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ADVANCE COLORADO ACTION HELPS LEAD CHARGE TO DEFEAT ANTI-CHARTER SCHOOL BILL |
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Thanks to strong opposition from grassroots parents, teachers and community leaders, an extreme bill that would have marked the beginning of the end of charter schools went down to bipartisan defeat in the Legislature. Advance Colorado Action and Americans for Prosperity helped lead the charge against this extreme proposal.
“This bill was designed to place unfair burdens on charter schools, and the families who choose them, with the ultimate goal of derailing the competition charters provide for conventional public schools,” said Kristi Burton Brown, Advance Colorado Action Executive Vice President.
The bill, House Bill 24-1363, which contained a wish list of anti-charter measures long sought by the education establishment, was rejected in a bipartisan 8-3 vote in the House Education Committee. The bill would have undone numerous legal protections for charter schools – safeguards that have been supported by Democrats and Republicans over the years and have helped the movement grow and serve more families.
Burton Brown said this broad-based, aggressive attack on charter schools won’t be the last, and will provide a catalyst to place safeguards for school choice in the state Constitution.
“Parents and teachers who believe in educational options cannot count on common-sense prevailing in the Legislature in the years ahead,” she said. “We need to protect the fundamental right of school choice in our Constitution, walling it off from the annual assaults from the teacher unions.”
Advance Colorado Action supporter, and former State Representative, Kay Alexander published an OpEd detailing the bill’s threat to charter schools. To read the OpEd click HERE. Advance Colorado Action President Michael Fields was featured on Fox 31 in Denver, stressing the importance of putting school choice in the state Constitution. Click HERE to watch.
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ADVANCE COLORADO SAYS LEGISLATIVE PROPERTY TAX PLAN FAILS TO DELIVER FOR TAXPAYERS
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Many of the same folks behind the failed Proposition HH have unveiled a new attempt to address Colorado's property tax crisis, that, like HH, fails to provide taxpayers the permanent relief they deserve.Advance Colorado President Michael Fields released the following statement on the proposal: “This is an 11th hour attempt to rush through a wholly inadequate measure that is more about political talking points than providing significant and lasting property tax relief for Coloradans.
"The proposed bill claims to provide tax relief, but it is temporary, addresses only half of the property tax equation and allows the assessment rate to rise over this year’s already high levels. "Worse, just like Proposition HH, it funds its provisions by tapping taxpayers’ TABOR refunds, requiring Coloradans to pay for their own tax relief. This shell game is one of the key reasons Proposition HH went down in a landslide."
Advance Colorado has already successfully placed Initiative 50 on the ballot, which would put in place a 4 percent revenue cap. This measure secured the required signatures in record time, demonstrating its deep popularity with voters. Under consideration are additional measures that would roll back the property tax increase and backfill revenue for public schools, first responders and other local entities.
Click HERE to read the full statement.
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MAJOR STUDY HIGHLIGHTS CONSERVATIVE INNOVATION IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT
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Advance Colorado has released a major report demonstrating how innovative and energetic local governments are crafting effective solutions to some of Colorado’s toughest challenges.
The 37-page report, titled “Closer to Home: Local Government Solutions to Colorado’s Toughest Problems,” takes an in-depth look at a wide range of solutions, illustrating how local elected leaders proactively stepped in when state government did not or would not act. The study also shows how other Colorado local leaders can replicate these policy solutions in their communities.
“Local government is not only closest to the people, its elected leaders are often more in tune with the needs and concerns of area residents and businesses,” said Advance Colorado Executive Vice President Kristi Burton Brown, a co-author of the report. “The report highlights common-sense and tested solutions that other Colorado cities and counties can and should replicate.”
The policy areas discussed, and the local governments highlighted are:
- Homelessness – Colorado Springs and Mesa County
- Public Safety – El Paso County and Greenwood Village
- Auto Theft – Aurora and Westminster
- Fiscal Policy – Lone Tree
- Mental Health – Douglas County
- Public Spaces – Lone Tree and Woodland Park
“Proactive and innovative policy making at the local level across Colorado has proven effective in rapidly confronting problems residents and business owners are facing on a daily basis,” said Advance Colorado Policy Analyst Michael Tsogt, a co-author of the report.
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Colorado communities benefit by going local |
The Gazette editorial board |
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Where, and why, Colorado's local governments succeed |
Michael Tsogt, Advance Colorado |
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UNCONSTITUTIONAL TAX INCREASE SOUNDLY DEFEATED
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Legislation
that would have unconstitutionally quadrupled the tax on Colorado
families who own short-term rental properties was defeated by the Senate
Finance Committee with just one lone vote in favor. Advance
Colorado Action was a leading voice against the bill since it proposed a
massive tax hike without a vote of the people as required under the
state Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR).
The bill, SB 24-033, would have
changed the property tax classification of homes from residential to
commercial rates (6.7% to 27.9%), SB24-033 will force hard-working
Colorado families to either sell their home or they will reduce the
number of nights they rent the home to below the
allowable threshold. Kristi Pollard, Executive Director of the Colorado
Strong Business Alliance (Colorado SBA) published an OpEd detailing the numerous problems with the fatally flawed bill.
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COLORADO STRONG BUSINESS ALLIANCE PROMOTING VIBRANT, GROWING ECONOMY |
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The Colorado Strong Business Alliance has been a key player at the State Capitol this legislative session, promoting common-sense policies to expand economic opportunity and create jobs. And, as seen in the defeat of the unconstitutional short term rental tax, and many more, the group is speaking out against measures that would set Colorado’s economy back.
Here's an update:
Right to Remedy – SB24-106
Colorado has a housing affordability crisis that must be fixed. While the solutions to resolve this crisis are complex, one piece of the puzzle is to increase the supply of affordable and attainable housing units -- including condominiums -- which are severely lacking due to construction liability lawsuits.
The Right to Remedy Construction Defects bill encourages offers solutions to the barrage of lawsuits and rising insurance costs by decreasing the magnitude and frequency of construction defects claims while providing homeowners with ways to resolve their disputes faster and outside of the time-intensive, highly expensive court system. The bill recently passed the Senate and is headed to the House.
Learn more about this important legislation in our podcast featuring Kristi Pollard, Executive Director of Colorado SBA and Ted Leighty, CEO of the Colorado Home Builders Association.
Fighting to Save Colorado Energy Jobs
For decades, Colorado’s energy industry has been a leader in job creation, generation of tax revenues, and contribution to the state’s gross domestic product. With an abundance of naturally occurring resources such as biofuels, coal, natural gas, oil, solar, and wind, Colorado is well-suited to be an economic leader in America’s energy portfolio.
The industry has faced a new wave of threatening bills this year. One among many of the damaging measures would have banned all future oil and gas permits after 2030. Talk about extreme!
To learn about these and other anti-energy bills, listen to our podcast featuring Kristi Pollard and Dan Haley, CEO of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association:
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ADVANCE COLORADO SUBMITS SCOTUS AMICUS BRIEF
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Advance Colorado and the Colorado Strong Business Alliance (COSBA) have filed a friend of the court brief in a major U.S. Supreme Court case examining the role of the bureaucratic “administrative state.”
The amicus brief in the case K.C. Transport v. Secretary of Labor, argues that a nearly 40-year-old legal doctrine gives undue deference and power to unelected bureaucrats in federal agencies. By overturning this doctrine, the Court would restore the proper, Constitutional role of the elected Congress envisioned by the nation’s Founders.
The brief, submitted by Advance Colorado Executive Vice President Kristi Burton Brown, stresses that the current imbalance results in businesses being needlessly hamstrung in bureaucratic red tape, thus improperly limiting their ability to succeed and grow.
“As the size of the administrative state has risen dramatically in the United States, businesses have greater obstacles placed in their path as confusion, inconsistent requirements, and ever-changing direction from federal agencies cause many to shutter their doors,” the brief states.
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SUPPORT ADVANCE COLORADO!
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Advance Colorado
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#2029
Denver, CO 80202
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