(Sept. 25) – Republican members of the Lower North Fork Fire Commission voted today to oppose a proposal by Rep. Claire Levy (D-Boulder) to increase the sum of money available to victims of the Lower North Fork fire.

The blaze happened in March when a Colorado Forest Service prescribed burn went out of control, destroying two dozen Jefferson County homes and killing two people.

Rep. Levy told the commission that the state’s $600,000 cap on payouts under the Colorado Government Immunity Act was “frankly ridiculous in this day and age,” and proposed to double the cap to $1.2 million.

But Rep. Cheri Gerou (R-Evergreen), in whose district the Lower North Fork fire burned, joined with the commission chairwoman, Sen. Ellen Roberts (R-Durango), in opposing the measure. Sen. Jeanne Nicholson (D-Black Hawk) supported Rep. Levy’s proposal, meaning it failed on a 2-2 tie (a fifth commission member, Department of Public Safety Director Jim Davis, is nonvoting).

Despite the commission’s failure to endorse the proposal, it can still be brought to the legislature as a bill next year by Rep. Levy acting on her own. She promised to bring the bill and said she would consider whether to offer another measure – also rejected by the Republicans today — to require counties in the wildland-urban interface zone to adopt building-code and fire-mitigation standards to reduce the threat of wildfire.

“We can’t have another million people moving into this state by the year 2020 and not have these minimum standards in place,” Rep. Levy told the commission.

(Sept. 20) – The state government received news this morning that revenue forecasts show better-than-expected short-term growth in the Colorado economy. But the forecasts, presented to a hearing of the legislative Joint Budget Committee, echoed concerns of the June forecast that the state’s economic recovery will begin to slow.

The state’s chief economist, Natalie Mullis, told the JBC that revenue for the current budget year is expected to be $678.5 million in surplus of what has been budgeted for. However, she warned that stalling manufacturing activity in the state along with national and global economic uncertainty could pose risks to Colorado.

Mullis said that the $678.5 million surplus will be transferred to the state education fund at the end of the fiscal year. This will be added to the $59 million that was transferred to the state education fund from the previous fiscal year.

“This is good news for the state education fund,” said. Rep. Claire Levy (D-Boulder), a member of the JBC. “The revenues allow us to continue building a reserve for education funding, which will allow us to begin rebuilding from years of falling behind growth in pupil counts and inflation. While we need to be wary of flattening growth in the future, we do have an opportunity to help our most vulnerable populations.”

Gov. John Hickenlooper’s budget director, Henry Sobanet, estimated that state revenues for the current budget year would be $239 million more than had been forecast in June. This is in part due to a surge in capital gains and higher-than-expected revenue collected from the previous fiscal year, which ended with a $523.3 million surplus.

“Today’s forecast is encouraging news,” said House Democratic Leader Mark Ferrandino (D-Denver). “But there are still families struggling in this economy and we need to focus on creating jobs to make sure this recovery keeps moving in the right direction. We should be optimistic, but also cautious.”

(Sept. 18) – Rep. Jonathan Singer’s bill to crack down on wage theft has been cited by a local advocacy group and its national affiliates as part of a 10-point plan to strengthen the U.S. economy and rebuild America’s middle class.

The bill was endorsed by FRESC, a Denver-based group that joined with more than 20 national organizations on work and the economy to release its 10-point plan, which can be found at http://nelp.3cdn.net/c586eebbfeeeffc855_gvm6yiw2w.pdf

Wage theft takes many forms, including willful violations of minimum wage laws, failing to pay overtime, forcing employees to work off the clock, withholding an employee’s final paycheck, withholding earned tips from restaurant workers or complete nonpayment for labor performed.

“The middle class is the engine of our economy,” said Kevin Abels, executive director of FRESC, formerly known as the Front Range Economic Strategy Center. “We can’t get that engine going again if workers continue to lose billions of dollars a year due to wage theft.”

Rep. Singer (D-Longmont) introduced his wage theft bill in the 2012 legislative session. It died in the House Judiciary Committee, but Rep. Singer has vowed to try again.

“This is my top personal priority for the 2013 legislative session,” Rep. Singer said. “This is about stealing someone’s ability to join or remain in the middle class, to have a home or to have enough food to put on the table.”

(Denver) – Rep. Mark Ferrandino (D-Denver) extended his condolences today to Sen. Pat Steadman (D-Denver), who lost his longtime partner, Dave Misner, to cancer.

“Today we remember Dave Misner, an amazing father and family man who was full of life and laughter. He filled all those around him with joy and happiness and always brightened up people’s days, whether they were close friends, family or acquaintances,” Rep. Ferrandino said.

“Dave was the loving partner of Senator Pat Steadman for the past 11 years. Dave was a strong supporter of Pat’s work at the Capitol, often visiting him on the floor of the Senate and attending events with him.

“It has been remarkable to see our extended community rally around Dave and Pat.  I’ve personally been touched as I’ve witnessed the overwhelming support my two dear friends have received over these last few months as they struggled together to fight Dave’s pancreatic cancer.

“Dave and Pat’s fight was more public than what many committed couples experience. And while their relationship and love was cherished by so many people, Dave’s struggle is also a stark reminder that our state does not provide all committed couples with adequate and equal protections. That fact is especially apparent when loving families like Dave and Pat’s are faced with immense challenges.

“Dave retained his sense of humor, dignity and remarkable grace to the end.  His memory will continue to provide an inspiration to Pat, his children and people like me as we continue to fight for all Coloradans to be viewed as equal in the eyes of the law.”

(Denver) – House Democrats today rejected accusations that their vote against a bill to adjust the funding formula for highway construction in Colorado was somehow designed to shortchange our transportation system.

Rep. Max Tyler (D-Lakewood) received unanimous support from the Transportation Legislation Review Committee to issue a letter to the Colorado Department of Transportation asking what assistance it needs to more quickly move development designs into shovel ready projects.

The TLRC did not give its endorsement to a bill put forth by Rep. Kevin Priola (R-Henderson) which would have tinkered with the current system of funding transportation in Colorado.

“We support Rep. Max Tyler’s initiative to help fund our roads and bridges, and create more jobs, by moving CDOT projects off the drawing board more quickly,” said Rep. Mark Ferrandino, leader of the House Democrats. “We do not support stealing more money from education.”

“We are not willing to cut our schools for an ill-conceived and incomplete transportation funding scheme,” said Rep. Millie Hamner (D-Dillon). “I will not pave over our kids.”

Additionally, Rep. Dave Young’s (D-Greeley) bill to remove the $15 fee for having the licensee’s military service noted on their drivers’ licenses and state IDs received unanimous approval from the TLRC.

(Denver) – Rep. Claire Levy (D-Boulder) took the initiative today to reduce the threat of wildfire in Colorado, advancing a package of proposals to be considered by the Lower North Fork Wildfire Commission.

Of eight bill concepts approved for drafting today by the panel, three were Rep. Levy’s:

·        Doubling, to $1.2 million, the statutory cap for all victims when a state action harms many people. (The Lower North Fork Fire, which destroyed two dozen homes in Jefferson County in March, started when the Colorado Forest Service lost control of a prescribed burn.)

·        Providing incentives to counties to adopt the wildland-urban interface code, an internationally recognized standard for such things as using fire-resistant building materials and reducing fuel load within 100 feet of homes in fire-prone areas.

·        Providing grants to high-risk communities for fire mitigation projects, similar to SB09-18, which did not pass the legislature.   “These are measures that will reduce the risk for all Coloradans who live in wildfire country,” Rep. Levy said. If approved by the commission, the draft bills will be introduced in the 2013 General Assembly.

Separately from her work on the Lower North Fork Wildfire Commission, Rep. Levy plans to reintroduce a bill she carried last year to hold insurance companies accountable for fully and promptly paying claims to people who lose property to wildfires.

Other bill concepts approved for drafting today were by Sen. Ellen Roberts (R-Durango), the commission chairwoman; Sen. Jeanne Nicholson (D-Black Hawk); and Department of Public Safety Director Jim Davis, the only non-legislator on the commission.