TABOR & Fiscal Policy

Gov. John Hickenlooper delivered his second State of the State address to the Colorado General Assembly today, but we didn't get the usual laundry list of programs and initiatives. Instead, we heard an aspirational vision for the kind of state Colorado can be and a call for greater partnership and collaboration among political parties and throughout the state.

Legislators gather tomorrow for the start of the 2012 General Assembly, and we wanted to share some of our priorities for the session.

By Aldo Svaldi
The Denver Post

The new year brings with it a decent bump in pay for about 74,000 Colorado workers earning the minimum wage.

Colorado's minimum wage increases 3.8 percent, or 28 cents, to $7.64 an hour effective today. That's the biggest increase since the state linked its minimum wage to inflation back in 2006.

For an employee making that wage full-time, the increase translates into an extra $582 a year.

HB 05-1232: Concerning the Earned Income Tax Credit, by Spiros Protopsaltis to the House Finance Committee, Feb. 17, 2005

"By making the Colorado EITC permanent and increasing its amount, working families will receive meaningful support in making ends meet, and at the same time you will provide a much-needed fiscal stimulus to our economy."

HB 05-1194: The Colorado Economic Recovery Act, by Wade Buchanan to the Senate Finance Committee, March 15, 2005

HB 05-1092: SUTA Dumping Prevention Act of 2005, by Rich Jones to the Senate Business Affairs, Labor and Technology Committee, March 16, 2005

"SUTA dumping hurts state unemployment trust funds and shifts a tax burden to law abiding citizens. Unemployed workers, particularly low-income workers rely on the unemployment system to keep them and their families from falling out of the cycle of opportunity and into poverty. Actions that weaken the unemployment system hurt these workers.

On January 1, 74,000 low-wage workers in Colorado will get a 3.8 percent raise when the state's minimum wage goes up by 28¢ to $7.64 per hour. For employees who work full-time all year, this amounts to $582 more per year.

Voters approved Amendment 42 to Colorado's constitution in 2006, raising the minimum wage and requiring that the wage to be adjusted each year by the rate of inflation in Colorado. Inflation increased by 3.8 percent between July 2010 and June 2011, according to the Boulder-Denver-Greeley Consumer Price Index.

State economists came bearing gifts today, in the form of revenue estimates greater than projected in September. The governor's economists in the Office of State Planning and Budgeting raised their estimates by $231 million for this fiscal year and by $100 million next year.

By Amy Gillentine
The Colorado Springs Business Journal

The Colorado Trust today launched a new section of its website dedicated to tracking public policy issues that could affect the health and well-being of Coloradans.

The new section of the site, at www.coloradotrust.org/healthpolicy, includes information about federal, state and local laws, regulations, bills, judicial decisions and political events.

In order to meet the challenges of the 21st century, American higher education must redesign itself through a fundamental transformation in policy, practice and financing. But in doing so, it can neither expect nor rely upon a restoration of past approaches or public support. That was the central message delivered by Patrick M. Callan, president of the Higher Education Policy Institute and the featured speaker at the Bell Policy Center's "Voices of Opportunity" program on Dec. 7.