Higher Ed & Ballot Measures

Today’s Rocky Mountain News has a couple of items I wanted to bring attention to (and I’m only scratching the surface). The first:

CU Chief Tepid to Ritter Plan

Let’s start by describing Ritter’s plan, which isn’t done until the last 1/3 of the article (controversy over journalism).

Ritter endorsed a citizens initiative Thursday to eliminate a property tax credit for the oil and gas industry unique to Colorado. Killing the tax credit would bring the state about $200 million more a year.

Under the plan, 60 percent would go toward “Colorado Promise” scholarships to help families pay for college. The other 40 percent would be divided among projects to help communities offset the impacts of the oil and gas industry, set aside wildlife habitat and develop renewable energy sources.

Doesn’t sound that bad. What’s Benson got to say?

But Benson acknowledged that he and Ritter discussed an approach that would have sent the increased oil and gas revenues directly into universities’ operating budgets. Benson said he was never “cool” to the governor’s idea but argued that the oil and gas industry needed something in return - such as easing off on new environmental rules being drafted by state regulators.

Ah, the magical ability of Bruce Benson’s fundraising… no wait, Benson isn’t raising money, he’s telling the Governor that industry needs less regulation in return for directing severance money toward education. Benson won’t get behind any plan that doesn’t proactively neutralize expected opposition from the industry. That’s interesting. What threshold does Benson have in mind, exactly? How far would Gov. Ritter and others have to go before Benson gets aboard?

Or are those even the correct questions? What about: What is Benson’s first priority as CU President? Is it identifying sources of income for the state’s colleges and working to secure those funds? Or is it to fight for the interests of the industry where he made his millions? This is but one example why Benson shouldn’t have been the only choice to be CU’s President. His long-time loyalties seem to be in direct conflict with his current duties.

Benson is quoted in the article as not wanting to part of Custer’s Last Stand, citing the tens of millions of dollars the oil and gas industry would spend to defeat Ritter’s proposal, which would be presented to voters later this year. Benson also said that he needs operating money while warning the Referendum C will expire in 2 years.

Perhaps Benson should utilize his vaunted leadership skills and begin working to extend the effects of Ref C or do away with conflicting constitutional spending limits. Everybody knows higher education is in a bad spot financially in Colorado. Whining isn’t going to make it better.

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The second item I saw was fourteen proposed ballot initiatives were submitted to the Legislative Council yesterday. Are you ready for this? There could be 127 ballot measures this November. The good news: only one so far has been approved for the ballot. This is getting ridiculous. I consider myself somewhat of an issue junkie, but even I blanch at the thought of researching 127 measures, some of which are designed to compete with one another.

X-posted @ SquareState

Mike Rosen’s Global Warming Disinformation Mouthpiece: Maureen Martin

He’s done it before, but this will mark the first time I’ve covered Mike Rosen’s efforts to spread global warming disinformation by hosting denyers on his radio program on 850 KOA (via Colorado Media Matters). Amy Oliver, another radio host in the market, has hosted plenty of her own denyers, so Mike has company. The thing that is similar between the two hosts is their utilization of “free marketeers” as “experts” on climate change. This episode builds on the right-wing’s attempt to scare people into thinking discussion about climate change is secretly hiding an anti-economy viewpoint. It’s nonsense of course, but they will fight tooth and nail to maintain their lock on our economic system, no matter how much it strengthens the disparity between classes.

Mike Rosen introduced Maureen Martin as a “senior fellow for legal affairs at the Heartland Institute”. That’s sounds impressive, doesn’t it? The Heartland Institute is only one think tank among many that focus on “free market” approaches. It has become more clear to Coloradans recently what kind of “free market” these advocates would like to move toward: indentured servitude, human trafficking, child prostitution and compulsory abortions, via the Schaffer-Abramoff proposal. No thanks, Bob, Mike, Maureen and Co. I actually support workers’ rights - they’re what created and what sustain the middle class.

Catching Up: CO Legislature Update

I’ve been busy preparing for another work trip out of town. But things don’t stop happening. The next couple posts will be a collection of things that caught my eye.

CO Legislature & Bills Update

Plenty of things happening under the dome. On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee approved HB08-1269, which would help reduce the threat of devastating wildfires in Colorado’s forests by providing incentives for products that use timber killed by the bark beetle infestation. The bill was sponsored by Senator Dan Gibbs (D-Silverthorne). I’ve detailed efforts to battle the mountain pine beetle in previous posts. Two solutions include treating the trees with insecticide and chopping up afflicted trees. It’s more expensive to cut down and chop up the trees. It might prove more hazardous to the long-term health of the ecosystem to use insecticide.

On Wednesday Governor Ritter signed HB08-1160 (more details here), which will expand homegrown energy opportunities for agricultural producers and rural communities statewide.

The science building at Auraria in Denver had funding renewed this week. Revenue from federal mining leases will be used to purchase Certificates of Participation in order to accelerate capital construction projects. The state is facing a backlog of projects as it continues to suffer under the effects of TABOR and other budgetary limitations, brought about by anti-investment zealots.

The CO House passed the 2008-2009 budget bill. If passed by the Senate and signed by the Governor, 55,000 more children will have health care and $63 million will be made available to Coloradans looking to go to college. Republicans thought those items, and more, weren’t a good idea and voted against the bill. By the way, the budget remains balanced under Democratic leadership.

Random Pieces 3/25/08

The Denver Post issued a second editorial regarding the cut in funding for the science building at Auraria in Denver. They even correctly identify the real culprit behind Colorado’s budget woes: “Of course, the larger issue at work is the current tangle of constitutional spending restrictions that make the state budgetary process a convoluted exercise. This is another example of how worthy projects get shoved aside when revenues are projected to dip and mandated spending rules make a mockery of representational government.”

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I’m not really into college basketball. College hockey? That’s a different matter. DU, CC and Air Force all made it to the NCAA tournament. The bracket. The action moves to the Pepsi Center in Denver on April 10th and 12th for the Frozen Four.

Decent Bill Name

The best example I’ve seen thus far in the CO legislative session of naming a bill well: The B.E.S.T. (Building Excellent Schools Today) plan – House Bill 1335 (authored by Rep. Andrew Romanoff)– will address health and safety issues by providing funds to rebuild, repair or replace our most dangerous and most needy K-12 facilities. The BEST plan calls for a statewide needs assessment, an expert-guided process for the selection of schools and projects, and leveraging up to $1 billion in funds without raising taxes or fees.

Now, it’s not immediately clear from the bill’s acronym what BEST is all about, but it’s a much better title than most others I’ve seen this year.