Windsor Gardens Town Hall May 12th

Senator Joyce Foster and Representative Court held a very informative meeting to which all residents regardless of political affiliation were invited. Both legislators recounted their triumphs during the session. They talked about legislation enacted, legislation that failed and changes to some proposed legislation as well as their observations as freshmen legislators.

Senator Foster spoke of her role on the Local Government committee and how she looked at legislative proposals from her experience of ten years on the Denver City Council. She opposed several measures which she considered to be “unfunded mandates” for local governments, even if they were good mandates. Joyce spoke of her disappointment that the Healthcare for All Coloradoans did NOT make it to the Senate where she was to be a prime sponsor. Her bill to require mortuaries to register with the state and to ensure the provision of better quality care for the deceased passed. Another of Joyce's successes is the Colorado Teacher of the Year Program which provides funding for the teacher of the year through gifts, grants, and awards to enable him or her to travel the state sharing best practices with other teachers.

Representative Court expressed her pleasure for the passing of The Lofgren and Johnson Families Carbon Monoxide Safety Act legislation which has now been signed into law. She is sure that the publicity around this issue is already saving lives. Lois was happy to report some progress in the fight to unravel the TABOR and related fiscal mess which has taken so much financial discretion away from our elected officials. The repeal of the A-Bird legislation after the inclusion of a compromise to the transportation interests is a great beginning. Rep. Court, (did you know that Rep. Court teaches Political Science and American Government part-time at Denver Community College and Red Rocks Community College?), also successfully worked on a bill to make our ballots easier for voters and to set up regulations for petition carriers. HB 1326 will strengthen identity requirements; require petition circulators to provide specific forms of I.D. and have the option of enrolling in training provided by the secretary of state’s office; strengthen laws against using third-party circulators; and require paid circulators to receive hourly wages or salaries instead of being paid per signature they gather.

See our website for her description of the session!