ASSET, SMART Government, State Fair woes, and another “trip” to the Governor’s Mansion…

Hot Issues:

LEGISLATION is the hottest issue and my first Bill for the 2012 legislative session has been introduced. It will be in the heard in the Senate Education Committee on Thursday afternoon!  I’m thrilled that my first bill is a revenue generator for institutions of higher education. The Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow (ASSET) bill creates a third category of tuition called standard-rate tuition. For students to be eligible for this rate a student will have to attend three or more years of high school in Colorado and graduate or obtain a GED. The students will have to apply to and be accepted at a CO institution of higher ed. ASSET students will not be eligible for any state or federal financial aid. This means that no CO taxpayer dollars will go toward this program. Instead, the colleges and universities in our state will see increased revenue from additional students attending our schools. Generating revenue for higher education is critical in a time when many of our colleges and universities have had to raise tuition costs. We can talk together more about this bill and others in upcoming Community Coffees and Town Halls. As I talk to people about Colorado ASSET SB15, I’m still telling them that it has always been the right thing to do and now, it is the economically smart thing to do!

In our COMMITTEE MEETINGS this week, we spent a great amount of dealing with the outcomes of a bill passed in 2010 – the State Measurements for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Bill. It began to be implemented in 2011 and it changes the way that our state government creates our budgets. State Departments are providing their strategic plan for implementation and the info we gather will impact how we operate in the future. We are aiming to make it easier for the average person to understand where our money comes from and what programs it provides. On our end, we as legislators can better evaluate how taxpayer dollars are spent. The provisions of the SMART Government Bill are being put to work and I’m excited that we now have a process to ensure that government can be more responsive by tying actual performance to funding. It also ensures that government is more transparent by requiring annual reports on each department’s progress be made available and written in plain language. It’s an exciting time to be a part of state government and it all translates to greater efficiency and better service for all residents of this great state.

THE STATE FAIR has been another hot issue and in a whole week of 7am meetings, it’s good to have one that involves meeting with folks from Pueblo. The Colorado State Fair staff and board members came and presented to the State Audit Committee last Wednesday. Chris Wiseman, General Manager, shared a 2011 study by the Incentis Group. The annual operation of the State Fair brings $34,000,000 to our state. This 34 million dollars is equivalent to 374 fulltime jobs! According to the study, the Fair’s 11-day fiscal impact is $4,535,091 with $1,697,048 to our state economy, $1,904,000 to our municipal economy, and $934,034 to the county of Pueblo. Like many of you, I have an appreciation for the tremendous value the Fair adds to our community and the state. There were 10,306 entries at this years’ Fair with 4-H and FFA (Future Farmers of America) from around the state. What a showcase of our rich rural and agricultural culture!  An average of 500,000 people visit the Fair each year with Fiesta Day being one of the most well-attended days. You can be sure there were many concerns about how to address the Fair’s deficit and a more aggressive solicitation of donations and corporate sponsors are among the strategies the Fair will pursue to fill the budgetary hole. Prices for admission and ride tickets rose last year and there are no plans to hike them again this year.

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Last year, you may remember my blog post where I talked about my first time to visit the Governor’s Mansion. If you read it, you’ll remember that it was a disaster – a bunch of staff and legislators were invited to the mansion for corned beef and cabbage and I had a bad case of the clumsies and spilled my whole glass of soda on my green dress then caused someone to drop her full plate of food on the floor. I said then that I shouldn’t have been allowed to return and I should have heeded my own advice. Walking in to the Governor’s legislative reception on Thursday, I slipped at the outside entrance and fell to the ground. Boom! Luckily, I was not injured and was able to pick myself up and carry on with the evening. My only regret: Why didn’t I pull down one (or all) of the Republican legislators who were walking in with me? I can promise you, Pueblo, in all other things I am making a MUCH better impression!

Save the DATES: DON’T FORGET – we have a Community Coffee coming up on Saturday, February 4, at the CPC/CO WINS office (304 S. Union Ave.) in Pueblo at 10am. A Town Hall will be held on Saturday, February 18, at the Public Library (100 E. Abriendo) at 10am. Please plan to attend!