Poulson, a senior fellow with the Independence Institute who served on a commission to reform PERA earlier this decade, believes SB-01 is only a Band-Aid solution. He opposes the bill in part because the new money that would be generated and saved would not be earmarked to pay PERA’s unfunded liabilities — the more than $30 billion promised to current and future retirees that PERA doesn’t have the resources to cover. He also fears that employer contribution rates could increase to the point where 20-30 percent of payroll would go towards paying off unfunded liabilities.
“It’s clear to me that this will not solve the problem,” he said.
The recession has hit PERA hard. Last year, the market value of PERA’s portfolio fell 27.2 percent, from $41.4 billion to $30.1 billion. Without changes, the PERA fund will be broke by 2031, according to the Colorado Senate Majority press office.

Doomed from start?
PERA was doomed from the start after promising an 8.5 investment return for 50 years, according to Aaron Harber, a Denver Daily News columnist who was registered as an investment advisor with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Harber believes that PERA’s promise was “wildly unrealistic ” — with most investment returns generally only being guaranteed for around 3 percent and for a much shorter period of time — and that PERA and lawmakers are still being unrealistic with SB 01.
“What legislators and others need to do is have an honest appraisal of what the fund can afford,” he said. “Until realism arrives at PERA and the general assemblyÉit is likely that none of these proposals (in SB 01) will really solve the problem.”
In addition to increasing employer and employee contribution rates by 2 percent and lowering cost of living increases, SB 01 also raises the minimum retirement age from 55 to 58. Employees hired before 2007 would be exempt to the change.
The PERA board has given its initial support to SB 01.
“These new recommendations comply with the board’s previously determined principles of shared responsibility among members, retirees and employers, intergenerational equity, long-term sustainability, preservation of the defined benefit plan, and maintaining the same benefit structure for PERA’s different divisions,” PERA said on its Web site.
Rep. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, and Sen. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs, introduced an alternative PERA reform bill last week. The bill would change PERA from being a defined benefit plan, which promises a specified monthly benefit at retirement, to a defined contribution plan similar to a 401k. The bill would also raise the retirement age to around 65. No Democrats have currently thrown their support behind the bill.
One in nine teachers, police officers, state troopers, park rangers and other state employees rely on PERA for their retirement.

Distributed by Colorado Capitol Reporters

Stay ahead by signing up for State Bill E-News! >