Legislature

By Wayne Laugesen
For the Editorial Board

Critics are using the 20th anniversary of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights to bash the voter-approved constitutional amendment as something devastating to our state. They talk as if government budgets and the economy are one in the same. Fund governments more, and we're good to go. Fund them less, and it somehow amounts to an economic crisis.

Colorado's fiscal situation forces many hard choices, and there is no better example than our continuing struggle to pay for higher education – and to make college affordable for students and families.

We will see two illustrations of that this week. Tomorrow, the Colorado Commission on Higher Education will continue discussions of possible changes to the state's need-based financial aid program, and the governor will submit his budget request for the 2013-14 fiscal year.

By John Schroyer
The Gazette

More than one Colorado political expert has said that the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights has had more effect on state government than any other ballot measure in the state's history.

TABOR, as the 20-year-old voter-approved measure is known, has been felt across the state during two recessions. It's best known for restricting Colorado governments – from the state down to school districts - from increasing taxes without a vote of the people. The measure was added to the state Constitution on Election Day in 1992.

We've told you before about "TBD Colorado," Gov. John Hickenlooper's non-partisan, collaborative effort to create informed and constructive conversations among Coloradans about some of the biggest issues facing the state.

TBD has been working hard to get Coloradans talking and to provide ways for residents to speak up and shape the future of our state. The latest effort is a series of videos on important issues and a Facebook page where you can answer survey questions.

It's nice to have friends when you're in court and the Lobato v. State school funding case has drawn plenty, some backing the parents and school districts that brought the lawsuit and others supporting the state officials who are defendants in the case.

The case has attracted 18 "friend of the court" filings with the Colorado Supreme Court, including 13 that support the plaintiffs, four backing the state's case and one that's neutral. The briefs represent the formal views of nearly 50 organizations and groups of individuals.

Colorado consumers saved nearly $100 million in 2011 thanks to changes in the state's payday lending law, according to data in a report released Monday by Attorney General John Suthers.

The report shows the impact of the first full year of reforms, which were a major achievement of the 2010 legislative session. A key feature of the reforms is a six-month minimum term for payday loans, which gives borrowers an opportunity to pay them off without rollovers.

By Bob Semro

Under the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid eligibility will be expanded to all U.S. citizens under the age of 65 with incomes less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level beginning in 2014 – unless some states decide to opt out of the expansion. That possibility arose as a result of the Supreme Court ruling on the ACA.

Some governors have already announced their intention to drop out, citing budget concerns but also partly for political reasons. Colorado and many others states will make their decisions after getting cost estimates.

Under the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid eligibility will be expanded to all U.S. citizens under the age of 65 with incomes less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level beginning in 2014 – unless some states decide to opt out of the expansion. That possibility arose as a result of the Supreme Court ruling on the ACA.

Some governors have already announced their intention to drop out, citing budget concerns but also partly for political reasons. Colorado and many others states will make their decisions after getting cost estimates.

By Aldo Svaldi
The Denver Post

Colorado's enterprise-zone program has granted the majority of its tax credits in recent years to natural-resource companies and utilities operating in rural areas.

That has critics asking whether the state is using its limited economic-development ammunition to reward activities that would have happened anyway.

More small businesses say they will offer health insurance for their employees once the Colorado Health Insurance Exchange is up and running in 2014, according to a Kaiser Permanente survey of business owners.

The survey found that, after hearing a short description of the exchange, the number of employers who said they would offer health benefits to some or all employees jumped to 59 percent, up from 52 percent currently.