By Gene Davis, DENVER DAILY NEWS

Despite several polls having third party candidate Tom Tancredo within striking distance of Democrat John Hickenlooper in the gubernatorial race, the Hickenlooper campaign says they are keeping their promise to not run negative ads through Election Day.

However, a third party Democrat group over the weekend started running ads slamming Tancredo for supporting Referendum A in 2003, which would have bonded out $2 billion for water projects. And a Denver Post/9News poll released yesterday shows Hickenlooper with a 10-percent lead.

Hickenlooper vowed against going negative in his first gubernatorial campaign ad, and has so far made good on that promise. However, his commanding lead over Tancredo, who is splitting the conservative vote with Republican candidate Dan Maes, has dwindled to within four points, according to the latest Rasmussen poll. Meanwhile, Tancredo has attacked Hickenlooper at every step, most notably in a TV spot that in part blamed Hickenlooper’s “sanctuary city” policies for helping allow an illegal immigrant to crash into an ice cream store and kill a child.

Political pundit and Denver Daily News columnist Aaron Harber isn’t surprised that a third party group has started running a negative ad against Tancredo since the former Republican congressman now has a fighting chance against Hickenlooper.

“Hickenlooper will avoid breaking his promise by letting other people take care of those issues,” he said. “The dirty work will be taken care of by a third party.”

Meanwhile, Hickenlooper campaign spokesman George Merritt said the campaign is still refusing to go negative.

“John said from the beginning he would campaign on finding solutions to create jobs and turn our economy around, and nothing has changed that,” he said.

Regardless, Harber doesn’t think attack ads would play a significant role come Election Day. Even if Hickenlooper broke his promise to not go negative, the overwhelming majority of people have already made up their mind on who they will vote for, according to Harber. Early voting started last Monday.

“People are sick of the political advertising, I think people are no longer paying attention to the ads,” Harber said. “And I think the credibility for ads is so low, that when you hear something outrageous, even if it’s true, you assume it’s fabricated.”

Despite his surge in the polls, Harber doesn’t believe Tancredo will be able to beat Hickenlooper on Election Day because enough conservatives will automatically vote Republican to spoil his victory.

Tancredo, a former GOP congressman, joined the American Constitution Party after the primaries because he didn’t believe Maes had a chance to win the election.

However, Harber said Tancredo has pulled off an incredible accomplishment by getting within striking distance of Hickenlooper.

“I don’t think there were many people who thought Tancredo would be doing as well as he is now doing,” he said.  “I see Tancredo doing better every day that passes, but there aren’t enough days left.”

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By Peter Marcus, DENVER DAILY NEWS

Gov. Bill Ritter on Friday announced a $262 million budget-balancing plan that largely relies on one-time fund transfers.

Ritter’s proposal comes following a September revenue forecast that predicted the $262 million shortfall for the current fiscal year. The forecast also predicted a shortfall of as much as $1.1 billion for Fiscal Year 2011-2012, meaning more cuts are likely.

Republicans have maintained that the Democrat governor is not cutting enough from the budget, but Ritter points out that the Democrat-controlled Legislature has cut more than $4.3 billion from the budget over the past three fiscal years, including a $260 million cut to public schools in the current fiscal year.

The budget plan announced on Friday calls for reducing the state’s funding for K-12 education by $156.3 million. Schools, however, will receive federal funds to assist, including funding for hiring teachers and staff.

Ritter on Friday defended his actions balancing the budget as governor.

“Over the past two years, we have made tough, unpopular and unenviable decisions in order to keep our budget balanced,” Ritter said in a statement. “We have preserved essential services, protected the safety net and minimized pain. We have done more with less and made state government more efficient than ever.”

Ritter’s plan comes as the Department of Labor and Employment announced on Friday that Colorado’s unemployment rate increased to 8.2 percent in September from the August rate of 8.1 percent. Colorado is in the top five for job loss over the past 12 months, according to the report. Compared to last year, Colorado’s unemployment rate jumped from 7 percent to just over 8 percent.

Republicans used the opportunity to bash Democrats. Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier, the Republican candidate for the 7th Congressional District, blamed a Democrat agenda for the increasing unemployment rate.

“The people of the 7th Congressional District deserve a representative who will rein in out-of-control spending, and put Coloradans back to work,” Frazier said in a statement, who is challenging Democrat opponent Congressman Ed Perlmutter, D-Lakewood. “The question is simple — are Coloradans better off now than they were four years ago?”

Ritter’s budget-balancing plan also calls for:

» Transferring $55 million from the Local Government Severance Tax Fund, which provides grants to communities impacted by energy development, to the General Fund;

» Transferring $10 million from the perpetual base account of the Severance Tax Trust Fund, which will decrease the amount of funding available for loans to water users in the current fiscal year, with $21 million still being available for loans;

» Delaying by one month managed-care payments to Medicaid providers at the end of the current fiscal year for a General Fund savings of $15.2 million;

» Delaying Medicaid fee-for-service payments for a savings of $55.1 million; and

» Transferring $2.5 million from the Colorado Travel and Tourism Promotion Fund to the General Fund.

The budget proposal includes an additional $35 million cushion that allows the state to maintain a 2.5 percent reserve that carries into the next fiscal year.

“We have taken a very strategic, very targeted and very fair shared-sacrifice/shared-solution approach,” Ritter said in his statement. “And because this strategy is working, you will see the same principles in today’s plan and in the Fiscal Year 2011-2012 budget I will submit to the Legislature next month.”

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By Todd Engdahl, EDUCATION NEWS COLORADO

Gov. Bill Ritter is proposing to cut current state support of schools by $156.3 million, money he said would be replaced by the $159 million in federal Edujobs funding recently awarded to the state.

The governor announced his latest budget balancing plans to reporters Friday afternoon. He’s trying to cover a $262 million shortfall indicated by revenue forecasts last month and also wants to transfer money from a couple of severance tax funds (including one intended to fund higher ed construction projects) to the general fund and delay some Medicaid payments.

He didn’t propose any higher education cuts, but his plan involves swapping various state and federal funds between K-12 and higher education. (See chart below, and click on the chart to expand it.) The net effect, according to his budget office, is no reduction for either.

The plan also includes $35 million in cost savings that will be used to maintain the state reserve at 2.5 percent.

Administration officials had quietly warned school districts not to use Edujobs cash to hire new staff or rehire people who’d been let go because of earlier state budget cuts. (See this story for details and background on that program.) However, federal rules don’t allow the state to dictate specific uses of the money to school districts, although those rules do require district use the money for personnel costs.

The governor said taking state funds from K-12 won’t violate federal rules about “maintenance of effort” in supporting education. “It’s absolutely in our ability to do that.”

Ritter wouldn’t show his hand when asked about his proposed levels of K-12 and higher ed spending for 2011-12, due to the legislative Joint Budget Committee in a little more than a week. He did say, “Higher education funding will be cut again in 2011-12 in our budget.” He also said the latest K-12 reduction won’t necessarily reduce the base he will propose for next year.

He acknowledged there will be “A significant shortfall, in the hundreds of millions,” and that whoever is elected governor is “going to have to look at cuts.”

The governor took some subtle shots at critics (Republicans) of his budget balancing efforts. “We hear a lot of rhetoric, especially these days,” Ritter said, calling such criticism “completely disingenuous.”

Every time Ritter announces a budget-balancing plan, Republican legislators ritualistically criticize it for not cutting enough, relying too heavily on transfers from various state cash funds and/or for depending on federal stimulus money. Republicans also have criticized the 2010 legislature’s decision to raise revenue by ending some tax exemptions.

Ritter was not at all defensive Friday, saying GOP tactics would have resulted in even higher cuts to education and that use of stimulus money was vital.

Noting that the state’s received $300 million from Washington this year in Edujobs funds and higher-than-standard Medicaid reimbursements, Ritter said, “If we didn’t have that money in 2010-11 those cuts would have come from K-12.” The governor’s budget office estimates that would have meant a loss of 5,000 teaching jobs and additional higher ed cuts totaling $89 million.

Overall, the state has received $1.66 billion in stimulus funds over the last three years for use in the state budget, not counting earmarked money for things such as highway construction.

Ritter did inject a bit of optimism into his meeting with reporters, saying, “The economy is stabilizing and recovering” and that “Colorado remains in better shape than many other states. … I don’t think it’s going to get worse [beyond next year] because the economy is recovering.”

State law requires the governor to propose budget balancing measures if certain levels of revenue decline are forecast. Some of the measures, though, will require legislative approval next year.

Ritter and the legislature have had to cover $4.5 billion in shortfalls over the last three budget years, including the current 2010-11 year. That’s been done through cuts, some revenue increases, federal aid, shifts from cash funds and other tactics.

Do your homework

• Details of plan in letter to JBC
• Slides describing the plan
• Archive of Education News Colorado stories about budget issues

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Gov. Bill Ritter’s latest budget re-balancing plan, not unlike some of his previous actions, relies heavily on one-time money shuffles and federal stimulus funds, The Denver Post reports.

The plan announced today would bridge what Ritter’s office estimates as a $262 million shortfall in the state’s general fund for the current 2010-11 budget year that ends in June of next year. Colorado’s total general fund is now less than $6.9 billion.

A full press release follows, as do the documents Ritter released today.

GOV. RITTER ANNOUNCES NEW BUDGET-BALANCING PLAN

Gov. Bill Ritter today announced a new plan to re-balance the state’s Fiscal Year 2010-11 budget, closing a $262 million shortfall and keeping state spending in line with revenues. Since 2008, Gov. Ritter and lawmakers have cut spending and closed shortfalls of nearly $4.5 billion because of the recession.

“Over the past two years, we have made tough, unpopular and unenviable decisions in order to keep our budget balanced,” Gov. Ritter said. “We have preserved essential services, protected the safety net and minimized pain. We have done more with less and made state government more efficient than ever.

“We have taken a very strategic, very targeted and very fair shared-sacrifice/shared-solution approach. And because this strategy is working, you will see the same principles in today’s plan and in the Fiscal Year 2011-12 budget I will submit to the Legislature next month.”

Today’s balancing plan also includes an additional $35 million in cost savings that allows the state to maintain a 2.5 percent reserve and carry those savings into the next fiscal year.

Key elements of the balancing plan:

· Reducing the state share of funding for K-12 education by a net $156.3 million. However, schools will receive funds from the federal Education Jobs Act to hire teachers and staff and avoid increased class sizes and teacher layoffs.

· Transferring $55 million from the Local Government Severance Tax Fund, which provides grants to communities impacted by energy development, to the General Fund.

· Transferring $10 million from the perpetual base account of the Severance Tax Trust Fund, which will decrease the amount of funding available for loans to water users in FY 2010-11, with $21 million still being available for loans.

· Delaying by one month managed-care payments to Medicaid providers at the end of FY10-11 for a General Fund savings of $15.2 million.

· Delaying Medicaid fee-for-service payments for a savings of $55.1 million.

· Transferring $2.5 million from the Colorado Travel and Tourism Promotion Fund to the General Fund. This will not impact the anticipated funding level of $14.4 million for travel and tourism in the current fiscal year.

“While we face more difficult and painful choices ahead, Colorado remains in better shape than many other states,” Gov. Ritter said. “Last week, Forbes – for the second year in a row – named Colorado the fourth best state for businesses and for encouraging economic growth.

“Our economy is better today than it was a year ago, certainly than it was two years ago. And we continue to position Colorado for a strong, sustainable and healthy recovery.”

# # #

FY 10-11 Balancing Plan, 10-22-10 Final

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Video: Education News Colorado

EDUCATION NEWS COLORADO

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday he believes the release of teacher ratings data is probably inevitable within the next few days.

Update: But on Friday morning, the New York State Supreme Court set a hearing on a union lawsuit for Nov. 24. The school district agreed to delay release of the data until at least that date.

Similar data in Los Angeles ignited a major national controversy when the Los Angeles Times made it public last month. Several New York media outlets have filed Freedom of Information Act requests for the data.

The United Federation of Teachers, New York’s largest teachers’ union, has gone to court to try to stop the release, but Bloomberg said he does not believe they will prevail.

Whether the city or the union favors the data release, Bloomberg said, the courts seem almost certain to order its release.

Watch a video of his remarks at the top of this story.

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FACE THE STATE

The open-government advocates at the Sunlight Foundation used their database of political fundraiser fliers to make some interesting connections today between inner-beltway donors and the downpour of outside spending cash now flowing into Colorado’s hotly contested congressional races.

One flier shows that Rep. Betsy Markey, a Democrat, was scheduled to raise money at a reception in D.C. hosted by multiple labor organizations. It turns out that one of those unions, the SEIU, “has reported spending nearly $195,000 on independent expenditures in her campaign,” against challenger Cory Gardner, notes Sunlight reporter Nancy Watzman.

Republican Ken Buck’s campaign for the U.S. Senate also has been reaping the benefit of money likely channeled to GOP outside spending “titan” American Crossroads via Karl Rove, according to the Sunlight report:

Fred Malek, a founder of American Action Network, another new group active in outside spending this election, who is reportedly coordinating with Rove, has been listed as a host for several fundraising events in the Party Time database, including this one in September benefiting Colorado Senate candidate Ken Buck. American Crossroads has spent heavily in the Colorado Senate race both supporting Buck and hitting his opponent, Sen. Michael Bennet.

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By Greg Campbell, FACE THE STATE

Anyone hoping that the discovery of a clerical error imposing too-high tailpipe emissions-standards on Weld and Larimer county commuters would end up scrapping or delaying the controversial program will be disappointed after today’s Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) hearing.

Instead, the state panel used its emergency rule-making process to fix incorrect levels of emissions that several commissioners characterized as “typos” and “clerical errors.” Left unfixed, those typos would have cost some motorists big bucks in unneeded repairs because their cars would have failed tests that they should have been able to pass. The mistakes were noticed just last week, only days before the program’s scheduled start Nov. 1.

Although this evening’s emergency measure eased the allowable emissions levels in six different categories—meaning that an estimated 740 automobiles that would have needlessly failed the test will now pass—some Northern Colorado leaders remain unhappy with the outcome.

“They had another option today,” said Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway, the only elected official who could clear his calendar to attend the hearing, which was added to the AQCC’s regular monthly agenda less than a week ago. “They could have recognized what their own staff has been telling elected officials for four months now, that this program is not ready to go on Nov. 1, and this is evidence of that.”

Conway and others call the program an unnecessary financial burden on the region’s motorists that they say won’t significantly reduce ground-level ozone. They’d hoped the error would prompt the commission to delay the program’s start, which would have bought opponents time to lobby the legislature to pull the plug on it once and for all.

But commissioners made it clear at today’s hearing that delay wasn’t an option.

“That’s not up for discussion,” said commissioner Robert Arnott.

And yet the only way to fix the error wasn’t exactly palatable either. The only solution was to declare that the higher-than-intended standards constituted an “emergency” that would allow the commission to make the fixes without lengthy public notice periods and public input.

The AQCC members were quick to grasp the irony that the need to strike robust pollution standards in favor of less stringent measures constituted a public welfare emergency. After much debate, they decided unanimously that doing so was better than doing nothing, if only for the benefit of those whose vehicles would fail the emissions test and incur unnecessary repair charges because of it.

“I would say that for those 740 (vehicle owners) that would fail unnecessarily, it’s an emergency,” said commissioner Jon Slutsky.

Conway said he was disappointed in the outcome, particularly since several public bodies wrote letters asking the commission to delay the program rather than use the emergency rule-making process.

“This was more about public relations today than public health,” he said. “I at least thought the embarrassment of using this emergency statute to ramrod through this thing would hold them back.

“Their job is air quality and public health,” Conway continued. “This is the first time that … an emergency rule-making hearing has been used to lower air quality standards. That’s what they just did in there.”

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By Todd Engdahl, EDUCATION NEWS COLORADO

The experts have done their work; now it’s up to Colorado’s two education boards to figure out what the replacement for CSAPs should look like.

Members of the State Board of Education and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education met together Thursday to be briefed on the recommendations of a panel of experts that has been developing a plan to replace the CSAP system.

The 2008 Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids called for adoption of new state content standards and selection of a new state testing system. The standards have been developed and adopted, and the two boards were supposed to adopt a new testing system by Dec. 15.

But, the 2010 legislature, wrestling with budget cuts and fretful about the possible price tag for new tests, delayed adoption of a CSAP replacement “until fiscally practicable.”

The Colorado Department of Education now estimates that a full set of new annual tests won’t be administered until 2014 at the earliest.

Still, the two boards now are set to move ahead and agree on the “attributes” of a new testing system, descriptions that eventually will be expanded into the specifications that potential test vendors will have to meet.

Jo O’Brien, CDE assistant commissioner, and Cheryl Lovell, chief academic officer of the Department of Higher Education, briefed the two boards on the work of the Assessment Stakeholders Advisory Committee.

O’Brien said the key concepts endorsed by the group are that new tests should demonstrate students’ readiness for college or work (“postsecondary and workforce readiness” in CAP4K jargon), be easy to use, be meaningful to students and return timely results.

Lovell said what’s envisioned is not just an annual test but also “a body of evidence that will be gathered” over many years about student readiness for college or work after high school graduation.

The group envisioned a multi-tiered system of assessments and other features, including:

• Formative assessments in every grade throughout the year so teachers and students can determine if students are making appropriate progress.
• Somewhat more formal interim assessments, perhaps quarterly, in every grade.
• An annual test in grades 3-11, replacing the CSAP, which tests reading, writing, math and science. “This is the one for the record, and it counts,” O’Brien said.
• Somewhat less formal assessments of students in preschool through 2nd grade.
• A college admissions test in the 11th grade.
• Universal use of individual career and academic plans starting in 8th grade.
• An online “dashboard” of some sort that would allow parents and students to track progress toward postsecondary and workforce readiness through their school careers.

The use of online tests was discussed repeatedly during the stakeholder review, but that subject was touched on only briefly at Thursday’s meeting.

Formative and interim testing is common in most schools now – think “quizzes” – but what’s envisioned is a more formal and standardized system that theoretically will make it easier for teachers to recognize and help students who are falling behind. “The idea is to make things of a higher quality and systematic,” O’Brien said.

Similarly, ICAPs are used in many Colorado schools, and all Colorado 11th graders currently take the ACT test.

Members of the two boards had plenty of questions, ranging from cost to practicality.

SBE member Elaine Gantz Berman, D-1st District, wondered which elements of a new testing system that state can mandate for school districts, given Colorado’s local control structure.

CCHE Chair Jim Polsfut questioned how hard it will be to implement the new system’s philosophy of having students demonstrate knowledge, not just choose correct answers on multiple-choice tests. “Can we do this?”

Education Commissioner Dwight Jones noted that the boards will have to consider practical issues – like cost – as they do their work. “I’m not sure we have the resources to actually build that [full] system.”

One issue that wasn’t discussed Thursday was the possibility that Colorado may choose one of the multi-state tests now being developed by two national groups rather than hire a testing company to build Colorado-only assessments. Participating in a multi-state system is seen as a way to reduce the cost of replacing the CSAPs.

The board and the commission meet next on Nov. 29 to discuss the issues further.

Choosing a new testing system is only one task assigned by the landmark CAP4K law. Formal descriptions of both school readiness and postsecondary and workforce readiness already have been adopted, as have the content standards. But still to be done are creation of a system of “endorsed” high school diplomas that reflect different levels of student readiness, alignment of state college admissions requirements to the new K-12 system and overall of teacher training programs.

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By Peter Marcus, DENVER DAILY NEWS

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Buck yesterday found himself once again defending controversial comments after supporting an Oklahoma conservative lawmaker’s belief that global warming is nothing but a “hoax.”

Buck’s comment came Wednesday before attending a fundraiser with Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., in Loveland. Inhofe has repeatedly suggested a possible agenda behind “hoax” global warming science to push climate change legislation that would mandate a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Buck agreed with Inhofe.

“Sen. Inhofe was the first person to stand up and say this global warming is the greatest hoax that has been perpetrated,” Buck said according to several reports. “The evidence just keeps supporting his view, and more and more people’s view, of what’s going on.”

Responding to an inquiry by the Denver Daily News yesterday, a spokesman for the Buck campaign turned the discussion to “job-killing greenhouse gas regulations through the EPA.”

Owen Loftus, Buck’s campaign spokesman, is referring to controversial federal legislation back in June that would have prevented the Environmental Protection Agency from imposing carbon dioxide-reduction controls. Buck’s opponent, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., joined Democrats in defeating the bill offered by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

Concerns were raised at the time that allowing the EPA next year to impose carbon dioxide-reduction controls on large factories and electric power companies could cost jobs and hurt the energy industry.

“This approach, even more extreme than cap-and-trade legislation that died in the Senate, would mean (President) Obama’s EPA would be regulating sources in Colorado including schools, nursing homes, and churches, to name a few,” Loftus said in a statement.

“The Obama EPA regulations would put Coloradans out of work and drive up energy costs on consumers at a time that we can least afford it,” continued Loftus. “When Senator Bennet had the chance to stand up with a number of moderate Senate Democrats to stop the Obama EPA, he stood proudly with President Obama and the liberals in Washington and voted in favor of letting the EPA move forward as early as January 2011.”

Bennet’s campaign yesterday also dished out the attacks, arguing that Buck’s support that global warming is nothing but a “hoax” goes against the sentiment of the majority of scientists, and would “wreak havoc on Colorado’s economy.”

“Ken Buck’s extreme stance on climate change is a threat to Colorado’s economy and could prove cataclysmic for our national security,” said Trevor Kincaid, a Bennet campaign spokesman.

A 2008 report by the National Conference of State Legislatures stated that Colorado could be affected by more than $1 billion in losses due to impacts on tourism, forestry, water resources and human health as a result of climate change, the Bennet campaign points out.

Buck isn’t the only candidate in Colorado to have received flak this election cycle for comments related to global warming. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, a Democrat who is running for governor, told an audience at the National Western Mining Conference & Exhibition back in February that he does not believe the “final verdict” is in on climate change, arguing that perhaps global warming is not as “catastrophic” as some may believe.

The mayor received criticism for his comments by environmentalists, and even from within his own administration.

Bennet’s campaign yesterday also forwarded several news stories linking Buck’s global warming comment to another controversial comment he made on Sunday during an appearance on “Meet the Press.” Buck called homosexuality “a lifestyle choice,” and compared it to alcoholism.

Buck, the Weld County District Attorney, was also forced to defend himself recently over reports that he chose not to prosecute a rape case because he thought the jury might reject the victim’s claim as “buyer’s remorse.”

The Bennet campaign yesterday also pointed out that Buck, as early as last month, had not made his mind up on the Murkowski amendment. At a Progressive 15 debate in Loveland on Sept. 17, when asked about his opinion on the EPA moving forward with regulating greenhouse gasses, and whether he would support a two-year moratorium on the EPA regulating greenhouse gasses, Buck responded, “Well, I don’t know where they are in the process right now. So, I’d have to, but yes I think what we need to do is we need to examine the underlying science before we draw any conclusions on whether those, those particular regulations are appropriate.”

“Ken Buck’s extreme positions — when he can figure out what they are — are rooted in politics, not science,” said Michael Amodeo, a Bennet campaign spokesman. “He supports extreme policies that would gut the Clean Air Act, cost us millions of jobs and only increase our reliance on oil from the Persian Gulf.”

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By Peter Marcus, DENVER DAILY NEWS

Opponents of a ballot initiative that would exempt Colorado from major portions of federal health care reform shared several stories yesterday of Coloradans who say the initiative would “limit Colorado’s ability to determine its own future on reforming health care.”

Colorado Deserves Better, the campaign opposing Amendment 63, released the five stories yesterday, including narratives from patients and industry insiders.

The campaign is opposing the initiative by Jon Caldara, president of the Golden-based libertarian Independence Institute. The ballot question asks Colorado voters to exempt the state from health reform that would require businesses and individuals to carry health insurance or pay a penalty.

One story highlights the struggle of the Wilkes family, an Englewood family whose son, Thomas Wilkes, was born in 2003 with hemophilia. President Obama had highlighted the family during his push for health reform as being an example of why health reform is necessary to address issues with lifetime benefit limits.

The Wilkes’ health care plan came with a lifetime cap of $6 million. With Thomas requiring more treatments, it is likely that they will exceed $6 million in costs.

The family believes Amendment 63 will reverse the affects of health reform that prohibits insurance companies from imposing lifetime benefit limits, and lock Thomas into the “high-cost health insurance that is crippling their family.”

“Amendment 63 has nothing to do with good health care,” said Nathan Wilkes, Thomas’ father. “It just locks us into the same ridiculous financing model that resulted in today’s high premiums and poor coverage. If Amendment 63 passes, we wouldn’t be able to afford the higher premiums. Even worse, the state would have little room to make the improvements we actually need.”

Proponents argue that Coloradans should have a choice when it comes to health reform. They say their initiative would only “prohibit the state from forcing you to buy a politician-approved health plan and protect your right to pay for medical care with your own money, rather than depending on a legal health plan.”

But Dr. Brent Keeler, president-elect of the Colorado Medical Society, said in a statement yesterday that Amendment 63 might “interfere with the state’s ability to regulate the practice of medicine.”

“I am an OB/GYN, and I practice in Aurora. I see patients from all different socio-economic levels — one patient drives a Mercedes, another takes the bus,” said Keeler. “I have people in my practice for whom we are going to have to work out a payment plan. Amendment 63 injects complications into any financial arrangement I might make with a patient and would hurt my patients’ ability to afford health care.”

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