It is nice to see that the weather is finally starting to warm up—just in time for the Rockies to play ball. I hope that you and your family have found some time recently to enjoy the sunshine. We’ve been working hard at the State capitol over the past few weeks. Below is an announcement of my upcoming townhall meeting and a discription of some of the legislation being discussed.

Join Me For a Town Hall on May, 4th at 6:30pm at Abbondanza Pizzeria in Longmont

Join me for an update on the Colorado legislature on Tuesday, May 4th. We'll start at 6:30pm at Abbondanza Pizzeria at 461 Main St., Longmont CO. I'll discuss our work during these last few weeks of session and answer any questions you have about the legislative process. Hope to see you there!

Putting People Back to Work

The Senate passed an important bill that will help put people back to work.

86,000 Coloradans have lost their jobs since December 2008. While there are new jobs being created, they may not be in the same area where a worker has been previously trained. So unemployed workers can better meet current workforce demands, job training and increased access to higher education is critical.

Senate Bill 10-039 will revitalize Colorado’s workforce and give employees marketable skills by providing job retraining scholarships to people who have lost their jobs since 2008.  The scholarships can be used for certificates, junior colleges, vocational and technical programs, community colleges, apprenticeships, or four year programs.

SB 10-039 provides a unique opportunity for unemployed workers to focus on educational and personal advancement to gain the requisite skills for new and exciting careers, and it does so at no cost to taxpayers.

The bill now heads to the House.

Boost for Business

Colorado’s small businesses, manufacturing companies, and agricultural industries will get a $40 million boost, thanks to new lending programs announced by Governor Ritter and State Treasurer Cary Kennedy.

The additional investments will build on the success of the Colorado Credit Reserve Program, which we passed last year, that has provided 103 loans to small businesses across the state, saving or creating 700 jobs. The average loan amount is $28,000, with more than half of the funds going to women-owned or minority-owned businesses.

These new investments demonstrate our commitment to creating jobs and leading Colorado to economic recovery. As the Governor said, “We now have a continuum of lending programs, from small four- or five-figure loans all the way up to $10 million loans. While we aren’t out of the recessionary woods just yet, we are definitely seeing signs of recovery. Our strategies are working, and these new programs will help even more.”

Helping Students Move Up

Good news for college students. On the 19th, I passed a bill that creates higher education statewide transfer agreements. HB10-1208 will help higher education students transition from two-year to four-year programs by establishing general education transfer agreements among all Colorado colleges and universities. In other words, a student can attend a community college for his or her first two years, then transfer those credits to a four-year institution. This will significantly reduce the cost of a bachelor's degree for students across Colorado.

With the passage of this bipartisan bill, we are making higher education accessible to more Coloradans, empowering those who may think a four-year degree is out of their reach, and providing students with the tools they need to obtain a degree.

I hope you're doing well and I'd love to see you at my town hall on Tuesday.

Sincerely,

Brandon

P.S. To follow me on Twitter, click here.  To friend me on Facebook, click here.