You know, it’s funny. People keep asking me if I’m ready for things to get crazy when the 2017 Legislative Session begins on Wednesday, but the truth is things have been crazy since the day after Election Day. And I love it.

Every day, I get to wake up and work on solving public policy problems. Whether I’m digging into research based on my own ideas and concerns or meeting with constituents and advocates to learn about theirs, it is truly a privilege to be in this position.

Colorado is facing some pretty significant challenges right now. While the economy is growing, there are still too many folks struggling to keep up with the cost of living. Among our top priorities will be working to address the costs of housing, health care, child care, and more.

At the same time, Colorado is in a very unique situation because of Constitutional constraints on our budget. As many of you know, Colorado is the only state in the U.S. in which the legislature doesn’t have the authority to raise taxes. Furthermore, our budget is restricted by a growth cap that doesn’t keep pace with the needs of our growing state. So, even as we grow our economy, we’re unable to adequately fund our public schools, transportation infrastructure, and other priorities. Furthermore, the rapid growth of home values has put the Gallagher amendment into effect for the first time since 2003. Essentially, this means we’re forced to reduce residential property taxes in a way that will cut education funding by $178M at a time when the state is already far short of it’s obligation to K-12.

While we will certainly be searching for legislative solutions to many of these problems, some of them can only be addressed by amending the Constitution, which is now much more difficult because of the passage of Amendment 71. In the short term, that means Colorado will be making budget cuts.

It is indeed frustrating that despite our growing economy we’re unable to increase our investment in many critical priorities, but it is also an honor to be in a position to fix the things we can and fight for long-term change. That’s exactly what I’ll be doing every day as your State Representative.

Stay tuned for more updates soon on the bills I’m sponsoring and the work we’re doing in committee.