DENVER — State Treasurer Walker Stapleton is touting $7 million in savings of taxpayer money thanks to a 2012 bill that gave his office oversight of most borrowing by government agencies.
“Centralizing the process in which Colorado issues debt is not the most glamorous function, but this is the nuts and bolts of the treasurer’s office. I am excited that taxpayers are already seeing the benefits,” Stapleton said in a news release.
Senate Bill 150 from 2012 had bipartisan sponsors and passed the Legislature unanimously.
The bill gives the treasurer’s office authority over most debt issuances, instead of individual state agencies. Stapleton said that refinancing of debt by the Colorado Department of Transportation and a new University of Colorado medical campus in the Denver area have saved $7 million, and that will be “the tip of the iceberg.”
Stapleton, a Republican, is up for re-election in 2014. Two Democrats are challenging him – former U.S. Rep. Betsy Markey and Broomfield Mayor Pat Quinn.