Printed on 6/5/08
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Week 12, 2006
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Dear Friends and Supporters,
As of March 31, 612 bills have been introduced in the House and Senate, with 41 days left until the end of the session.
The past week, Governor Owens signed HB 1156, the Social Security protection bill that I carried. This bill will make it harder for criminals to get your social security number for their use in identity theft.
The big event for the week was the work and vote on the State budget. We spent several hours in caucus meetings and on the House floor presenting and debating over 70 amendments to the proposed 680-page budget from the Joint Budget Committee.
The Joint Budget Committee (JBC) consists of 6 members, 3 from the House and 3 from the Senate. Because the Democrats control both chambers, there are 4 Democrats and 2 Republicans on the JBC. The JBC starts meeting with about 20 different divisions of the state government early in November and has many meetings through the end of January. Then with economic forecasts, the JBC presents to the General Assembly their budget recommendations.
The $16.5 billion budget, with 24 changes, was approved after nearly 12 hours of debate. I strongly supported amendments that would place more money into our transportation budget and to place additional funds into driver's license offices. In the 2002 budget, about 20 driver's licenses offices were closed. All of these amendments failed. In many instances, Fort Collins being one of the worst, we have waiting lines of 40 minutes to sometimes 2-3 hours. This is the wrong way for the state to service the general public. I voted NO on the budget for these reasons and because we continually let our case load expenses go up about $340 million every year. Case load is the money we spend on prisons, health and human services, Medicaid, and K-12 education.
Also, early in the week, the House passed HB 1344 that would grant specific legal rights and responsibilities to same-sex couples who go through a licensing process to formalize their domestic partnerships. Four of the House's 30 Republicans joined 34 of the 35 House Democrats voting for the bill. I voted NO because I believe that homosexual relations are detrimental to people's well being and the state government should not adopt policies that are not good for the citizens of the state. Rep. Lynn Hefley, R-Colorado Springs said that if the bill is approved, "marriage would no longer be sacred in Colorado." She also stated that "homosexuals compromise only 2% of our population." Rep. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud stated that this bill is "a significant social change" for all of Colorado, not for only "a small minority " of residences. This bill, if approved by the Senate would allow this to be a ballot measure to be approved by the voters in November.
Illegal immigration continues to be a very big thing for the citizens of our state and nation. The work in Washington D.C., by Congress to actually do something about this very serious problem is causing tens of thousands of people to protest in cities all over the nation that they do not want to see any changes.
Section 8 or our U.S. Constitution says "Congress is to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions." I say that 10,000 people coming across our southern border every night, 42% being from countries other than Mexico, to be an invasion.
All elected officials, the executive branch and judges swear to uphold the U.S. Constitution. I recommend that all of these officials to get their U.S.Constitution out, read it, and then apply it to their public actions. We need to"do whatever it takes" to protect our southern border immediately!!!
I wish all of you a great week and we should continually ask for God's blessings and protection on our state and country.
Rep. Jim Welker
HD 51 - Loveland
As of March 31, 612 bills have been introduced in the House and Senate, with 41 days left until the end of the session.
The past week, Governor Owens signed HB 1156, the Social Security protection bill that I carried. This bill will make it harder for criminals to get your social security number for their use in identity theft.
The big event for the week was the work and vote on the State budget. We spent several hours in caucus meetings and on the House floor presenting and debating over 70 amendments to the proposed 680-page budget from the Joint Budget Committee.
The Joint Budget Committee (JBC) consists of 6 members, 3 from the House and 3 from the Senate. Because the Democrats control both chambers, there are 4 Democrats and 2 Republicans on the JBC. The JBC starts meeting with about 20 different divisions of the state government early in November and has many meetings through the end of January. Then with economic forecasts, the JBC presents to the General Assembly their budget recommendations.
The $16.5 billion budget, with 24 changes, was approved after nearly 12 hours of debate. I strongly supported amendments that would place more money into our transportation budget and to place additional funds into driver's license offices. In the 2002 budget, about 20 driver's licenses offices were closed. All of these amendments failed. In many instances, Fort Collins being one of the worst, we have waiting lines of 40 minutes to sometimes 2-3 hours. This is the wrong way for the state to service the general public. I voted NO on the budget for these reasons and because we continually let our case load expenses go up about $340 million every year. Case load is the money we spend on prisons, health and human services, Medicaid, and K-12 education.
Also, early in the week, the House passed HB 1344 that would grant specific legal rights and responsibilities to same-sex couples who go through a licensing process to formalize their domestic partnerships. Four of the House's 30 Republicans joined 34 of the 35 House Democrats voting for the bill. I voted NO because I believe that homosexual relations are detrimental to people's well being and the state government should not adopt policies that are not good for the citizens of the state. Rep. Lynn Hefley, R-Colorado Springs said that if the bill is approved, "marriage would no longer be sacred in Colorado." She also stated that "homosexuals compromise only 2% of our population." Rep. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud stated that this bill is "a significant social change" for all of Colorado, not for only "a small minority " of residences. This bill, if approved by the Senate would allow this to be a ballot measure to be approved by the voters in November.
Illegal immigration continues to be a very big thing for the citizens of our state and nation. The work in Washington D.C., by Congress to actually do something about this very serious problem is causing tens of thousands of people to protest in cities all over the nation that they do not want to see any changes.
Section 8 or our U.S. Constitution says "Congress is to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions." I say that 10,000 people coming across our southern border every night, 42% being from countries other than Mexico, to be an invasion.
All elected officials, the executive branch and judges swear to uphold the U.S. Constitution. I recommend that all of these officials to get their U.S.Constitution out, read it, and then apply it to their public actions. We need to"do whatever it takes" to protect our southern border immediately!!!
I wish all of you a great week and we should continually ask for God's blessings and protection on our state and country.
Rep. Jim Welker
HD 51 - Loveland
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