Health of Democracy

It's refreshing to see Coloradans tackle a problem and work toward a solution. That's what we witnessed today when supporters turned in more than 142,000 signatures for a ballot proposal that would raise $536 million each year through 2016 to halt steep cuts to education.

Imagine that – actually raising millions of dollars for K-12 and higher education. This, of course, comes after years of cutting millions from education.

July 21, 2011

The Honorable John Hickenlooper
Office of the Governor
136 State Capitol
Denver, CO 80203-1792

Dear Governor Hickenlooper:

We are writing to support your efforts to reassess the effectiveness of the Secure Communities Program in Colorado and to urge you to suspend Colorado's participation until an investigation of the program by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General is complete.

By Steve Raabe
The Denver Post

Consensus and compromise characterized the 2011 Colorado legislative sessions, leading to high marks from the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

In its third annual scorecard of state legislators, the chamber issued no grades below 50 percent. That's a reversal from last year, when the low mark was 16 percent.

By Jason Williams
My DD direct democracy website

Bell Policy Center and ProgressNow Colorado are teaming up to shed light on the state budget. Via TWI (The Washington Independent):

All is relatively quiet now at the Colorado Capitol, a sharp contrast to the final, hectic days of the 2011 legislative session.

It was the first session since 2002 that the political parties split control in the legislature. The split changed the dynamic from recent sessions and defined the 2011 legislative session in many ways. It drove a policy stalemate in which each chamber canceled out the other's more partisan proposals. It also shaped the budget negotiations.

This report by the Bell Policy Center finds that, even before the current economic downturn, our state's poor and low-income working families were struggling and falling behind.

In 2004, the Bell Policy Center produced Opportunity Lost, When Hard Work Isn't Enough for Colorado's Families, a review of economic indicators and a status report on the state's poor and low-income working families.

In an update to that report, the Bell finds that working poor and low-income families now fare worse on many of the same indicators examined in our 2004 report.

What's churning:

Senate Bill 11-126, which would create a form of resident tuition for undocumented students who meet certain requirements, is scheduled for a hearing in the House Education Committee at 1:30 this afternoon.

By Amy Gillentine
Colorado Springs Business Journal

Undocumented immigrants are a significant contributor to the state's economy, according to a new study by the Bell Policy Center and the Colorado Center on Law and Policy.

According to the two groups, illegal immigrants contribute as much to the economy in sales, property and income taxes as they cost the state in mandated services such as K-12 education.

Other research finds:

Senate Bill 11-126
Testimony to the House Education Committee
Frank Waterous, Senior Policy Analyst
April 25, 2011

My name is Frank Waterous, and I am a senior policy analyst with The Bell Policy Center. The Bell is a nonpartisan, nonprofit research and policy organization dedicated to expanding opportunity for all Coloradans.

Appendix that accompanied Opportunity Note on Senate Bill 11-072.