In other news, we’ve had another busy couple weeks at the capitol. The days and weeks go by so fast here that I can barely remember everything that has happened.

My Bills
My first bill has completed its journey through the legislative process. HB 1017 clarifies the responsibilities of county surveyors and the vacancy appointment process. It passed unanimously in both the House and Senate, and after the House concurred with one minor Senate amendment, the bill is on its way to Governor Hickenlooper’s desk to be signed into law!

Last Wednesday, I convened a stakeholder group to discuss my idea of streamlining inspections of affordable housing projects. I had previously introduced a bill, HB 1170, to address this issue, but I also knew this was a complicated enough issue that my bill might not necessarily be the right solution; legislation is not always the answer. In this case, we might be able to make more progress simply by keeping these stakeholders sitting at the same table and working things out. I may or may not move forward with my bill at this point, but I feel good about the conversation we’ve started.

I also want to plug a bill I’ll be introducing soon on hospital transparency. Did you know that hospital care accounts for 37% of the total cost of our health care, and yet we don’t have great data about how this money is being spent within the hospital system? My bill – which already has significant bipartisan support – will require hospitals to report more data to the state so we can compile detailed hospital expenditure reports and identify more of the drivers of our increasing health care premiums.

What else?
So much. Just yesterday, my Finance Committee passed a bill extending the childcare tax credit and another to refer a measure to voters to re-calibrate the TABOR growth cap. The Education Committee passed a bill to address a long-standing concern with 9th grade testing. Negotiations continue on a referred measure to raise revenue for transportation. We’ve also been busy defeating bad bills, like this one introduced for solely political purposes.

I could go on, but I think I’ll leave it there. If you want to talk more, email me or call my office at 303-866-2951 or come to my meet-and-greet or office hours!