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Democrats pushing agenda through Congress
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Colorado’s Democratic legislators are sending the same message to their Republican counterparts as Josh McDaniels is to Jay Cutler: It’s my way or the highway.
Senate President Peter Groff (D-Denver) and House Speaker Terrance Carroll (D-Denver) are pushing their Democratic agenda through Congress. The two African-American leaders are helping advance measures on education funding, healthcare, oil and gas regulation, and corporate tax oversight, and there’s little the GOP can do to stop them.
In a press release Speaker Carroll voiced his enthusiasm for Senate Bill 228, a bill that will freeze some property tax rates from decreasing. The state says it needs the tax revenue to fund surrounding school districts.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday, by a 6-1 margin, that SB 228 does not violate the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. The TABOR legislation, enacted in 1992, requires any tax increase in Colorado to be put to a vote by citizens.
Said Carroll, “I’m pleased with the court’s decision but not in the least surprised. We knew this would pass constitutional muster or we wouldn’t have done it. The legislation simply stabilizes funding for our kids’ schools so they can get the quality of education they deserve.”
Apparently a tax “freeze” is different than a tax “increase.” It’s also apparent that Democratic lawmakers are mopping the floor with their Republican counterparts. GOP representatives put up a strong fight to oppose SB 228, including a ten hour-long attempted filibuster, but their arguments were found to be contradictory to their previous stances and the tactic failed.
A final vote on the bill will be held in the Senate today. There will be a rally at the capitol to cheerlead its passage. It will then move to the House, where Democrat’s have a 38-27 advantage.
Republicans say the ruling opened the door for Democratic legislators to pass more measures that will bypass TABOR, and give the state increased funding without voter approval. Democrat’s say more funding for the state is essential in this time of economic crisis.
Other items on the Democratic agenda include:
House Bill 1293, the Colorado Healthcare and Affordability Act. The bill’s sponsors are Mark Ferrandino (D-Denver) and Jim Riesberg (D-Greeley). They contend the bill will raise $1.2 billion for healthcare funding without raising taxes. HB 1293 will asses provider fees on hospitals, which Ferrandino and Riesberg say will total $600 million. That total will then be matched dollar-by-dollar by the federal government, a tactic they say is already being used by 40 other states, giving Colorado $1.2 billion to offset the costs of treating an estimated 800,000 citizens without health insurance. The bill recently passed the House Health and Human Services Committee. The House Appropriations Committee will now look it at.
House Bill 1292 will enforce new rules and regulations over Colorado’s oil and gas industries.
Carroll said, “The new rules are good for public health and good for the economy. They will provide greater public health protections while also allowing the state’s vital oil-and-gas industry to thrive… We want sustainable growth, and these rules create that.”
The bill has already passed the House. It is now in a joint Legislative Legal Services Committee before it moves to the Senate.
House Bill 1247 is being labeled as the Homebuyer’s Energy Right to Know Act. Rep. Dennis Apuan (D-Colorado Springs) is sponsoring a bill that will legally obligate new homebuyers to be presented with the prospective home’s energy costs.
House Bill 1093, a.k.a. The Wal-Mart Bill has already been passed along to Governor Bill Ritter. It will prevent corporations, most notably Wal-Mart, from cheating the state tax code. Wal-Mart sets up front corporations, owned by executives, and pays rent to them. The executives then pay back the money to offshore bank accounts. By paying rent to another company Wal-Mart skirts out of paying hundreds of millions of state taxes. Hopefully Gov. Ritter won’t veto the bill this time around.
