Grantham said Senate Republicans would introduce Senate Bills 3 and 5, which will seek to repeal the health exchange that was created in conjunction with the federal Affordable Care Act, and to allow for school district personnel to carry firearms if they are properly trained.
“Currently, POST-certified law enforcement and private security personnel under contract with a school district or charter school may be armed,” Grantham said. “POST (Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training) certification is extensive training. While no training is required for private security. So how much training might our county sheriff’s provide before district personnel may be armed on a school campus to protect our kids?”
The school security effort and the desire to uphold Second Amendment rights was echoed in the state House by Minority Leader Patrick Neville, R-Franktown.
“Law-abiding citizens should have the right to carry firearms at any time, in any place,” Neville said. “They should have the right to protect our kids at schools and other public places, and use their discretion to determine the type of firearm that best suits their needs. Republicans will once again stand up for the Second Amendment and the defense of one of our most sacred constitutional rights.”
Rep. Barbara McLachlan, D-Durango, as a former teacher for Durango School District 9-R, had some thoughts on the issue.
“It’s a scary thing to have teachers with guns in school,” McLachlan said. “I’m sure there’s a lot of reasons they will argue why they should, but I don’t believe that one.”
McLachlan said issues with arming teachers could include firearms being misplaced or being taken by students in the higher grade levels.
“You kind of think about schools as little kids with a big teacher, in the high school it’s little teachers with big kids,” she said “I could easily be overcome by students wanting my gun.”
The Republican lawmakers said the health exchange repeal bill is aimed at reducing state costs.
“We have seen the result when the government gets involved in the private sector, the Affordable Care Act is a perfect example,” Neville said. “Obamacare continues to fall short on goals and projections and has been an unmitigated disaster leading to skyrocketing health care costs. I am hopeful our health care system can find new life with purposeful free market reforms that help lower the costs of premiums and address the impact Medicaid has on our budget.”
Transportation fundingAlthough those hot-button issues garnered some attention on the opening day of the session, Grantham said the top priority is addressing the growing issues with Colorado’s transportation infrastructure, the cost of which tops $9 billion.
Both Neville and Grantham proposed that the funding for this could come through a bond measure.
“We have discussed bonding for new transportation projects in the past, and members on both sides of the aisle have supported that proposal,” Neville said. “This year, let’s finally give transportation the support it needs and prioritize general fund revenue to service a TRANS (transportation) bond bill.”
Also included on the Republicans’ list were issues of construction defects and reduction of regulations that negatively impact small businesses.
The message from Democrats was slightly different, although some priorities overlap.
Democratic prioritiesSpeaker of the House Crisanta Duran, D-Denver, said in her opening remarks that there is a need for legislation inclusive to all demographics and allows all equal opportunity to the American Dream.
“Government is not intended to work only for those at the top, or those with the lowest incomes,” Duran said. “Government is intended to work for everyone.”
That reinforces House Majority Leader KC Becker’s statement last week that the Democratic Party would focus on ensuring that no one feels left behind.
“We must stand up for those who might otherwise be shoved down or pushed aside,” Duran said.
Duran hopes lawmakers will expand opportunities for prosperity that made it possible for her family to rise, through hard work, from an economically challenged foundation, she said.
Bipartisan agreementDuran and Grantham said they will introduce bills that aim to lower the insurance rates on new constructions and make housing more attainable, she said.
Duran also will push for consensus on a statewide transportation plan that will allow the state to expand and maintain the roads and highways, she said. “Let’s make the road to prosperity a little easier. Literally.”
Senate Minority Leader Lucía Guzmán, D-Denver, also talked about transportation.
“The American Road and Transportation Builders Association found 521 of Colorado’s bridges to be structurally deficient,” Guzmán said. “Meaning key elements of the structure are considered to be in poor or worse condition.”
Guzmán proposed an alternative source of funding to service a potential transportation bond measure in the form of the Hospital Provider Fee, which could free up general fund revenue that is dedicated toward Medicaid.
A bill that would make this fee an enterprise fund, and therefore not counted toward the maximum allowed revenue that the state can generate under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights was brought up and contested in the last session before dying – despite public support.
“As you all know, last year, every major newspaper editorial board, business chambers of commerce, and rural groups in Colorado came out publicly in support of moving the Hospital Provider Fee into an enterprise fund,” Guzmán said “This solution was at our fingertips last year, but partisan lines kept us from getting it done.”
This sort of partisan politics is something that Guzmán continues to be concerned about, she said.
“There is a belief lawmakers don’t know or understand how to work in a bipartisan way to get things done for the people of Colorado,” she said. “This year, let’s work out solutions so we don’t have to choose between the health of our working families and the health of our roads.”
Education testingThe need for bipartisan efforts also are need to reform educational testing, both parties said.
“We need to fund every school option equally and give parents the choice of what school best suits their children’s needs,” Neville said. “School funding should follow students through their educational path, and we need to focus on trade schools and ensure today’s curriculum aligns with today’s workforce.”
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