Last week, the Senate passed the 2016-2017 budget bill, also called the long bill, since it’s the most detailed and lengthy piece of legislation each year. Despite dire predictions from the governor that Colorado couldn’t find its way to an on-time, balanced budget without adopting more revenue maneuvers like the hospital provider fee changes, the Joint Budget Committee instead presented a bipartisan budget bill to the full Legislature, rejecting most of the cuts in the governor’s November proposal.
Both Republican Senate President Bill Cadman and Democratic Minority Leader Lucia Guzman commented at the end of the Senate chamber’s budget debates that, while neither party got all of what each wanted in the budget process, it’s a good and responsible budget bill. Nearly all of the senators agreed and voted to pass the budget bill, with only a few no votes from each party.
A special mention and tip of the hat is very deserved to this year’s six members of the JBC. They refused to go along with the governor’s proposed cuts to Medicaid providers, to K-12 and higher education funding, or to shift severance taxes away from energy development-impacted communities. It’s too bad the media doesn’t report these kinds of successes, because they are indeed positive indicators of how Colorado legislators work hard to get the job of governing done in a bipartisan manner.
I continue to seek ways to make progress on the biomass conversation. While my biomass energy production bill was killed in the House, I’ve since convened a meeting with a group of stakeholders so we could discuss what options might exist to encourage greater utilization of the unmarketable, dead timber and brush in many areas of Colorado.
Among the stakeholders who are participating in this effort are the U.S. Forest Service and the Colorado State Forest Service as well as those interested in greater development of markets for biochar and biomass products and energy generation. I’m also very pleased to have the environmental organization, The Nature Conservancy, participating in our conversations as the group walks the walk in its on-the-ground efforts in wildfire mitigation and watershed protection.
From my vantage point over a decade, the USFS has become much more engaged and proactive at the state level, which I appreciate. The level of engagement varies by region, but the type of relationship I’ve had with our local land managers is very beneficial when discussing the challenges we face together, for public safety and for good stewardship of the public lands we live in and around.
It’s likely that the biomass conversation will need to continue into the work of the interim committee on wildfire matters that I’ve been a member of for years. Hopefully, we will not have a devastatingly difficult wildfire season this year as we continue to sort through the challenges.
With the approach of an especially intense and divisive campaign season, even though I don’t have an election this year, I want to encourage my constituents to critically evaluate what is put out there about my votes or me. If you want to see what a bill actually does or costs the state, you can easily find that information on the Legislature’s website, www.leg.state.co.us. In the meantime, I’ll keep working to represent my politically diverse and wonderful district, to the best of my abilities.
Ellen Roberts represents Senate District 6 in Colorado’s General Assembly. The district encompasses Montezuma, Dolores, La Plata, Archuleta, Montrose, San Miguel, San Juan and Ouray counties. Contact Sen. Roberts by phone at (303) 866-4884, or by e-mail ellen.roberts.senate@state.co.us.