Sen.Spence in the Senate Chamber

The 2006 session began at 10:00 am on January 11 and the work continues until midnight on May 10th. During this mandated 120 day session there will be approximately 700 separate pieces of legislation sponsored – with about half of them passing both the house and senate and signed into law by the Governor.

This session will be as political as any in recent memory. The Democrats were able to gain the majority in both houses after the 2004 election, for the first time in more than 40 years. They will be working hard to show themselves as the mainstream, business-friendly party and we Republicans will be working hard to regain the majority in both houses in the November 2006 elections.

Our top priority on the Republican side of the aisle will be to rein in unrealistic expectations for using the additional revenue Referendum C will generate. As a Republican legislator who supported the passage of Ref. C and D, I recognize that voters only gave the state budget some breathing room as we recover from the recession. They did not intend C to be a blank check to create new programs. Republicans are unified on this point, and I am also encouraged to hear our friends in leadership on the other side of the aisle agree on this priority to hold the line rather than go on a spending spree. The public supported us and approved a timeout from constitutional spending limits only with the understanding that our backs were to the wall in funding even the basics. We must be watchful not to use C to grow government.

The passage of Referendum C will keep additional cuts to the state’s higher education institutions. During the recent economic downturn, general fund appropriations to the state’s colleges and universities were cut by more than 30%. These cuts were partially offset by tuition increases, in some cases nearly 20%, but the net effect was to reduce funding for higher ed by about 22 – 25% from FY 2000-01 levels. Colorado undergraduate students attending public colleges and universities receive a $2400 stipend or “voucher” that represents the state’s share of their education.

Funding for construction and maintenance of the state’s highways will remain a serious concern. The Colorado Department of Transportation has estimated that the state’s highway funding needs for the next 25 years will be somewhere between $60 and $120 billion. Referendum D did not pass which would have allowed bonding so future highway projects will have to be paid for as they are constructed.

There are two priorities that I look forward to discussing – the first is restoring the senior property tax exemption that was suspended two years ago. The second priority is using a portion of the resources to provide an increase in college tuition stipends. There will be considerable controversy about funding for transportation projects.