I know the switch to Daylight Savings Time brings with it many problems, but there’s something about the first sunset of the year that happens after 7:00pm that just fills my heart with joy.

Winter in Colorado can be quite beautiful, but this one has felt long and cold. And it’s not just a feeling. Average temperatures across some of the last few months have been 10 degrees Fahrenheit colder than last year. It’s no wonder that people are using more energy to heat their homes, and paying much higher utility bills.

We have just passed the halfway mark of the legislative session, and big things are happening under the Golden Dome. The Joint Budget Committee is hard at work crafting a budget that will continue our progress on increasing our investment in K-12 education through buying down the BS Factor as well as responding to the many challenges facing Colorado families. We have begun to debate and pass significant legislation to prevent gun violence by establishing a three-day waiting period, raising the age to purchase a firearm to 21, expanding the use of our Red Flag law, and addressing our bizarre gun manufacturer liability laws. And on Thursday, we introduced a package of three bills designed to ensure women and pregnant people in Colorado continue to have safe access to abortion care.

Here’s a bit more on some of the things I’ve been spending my time on.

Joint Select Committee on Rising Utility Rates

This winter, Coloradans have faced unprecedented utility bills that have strained their finances in an already tough time. That’s why we’ve established a special committee to dig deeper into what’s driving these costs. Because of my work in previous years to shore up funding for our bill-pay assistance and weatherization assistance programs, I was tapped to serve as Vice Chair of this committee.



It’s clear that the high costs are primarily being driven by our colder-than-average winter and the high prices utilities are paying to purchase natural gas on the commodity market. These gas costs are just passed through to customers without the utilities tacking on a profit margin, but at the same time, these utility companies are benefiting from record profits. So what’s the deal?

Most Coloradans buy their electricity and natural gas from utilities that operate as regulated monopolies. This concept emerged more than a century ago when it became clear that the heavy infrastructure investments required to provide utility service did not create opportunities for competition between multiple utility companies. So a deal was struck. One company would provide utility service, but they would face heavier regulation than the average business and be guaranteed a reasonable rate of return.

Last Tuesday, we heard very informative presentations from the Public Utilities Commission, the Utility Consumer Advocate, Energy Outreach Colorado, and the Colorado Energy Office. Tomorrow, we’ll be hearing from the utility companies themselves. Tune in here.

Making Health Care More Affordable

Two years ago, I sponsored a bill to establish a Prescription Drug Affordability Board in Colorado with the goal of setting an “upper payment limit,” or UPL, on some of the drugs that Colorado families are struggling most to afford. This year, I’m carrying a bill to update this law to expand the number of drugs for which a UPL can be set and make a number of adjustments to address issues that have arisen during the implementation of this innovative policy.

I have also been hard-at-work developing a bill to shore up Colorado’s system of Regional Health Connectors, which play a vital role in connecting health care providers with public health, social service providers, and community organizations to improve integration and coordination in our health care system.

I am also supporting bills to beef up two pieces of legislation I carried in 2019 around hospital cost transparency and hospital community benefit spending. And I’m supporting the work of my colleagues on numerous other bills to reduce cost and expand access in our health care system.

What else should I be focusing on right now? Reply to this email with your ideas or pop by my next town hall to discuss your concerns!

Chris

When Speaker Julie McCluskie addressed the House this morning, she asked all members entering their final term to stand and be recognized. There were only six of us, out of sixty five. 

So many of my colleagues who started this journey with me six years ago have moved on to the Senate, run for another office, or gone on to other pursuits. That means I’m one of the most senior members of the State House, which is strange to say the least. I feel like I just got here!

But then again, as I look back at all of the work we’ve done over this time, it’s amazing that we were able to do it all in only six years.

This experience has also given me a new perspective on the work. The same themes I talked about on my first campaign–cost of living, climate change, education funding, civil rights, and more–continue to resonate today. We’ve made tremendous progress in every category, but the amount of work that remains speaks to the ongoing challenge of governing. No problem is every 100% solved. Crises and other societal changes present new angles to existing challenges. A democracy requires constant maintenance.

The idealistic grad school student I was 15 years ago would perhaps be disappointed, but the reality is that we have indeed made big changes that have made people’s lives significantly better. And we have to keep making those changes, every year. As with so many aspects of life, in public service we must focus more on the journey than on the destination.

The journey that lies ahead this session is just starting to come into focus. Voters were crystal clear last November that they want leaders who roll up their sleeves and solve real problems, not ideological crusaders who are all noise and no substance. As such, they elected historically large Democratic majorities of 46-19 in the House and 23-12 in the Senate. 

I feel so honored that I will be serving as Speaker Pro Tempore of the House of Representatives for my final two years as we take on the work with which voters have entrusted us. In this position, I will be helping guide the legislature in the great work of governing for all of the people of our beautiful state.

We are going to build on our previous work to make housing, health care, and child care more affordable. We’re going to address the pressing air quality concerns that are negatively impacting the health of our residents and the depletion of the Colorado River and other river basins. We’re going to invest as heavily as we can in K-12 and higher education. We’re going to do everything we can to reduce the scourge of gun violence that takes too many lives in this country every single day. And we’re going to make sure that Colorado remains a state where women know they can access abortion care without government interference.

There’s much more to talk about, and I look forward to sharing more with you in future newsletters and town hall meetings. Until then, thank you again for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime in four consecutive elections. This work is the most meaningful I’ve ever done, and I’m going to give it everything I’ve got for another two years.

Yours,
Chris

P.S. You may have noticed I’ve started officially using my new last name, deGruy Kennedy (pronounced like “degree” Kennedy). Kyra and I got married over two years ago, but I only made this change official after the 2022 elections. Guess I didn’t want to order new yard signs…

Another legislative session has come to an end. I cannot believe I’ve been your State Representative for six years already, and that I only get to do this amazing job for two more years before term limits kick me out of office.

This session, we did some incredible work for the people of Colorado. We responded to the most pressing issues of the moment, including pandemic/economic recovery, cost of living, and public safety. But we also continued our progress on many other issues including improving our health care system, guaranteeing a high-quality public education for every kid, and protecting Colorado’s air, water, and land.

You can read all about our work including the session highlights on saving people money, housing and homelessness, student success, behavioral health, and wildfire mitigation, and the Colorado House Democrats’ 2022 end-of-session report.

For my part, I focused on several bills that I’m very excited about. Here are the things I’m most proud to have accomplished this session.

Transforming Primary Care (HB22-1325 & HB22-1302)
I truly believe that some of the most meaningful things we can do to reform our health care system are to (a) pay for value instead of volume, and (b) integrate behavioral health care into our primary care settings. I sponsored two bills that together will advance these alternative payment and care integration models and provide grants to help primary care practices make the transition. Read more in my recent op-ed in the Colorado Sun.

Reducing Emissions of Toxic Air Contaminants (HB22-1244)
Did you know that Colorado doesn’t have an air toxics program? Well, that’s going to change as soon as Governor Polis signs this bill. We have various regulations related to greenhouse gases, as well as ground-level ozone and the other EPA criteria pollutants, but there are numerous hazardous air pollutants that go largely unregulated. This bill funds six new monitoring stations across the state that will measure ambient levels of benzene, formaldehyde, ethylene oxide, and dozens of other air toxics. It also directs the Air Pollution Control Division to propose health-based standards for the highest priority toxics and establish emission control regulations that will require the biggest polluters to install new technologies to reduce their negative impacts on nearby communities.

Helping Seniors Afford Housing (HB22-1205)
Colorado seniors who have owned a home for 10+ years are eligible to receive the “senior homestead exemption” which gives them a break on their property taxes. But what about seniors who rent? Or those who have owned their home for fewer than ten years? This bill provides a one-time, refundable tax credit to these seniors to help them afford the high cost of housing.

Expanding Consumer Protections for Utility Customers (HB22-1018)
Sometimes it’s hard to pay the bills, but that doesn’t mean you should have your power or gas shut off without adequate warning. The bill builds on previous years’ efforts (SB20-030, HB21-1105) by setting more limited hours for disconnections, requiring same-day reconnections when bills are paid by a certain time, and requiring more robust communications from utilities before they shut off your power, including information about how to apply for payment assistance programs.

Helping People Make the Most of LEAP and SNAP Benefits (HB22-1380)
Some of our state databases don’t talk to each other, and that means that we’re not always able to connect people with all the support to which they may be entitled. This bill makes a number of improvements to the state’s benefits management systems, including integration of the systems that manage the low-income energy assistance program (LEAP) and the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP). This integration will ensure income-qualified individuals receive the maximum benefits from each program.

Requiring County Jails to Offer Meaningful Treatment for Substance Use Disorders (HB22-1326)
As part of a larger bill addressing the fentanyl crisis, I wrote an amendment that requires every county jail in Colorado to provide screenings for recent substance use and offer medical withdrawal management and appropriate medication-assisted treatment. The amendment also requires jails to make an appointment with a community treatment provider for a person prior to their release. This amendment builds on our work from 2020 (HB20-1017) which we had to water down due to opposition from county sheriffs.

Providing Better Information to Voters on Tax-Related Ballot Measures (SB22-222)
Last year, we passed a bill requiring ballot measure titles to include more information about impacts of tax increases and reductions on the programs those taxes fund (HB21-1321). This year, we added one more piece of information. For measures that increase or reduce the income tax rate, this measure will require the ballot to include a table showing how much taxes would increase or decrease based on eight income brackets. We believe there can be a lot of sticker shock with certain tax measures, but if voters see that they may only have to pay another $20 per year (whereas millionaires may pay a bit more), they’ll be able to make a more informed choice. This measure will only take effect if voters approve a ballot measure this November.

…

These bills were the things that took up most of my time and energy this session, but I also served on three committees and helped pass, amend, or defeat scores of bills on a wide range of topics. There’s so much more I could say about what all we did this year, but I’ll leave it here for today and let you read the links I’ve provided if you feel like digging deeper.

One more thing. Due to availability, we won’t be holding a town hall meeting in May, and then we’re taking our normal summer break from town hall meetings. Stay tuned for the next one in September!

Chris

In my nearly six years as a State Representative, I’ve spent more time and energy on healthcare reform than on any other topic. I’ve sponsored legislation to improve regulations of free-standing emergency rooms, require cost transparency from hospitals, implement a reinsurance program (which has saved consumers more than 20% on premiums in the individual market), and establish a board to set upper payment limits on prescription drugs. 

I’ve also proudly supported the work of my colleagues on preventing surprise out-of-network bills, capping the price of insulin, establishing a standardized health insurance option, and more.

Though these efforts have done much to save people money and improve health outcomes, they all treat symptoms rather than curing the disease, which is that our healthcare system incentivizes a higher volume of services rather than a higher value of care.

I’m not the first person to notice this problem. From 2015-2019, Colorado’s State Innovation Model (SIM) utilized federal grant funding to advance value-based payment structures and support 344 primary care practices and four Community Mental Health Centers in integrating behavioral and physical health care.

The Hospital Transformation Program (SB17-267) and the Primary Care Payment Reform Collaborative (HB19-1233) have also meaningfully advanced conversations about paying for value over volume.

Last Spring, after the passage of the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), House Speaker Alec Garnett encouraged my colleagues and me to think big about how we can use these one-time federal resources to meaningfully transform systems. Many of my colleagues are doing incredible work to transform behavioral health, housing, workforce development, and economic support programs in Colorado.

For me, it kept coming back to value and integration in healthcare. I remember lying awake in bed one night, my mind racing through possibilities, when I decided to get up sometime after midnight and write an initial proposal for what I called “SIM 2.0.” 

I know I’m not the only person to have thought of this idea or moniker, but my proposal included a new grant program to help primary care practices integrate behavioral health services and move toward value-based payments. The theory was that the grants and technical assistance could help practices upgrade technology and change workflows, and that the improved payment models would sustain the practices over the long term as care delivery became more efficient, health outcomes improved, and downstream costs caused by untreated conditions were avoided.

That idea is now the core of House Bill 22-1302, which appropriates $32M of ARPA funds to primary care practice transformation grants and technical assistance programs.

As these ideas were developing, I began work on addressing another component of this problem–the conflicting requirements of health insurance plans. You see, many health insurance carriers have made progress on incorporating value-based payments–also commonly called alternative payment models, or APMs–into their contracts with primary care providers. But they all do it their own way, which leaves the average doctor’s office dealing with a different set of quality metrics and payment parameters for every insurance company. Can you imagine a doctor having to identify their patient’s insurance company before they could know which health outcomes would determine how they get paid? It makes no sense.

That’s why I’m sponsoring House Bill 22-1325 with Representative Yadira Caraveo, a pediatrician who shares my commitment to transforming our healthcare system. The bill will require alignment between insurance carriers of certain APM parameters to reduce administrative cost and simplify the work of primary care providers so they can spend less time dealing with insurance companies and more time focusing on their patients.

I truly believe these are the most significant things we can do in Colorado to improve equity, outcomes, and value in our healthcare system. 

Together, these efforts build the foundation of a universal primary care system in Colorado that will provide more efficient, whole-person care that will make people healthier and save them money by reducing the need for expensive hospital care and prescription drugs.

These are the kinds of transformations that go beyond treating symptoms of a broken system to actually start curing the disease.

Read more at ColoradoSun.com

I’m writing this note after staying up all night fighting to protect a woman’s right to control her own body.

The debate is still going, and I’m here for it no matter how long it takes.

This summer, the US Supreme Court is set to rule on Dobbs v Jackson Woman’s Health Organization. The 6-3 conservative majority on the court, which includes a seat stolen by Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) when he refused to act on President Obama’s nominee in 2016, is very likely to strike down Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 case that established a woman’s right to abortion care.

This year, 561 abortion restriction bills have been introduced in all but three states. 19 states have already enacted 106 restrictions, including 12 abortion bans.

But not Colorado.

That’s why we introduced House Bill 1279, which codifies contraception and abortion protections in Colorado state law and prohibits local governments from enacting abortion restrictions if Roe is struck down.

On Wednesday night, I sat on the Health and Insurance Committee from 1:30pm until 3:40am as we heard hours of witness testimony for and against the bill. I voted yes, and the bill passed on a party line vote.

On Friday morning at 10:53am, we started the 2nd reading debate on the House floor. I told Kyra not to expect me home before she went to bed that night, but I didn’t expect that I wouldn’t be there when she woke up this morning.

It’s no secret there are deeply held views on both sides of this issue, and I don’t blame my colleagues across the aisle for fighting for what they believe in.

But the Colorado House Democrats have deeply held beliefs, too. We believe that what happens in a woman’s body is her business and nobody else’s. We don’t believe the government should dictate when a woman must carry a pregnancy to term versus seeking an abortion. We believe abortion should be safe, legal, and accessible. We believe contraception should be universally available and affordable. And we believe in woman’s fundament right to choose.

I’m not sure how much longer this debate will carry on, but I know what the result will be. The voters of Colorado have elected Democratic majorities in both House and Senate, and this is an example of why majorities matter.

When the vote is finally called, we will pass this bill and make sure Colorado law reflects a woman’s fundamental right to control her own body.

And then, we will sleep.
Chris

Every January, the opening day of the General Assembly marks the beginning of another opportunity to spend 120 days developing policies and fighting the big fights to make the biggest difference we can to make life better for the people of Colorado.

This year, the shadow of the pandemic looms large, as do the economic disruptions from the COVID hangover. While we’re all eager to get back to a more normal life, many are struggling to keep up with the high cost of living. There’s little we can do about the global factors that are driving prices of things like gas and groceries, but we’ve been working for years on solutions to bring down the costs of healthcare, housing, child care, and higher education. We will be continuing that work this session.

For the families struggling the most, our work last year to close tax loopholes on wealthy corporations and special interests has allowed us to increase funding for the earned-income tax credit and child tax credit. And I’m crossing my fingers that the US Senate gets it together to pass the Build Back Better plan that wil continue the federal child tax credit and do even more to help hard-working families get through this tough time. I know Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper are supporting that effort.

Our public schools are also struggling. On top of being chronically underfunded for decades, the pandemic has strained our educators and set back our students. That’s why we’ll be boosting funding for education this year to support those teachers and make sure every kid is given the educational opportunities they need to prepare for a successful life.

There are so many other ways we’ve made progress over the last few years on dozens of issues covering everything from climate change to transportation infrastructure to gun violence prevention, and I’m excited to continue that work while we also address the most immediate needs of the people of this beautiful state. 

For my part, I’m focusing my efforts on a few specific things:

• Utility Consumer Protections – When a customer is overdue, they may receive robocalls and letters that they’ll soon be disconnected, but it’s rare that someone actually talks to them and helps connect them to consumer assistance programs. And when a customer pays an overdue bill, there’s no guarantee their service will be reconnected the same day. We can do more to make sure consumers’ needs come first.
• Primary Care Payment Reform – We’ve been talking for years about the need to prioritize preventive care and move from fee-for-service to paying for quality outcomes, but progress has been limited. I want to pick up the pace and move closer to a system of universal primary care.
• Health-based Air Pollution Standards – We’ve made a lot of progress on climate change and monitoring air toxics around refineries, but what about other toxic chemicals released by a variety of industries that may cause cancer or other health effects? It’s time to beef up air quality monitoring across the state for all harmful chemicals and hold industry accountable for the health of their surrounding communities.
• Senior Housing Supports – Since my first year at the legislature, I’ve been working on finding ways to replace the broken senior homestead exemption with a better senior housing benefit that will give more support to lower-income seniors including renters and remove the ten-year residency requirement so that these seniors can downsize and take their tax credit with them. It’s the most complex policy I’ve ever worked on, and I’m getting closer to the right solution. Maybe this year will be the year.
• Protecting Voting Rights – As Chair of the State Affairs Committee, I hear all proposed legislation related to elections and voting. I will hold the line against “bie lie” conspiracy theorists and protect Colorado’s gold-standard election system from right-wing attacks. This shouldn’t be a partisan issue, and even the vast majority of Colorado’s County Clerks (most of which are Republicans) agree that our election systems are secure. But there are several GOP legislators who brought legislation last year to undermine our election system and chip away at voting rights in the name of increased security. They’re wrong, and I’ll fight them at every turn.

As I’ve said before, legislating is a team effort. None of us can be experts on everything, so we each specialize and work to build support among our colleagues. While I’m focused on the ideas above, I know my colleagues are digging into countless other ways to help Coloradans get through this tough time and make this beautiful state even better and more prosperous than it already is. I can’t wait to see what they come up with.

Follow our work at the legislature this session here and join our Zoom town hall on January 22nd.

And stay well. Hold your loved ones close. This too shall pass.

Chris