Denver able to sway statehouse on key issues
Carol Boigon, Denver City Councilwoman
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
During the 120-day state legislative session, laws are proposed that can greatly affect Denver residents.
As chairperson of City Council’s General Government Committee, I oversee a process for reviewing proposed legislation, and, with the mayor’s office and the committee, I direct the city lobbyists to support Denver’s interests.
Key issues in the 2008 session were:
Art Galleries: House Bill 1105 permitted art galleries to serve alcohol under certain conditions.
While some parts of Denver consider art shows and art walks with “tastings” to be an important part of their community, I wanted to be sure that “art gallery” was tightly defined so that liquor stores could not use this as a loophole for any tastings.
This bill passed with Denver’s definition.
Transit-Oriented Development: House Bill 1278 would have interfered with Denver’s ability to develop around new transit stops created by the FasTracks project.
While Denver hopes to develop positive, active communities in the immediate areas around transit stops, HB 1278 could have limited development only to parking.
The adverse impact was defeated.
Prompt Pay: House Bill 1306 allowed contractors to walk off of city projects if they had a payment dispute.
Denver already has a prompt pay ordinance.
As a result, 100 percent of contractor invoices, if services complied with city laws, were paid within eight days.
The proposed state bill attempted to override Denver law and impact our public projects.
We successfully lobbied against this bill.
Denver Public Schools retirement plan: House Bill 1403 would allow the DPS retirement plan to merge with the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA).
An estimated $800 per student is currently paid toward pension and retiree obligations.
If the DPS retirement plan merges with PERA, DPS can greatly cut costs and increase funds for education.
We supported this effort.
Funds to identify and repair unsafe schools: Some Colorado schools are nearly 100 years old and have structurally dangerous conditions.
I strongly supported House Bill 1335 to raise about $1 billion over 20 years to upgrade Colorado school buildings.
Our children need to be in a safe environment when they go to school.
I am pleased that this bill passed.
Disappointments
Among many victories in the session, there were some disappointments.
The Legislature did not adequately resolve issues on the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) or funding for K-12 education and higher education.
These challenges remain for us.
For comments or questions, contact Boigonatlarge@ci.denver.co.us.
Carol Boigon is a Denver City Councilwoman at-large.
Respond to this column at editor@thedenverdailynews.com.
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