Issues
Resolving Colorado's Constitution Mess
In order for your elected representatives at every level of government in Colorado to do the job you elect us to do, our state consititution needs substantial reform.
As your State Representative, I am determined to provide the leadership needed to reconcile the conflicting requirements that the Gallagher Amendment, the Arveschoug-Bird statute, the TABOR Amendment, and Amendment 23 create in our constitution.
We took the first step in dealing with the gridlock in Colorado's Constitution with the passage of SB 228. It was introduced by Senator John Morse in the Senate and Rep. Don Marostica and I were the Prime Co-sponsors in the House. By removing the artificial formula that restricted the growth of the General Fund to 6% over the previous year, we are in a better position to recover from the recession. We were also able to establish a "rainy day fund" as part of our bill so that in the future we will have a healthier savings account to draw from when we have the inevitable economic downturns. It is was the right thing to do and I will absolutely continue to work on this mess until our state's fiscal house is better designed to meet the needs of Colorado's citizens.
Improving the Citizen Petition Process
This is an issue I campaigned on. I said I would pursue strategies to protect the citizen's right to petition, while simultaneously encouraging statutory rather than constitutional ballot proposals. We must insure that citizens understand the ballot and the consequences of their votes. Speaker Terrance Carroll and I were the Prime Co-sponsors of HB 1326 that will improve the initiative process. My major contribution to our bill was to change the language on future ballots. As a result, we will now clearly label issues as "amendments" or as statutory changes called "propositions." Our democracy only works when our citizens understand what they are voting on and what the consequences of those votes will be.
Health Care
Our healthcare system is broken at every level. Nearly 1.1 million Coloradans spend more than 10% of their income on health care. Nearly 800,000 people in our state have no health insurance at all. We need a universal, single-payer healthcare system. Frankly, we already have it - it's called the emergency room. It's the least efficient and most expensive way to provide healthcare. Once the debate is completed on the federally proposed health care package, it will be up to the Colorado State Legislature to insure that all Coloradans receive quality health care that is affordable and accessible to all. I hope you find the listed links below of help.
Public Safety
It was an honor to work with Rep. John Soper as the Prime Co-Sponsor of HB 1091. Many recall sadly the stark news regarding a family of four living in our district, the Lofgrens, who all died while on vacation in Aspen from carbon monoxide. Then, another tragedy - Laura Johnson, a DU student died in her apartment also from carbon monoxide. Passage of HB 1091 (The Lofgren and Johnson Families Carbon Monoxide Act) hopefully will protect Colorado from further deaths due to carbon monoxide with the installation of monoxide monitors in our homes.
