*4/27/12 LWVUS: Please take this action to urge Congress to pass the Disclose Act. Enough said. Ellen Park, LWVLPC Legislative Chair
LWVUS ACTION ALERT: Where is the MONEY Coming From?
Campaign financing in our nation is corrupting our political system with secret money from special interests and large outside funders.
Tell your Senators that you want to clean up our political system.
Already in this election cycle we have seen a slew of money from secret donors, corporations and special interests. If Congress does not act to clean up our election finance system, 2012 will be known as the year of the Super PAC, and voters will be deprived of the information they need to make informed decisions in this election.
Tell your Senators to put voters back in control.
Congress can act to close the floodgates against secret big-money special interests in our elections. The DISCLOSE Act of 2012 is moving in the Senate and it would require full transparency and let the sunlight in. The DISCLOSE Act is the key that will allow voters to make their own decisions and shine the light on big-money outside spending in this election.
Tell Congress to shine the light on big money.
The DISCLOSE 2012 Act is carefully crafted to require disclosure by outside groups of large campaign contributions and expenditures + those over $10,000 + and includes valuable "stand-by-your ad" provisions for ads run by such groups. It requires outside groups to certify that their spending is not coordinated with candidates and, very importantly, covers transfers of money among groups so that the actual sources of funds being spent to influence federal elections will be known. Most importantly, it would give voters the information they need to judge for themselves about the advertising and the candidates.
Send a message to your Senators. Tell them to put voters first.
League of Women Voters
1730 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
*4/23/12 Dear LWVLPC members:
Please take a moment to act on this alert to support the EPA's proposal. Environmental issues have ranked as top priority for our League for several years, and adding our members' voices to a nationwide effort by many organizations will have an impact.
Thank you
Ellen Park, LWVLPC Legislative Action Chair
From: EGMacNamara@lwv.org
Subj: CLEAN AIR ACTION ALERT: We Need Your Voice!
For the first time ever, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could put limits on the industrial carbon pollution that fuels global warming, makes smog worse and threatens the health of children and the elderly -- and you can help make it happen.
Support the EPA's historic standard to limit carbon pollution.
The EPA has taken an important first step by proposing a new standard to limit carbon pollution from new power plants. The agency is now receiving public comments on the proposal and we must add our voice in support.
You can bet that corporate polluters are already doing everything they can to block these important health protections. Members of the environmental and health communities are already voicing their support, and we must add the trusted League voice to theirs.
Add your voice! Tell the EPA that you support strong protections against industrial carbon pollution.
The EPA's proposal sets a performance standard that will ensure new power plants limit their pollution. But this is just a down payment. Existing coal-fired power plants account for the largest chunk of carbon dioxide pollution emitted by stationary sources in the US, which is roughly on a par with the carbon dioxide pollution emitted by the entire transportation sector.
We need to build strong support for the EPA's proposal on new plants to ensure that there will be political support for taking the next step -- controlling carbon pollution from existing power plants!
Send a powerful message to let the EPA know you want them to support people not polluters. Your comment will be delivered with those of thousands of League members and supporters across the country.
Submit a comment to the EPA today!
League of Women Voters
*2/27/12 Dear LWVLPC members:
Please take a moment to take action on this alert to oppose this amendment that is an outrageous attempt to discriminate against women, and send us back to an era where women were second-class citizens subject to the rule of men and someone's else's beliefs.
Ellen Park LWVLPC Legislative Action
Subj: ACTION ALERT: Its Discrimination Against Women and We Wont Stand for It
The U.S. Senate will soon vote on an amendment that would limit access to contraceptive services for women if any employer or insurance plan has a "religious or moral objection" to it.
This open-ended invitation to cut back on preventative health care services for women must be defeated. We need your help.
Tell your Senators to fight against discrimination based on sex!
But the amendment by Senators Blunt and Rubio actually goes even further. If an employer or insurance plan has a "religious or moral objection," then any health care service can be excluded from coverage from the Affordable Care Act, our nation's historic new health care law which aims to ensure quality health care for all.
Allowing employers and insurance plans to pick and choose what should be covered will not only lead to discrimination against women, it will shred the essential protections we fought so hard for in health care reform.
Tell your Senator to oppose the Blunt-Rubio amendment!
The Blunt-Rubio amendment would limit access to contraceptive health care for women and would deny Americans access to needed health care coverage based on ill-defined religious or moral objections. This legislation should be soundly rejected by the Senate.
TAKE ACTION
Tell them to vote against the Blunt-Rubio amendment because it will block contraceptive services and discriminate against women. Tell them not to limit access to health care based on ill-defined "religious or moral objections."
- Send this alert to other concerned citizens -- your grassroots network, your friends and coworkers -- encourage them to contact their Senators.
League of Women Voters
1730 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
*2/17/12 LWVUS:
League Opposes Keystone XL Pipeline Legislation
The League joined groups from the environmental community in opposing legislation to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. The letter said pending legislation would effectively turn Congress into a permitting authority, bypassing a robust environmental and safety review and approving a project for which a route has not even been determined, and called for the rejection of such actions.
*2/2/12 LWVUS: LWVUS Legislative Priorities for 2012 (NEW)
The LWVUS Board established the following as Legislative Priorities for 2012: Voter Protection, Campaign Finance Reform, Environmental Defense and Health Care Defense. In addition, these items were included on the LWVUS Watch List for 2012: Fair Taxation, CEDAW (Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women), UN Support and Immigration. Items on the Watch List will be acted upon if the opportunity arises for League action, it does not interfere with action on an LWVUS Priority and it appears the LWVUS can make an impact.
The Board considered many issues and the responses from members suggesting Legislative Priorities. The decisions were based on what issues are likely to come before the 112th Congress, the opportunities to make an impact, program decisions made by members at the last Convention, member interest and resources available to manage these priorities effectively. The Board reviews these priorities throughout the year, making changes if necessary.
*1/12/12 LWVLPC Legislative Alert:
LWVLPC Members:
Members who attended our Advocacy and Program Planning meeting yesterday assigned as our highest National priority the issue of Money in Politics. This Action Alert is very timely, coming on the heals of our consensus. I urge you to take this first step, as I have, to begin to address the impact of the Citizens United decision and Super PACs by taking the action described below. Thank you.
Ellen Park
LWVLPC Legislative Chair
*Subj: ACTION ALERT: Fight Back Against Citizens United
Today you have an important opportunity to take an essential first step to fight back against Citizens United and the deregulation of the campaign finance system. Click here to urge President Obama to clean house at the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
Already in this important election year, new Super PACs are flooding elections with huge expenditures from million-dollar donors. Because they are supposedly "independent" from the candidates, and with new loopholes from the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited amounts from corporations and individuals, and they can do so with limited disclosure.
While there are different avenues that can be taken to fight back against Citizens United and cut the influence of special interests, you can join us by taking the first step today by urging President Obama to appoint new commissioners to the FEC. Among other duties, the FEC can define what election efforts are "independent" from the candidates.
The FEC is supposed to be the agency that enforces campaign finance laws, but it is dysfunctional. Of the six commissioners at the agency, three of them staunchly refuse to enforce the law, and five of the six are serving despite expired terms. It is time to clean house.
We need real campaign finance reform, and getting President Obama to nominate new commissioners to do their duty and enforce campaign finance laws is a good place to start. In the next 30 days we need to gather 25,000 signatures of support.
*4/27/12 LWVCO Legislative Letter #8:76 PROGRESS IN JUVENILE JUSTICE
*Dear LWVLPC members:
Click here for Legislative Letter #8 - just a couple of weeks left in this session. Because there is little time left, bills are being heard pretty quickly, so some of the material in the Letter is out of date by the time it is published. I am updating status in a couple of these cases.
Those of us interested in juvenile justice will want to read the in-depth discussion in the Letter's preamble concerning action in this area during this session.
Highlights:
*4/11/12 LWVCO Legislative Letter #7:66
THE BUDGET IS INTRODUCED
*Dear LWVLPC members
Legislative Letter # 7 is available and can be seen here
The Long Bill (the State Budget) has been introduced, the arm-wrestling has begun, and LL # 7 provides an excellent explanation of the budget process. If you are interested, be sure to read the preamble.
Some highlights:
* 4/11/12 LWVLC: Dear LWVLPC Members,
LWV of Colorado has asked each of us as individuals to contact Gov. Hickenlooper regarding HB1271. Please scroll down to review the bill take the requested action. You will be connected to Gov. Hickenlooper's web site at the correct page, and will have to enter your data, including the number of this bill.
Thank you,
Ellen Park, LWVLPC Legislative Action Chair
CALL TO ACTION
HB12-1271 Juvenile Direct File Limitations (Rep. Nikkel and McCann; Sen. Giron and Neville)
HB 12-1271 has passed both the House and the Senate and sometime this week will be sent to the governor for his signature.
We would like as many League members as possible to contact Governor Hickenlooper and ask him to sign the bill. There were many DAs who were very opposed to this bill and they will be working hard to persuade him to veto the bill.
The quickest, most efficient way to contact the governor is to push the control button and then click on the link below. You can scroll down to the bill HB12-1271 and proceed to enter the information requested. There is a space for comments. The governor's office is keeping a tally of the votes for and against the bill.
Under current law, a juvenile age 14 through 17 charged with specific crimes can be direct filed on and prosecuted in district (adult court) at the sole discretion of the district attorney with no oversight by a judge. A juvenile under the age of 14 can be charged in district court, but the DA has to request that the juvenile judge transfer the case to district court.
This bill raises the age at which a DA can direct file on a youth to 16. It limits the crimes that are eligible for direct file to only the most egregious crimes. It provides direct filed youth with due process by allowing such youth to request a reverse transfer hearing at which the youth can request that the case be sent back to juvenile court. The bill also supports the goal of rehabilitation by exempting direct filed youth (except those convicted of a class 1 felony or certain serious sex offenses) from the adult mandatory minimum sentences that can result in very long sentences in settings that may not be conducive to rehabilitation.
What the bill does not do is eliminate the ability of the DAs to direct file. It sets limits on direct file and provides due process.
Please remember that when you contact the governor's office, you should do it on your own behalf not on behalf of the League. Only our lobbyist and our president can do that. There is more information on the bill in the Legislative Letter #3, p. 24. Or you can contact Carla Bennett at 303-757-2930 or CarlaLBennett@comcast.net
*3/28/12 LWVCO Legislative Letter #6:54 HEALTH CARE: IN PURSUIT OF EFFICIENCY
Dear LWVLPC members:
LWVCO Legislative Letter # 6 is now available, click
Legislative Letter #6
The preamble in this Letter provides an overview of the various Health Care laws in play in the State Legislature, many of them bi-partisan and aimed at improving efficiency and lowering health care costs. Be sure to read - regardless of the Supreme Court decision, many of these may help Colorado reign in costs.
LWVCO has been actively advocating the passage of HB 1271, Juvenile Direct File Limitations, which reforms our direct file laws which currently allow DAs to direct file on youth as young as 14 years of age.
These reforms do not take away the ability of the DA's to direct file on youth 16 years and older who have committed the most egregious offenses They do not change which juveniles can be tried as adults but they do limit the ability of District Attorneys to make this decision unilaterally and without due process. Youth under age 16 could still be tried as adults, if they were transferred to adult court by the juvenile court. The bill has passed the House and is now on the Senate floor, where an amendment may be introduced which could gut this bill. If you, as an individual, are concerned, contact Sen Roberts ellen.roberts.senate@state.co.us and let her know that you want to see this bill stand as is.
A new bill, SB 163, to allow more appropriate Drug Sentences is described on p 58. Important and overdue.
HB 1111 requiring photo IDs for Voting passed the House and has been assigned to the Senate State Affairs committee. The League opposes as it will make it harder if not impossible for some categories of eligible voters to vote.
Ellen Park, LWVLPC Legislative Action Chair
*3/14/12 LWVCO Legislative Letter #5:44 BALLOTS: PRIVACY VS. OPEN RECORDS
3/14/12 Dear LWVLPC members:
Please see Legislative Letter #5 above.
A few highlights:
Elections: The Letter preamble contains a good discussion of the difficulty implicit in balancing Privacy of a Ballot vs the public policy of Open Records, and a new bill SB 155, Transparency of Elections and CORA, which LWVCO is watching to see how it proceeds.
Higher Education: SB 15, which we support, and which would allow undocumented students who meet certain criteria to attend Colorado higher ed institutions at in-state tuition rates, continues to be laid over for third (and final) vote in the Senate. Backers are seeking to secure the support of all college governing boards in the state before sending it to the House, where a similar bill was killed in committee last year. . The Board of Trustees of Fort Lewis College has voted to support this bill, and in a recent tweet Gov. Hickenlooper has also has indicated support.
Energy: HB 1121, which the League opposes, would allow the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to suspend implementation of the 30% renewable energy standard (RES) beginning in 2020 under certain conditions. Hard to see the point of this bill at this time, solving a problem that does not exist.
Fiscal Policy: read HB 1029, p 47, an interesting Business Personal Property tax cutting bill which is a little complicated in its revenue impact. The League neither supports nor opposes at this time.
Reproductive Rights: HB 1130, First Degree Murder of Unborn Child, now opposed by the League due to legal uncertainty. The bill excludes from prosecution medical care for which the mother provided consent.
The report by LWVCO's Committee was in LL#4 and is as follows:
First heard in House Judiciary on Feb. 24, this bill received a long, convoluted debate over the intention and meaning of an amendment that replaced the introduced bill with a new one-paragraph bill as follows: "If the commission of any crime is the cause of death or injury to an unborn member of the species homo sapiens, the homicide and assault charges for that death or injury may be brought along with the charges against the mother." The big question here is that the state has no murder or assault law except for crimes against a person; so does this suggest that at any stage of development, an unborn member of species homo sapiens deserves the same protection as a child after birth? We oppose this bill because of severe legal uncertainty. The bill, as amended, passed the House Judiciary committee on a 6- 5 vote. (Yes: Rep. Gardner, Barker, DelGrosso, Nikkel, Sonnenberg, Waller. No: Duran, Kagan, Lee, Pabon, Ryden).>
The Bill has since passed the House Appropriations Committee, and has been referred to the House as a whole for Second Reading, carried over daily.
Contact information for our legislators regarding bills or other topics:
Senator Ellen Roberts:
Tel: 303-866-4884
E-mail: ellen.roberts.senate@state.co.us
Representative J. Paul Brown:
Tel: 303-866-2914
E-mail: jpaul.brown.house@state.co.us
Please and let me know if you no longer wish to receive these update by responding to this email.
Regards, Ellen Park
LWVLPC Legislative Action Chair
*3/1/12 LWVCO Legislative Letter #4:32 WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY
TO DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO?
*3/1/12 Dear LWVLPC members:
LL # 4 is already here, and can be accessed by clicking the link directly above.
Budget related bills are starting to make their way through the legislature, and this letter explains the rationale behind them, so if you are a fiscal wonk, be sure to read through the first 3 pages. Note that House Bill 1287 designed to adjust the value of the Senior Property Tax Exemption, was PI'd (killed) in the House Finance Committee, and failed to advance.
Based on our position in the area of Reproductive Choice, we support HB 1100. It has passed both houses in a bipartisan vote and is on the Governor's desk for signature. If it is signed, the law will make the results of any information related to substance use obtained as part of a screening or test performed for the purpose of determining pregnancy or providing prenatal care inadmissible in any criminal proceeding, and is intended to encourage pregnant women to seek help for substance abuse without worrying that the results of such tests could be used against them.
SB 15, which would allow in-state tuition for undocumented students meeting certain criteria is scheduled for a third hearing in the Senate and if it passes the Senate it will move to the House. This bill was one of the topics raised at our Legislative Lowdown last week. The League has supported this legislation, which failed in the past, and still does based on our position in favor of giving "all qualified students the opportunity to attend post-secondary education and that successful participation should be facilitated by a variety of resources." The Higher Education Access Alliance (HEAA), of which the LWVCO is a member, is a primary supporter and advocate for the bill.
PERA: As an aside, those of you who attended the Lowdown also know that many PERA members were in the audience asking several questions about bills that would impact PERA. None of these bills are followed by the League's legislative Action Committee, and we are neutral on their status as we do not have any positions which would allow us to take a stand one way or another. You can always check on the status of all bills in the House and Senate by accessing the Colorado General Assembly Website CO Legislature
Regards,
Ellen Park, LWVLPC Legislative Chair
*2/17/12 LWVCO Legislative Letter #3:20
Dear LWVLPC members:
The third in a series of Legislative Letters compiled by LWVCO's Legislative Action Committee (LAC) is now available. (In case you are wondering about page numbers in these letters, Page 1 starts in LL # 1 and they advance sequentially throughout the Letters. Page 20 is the first page of LL#3)
The 3rd Letter has a bit of everything for everyone: education, energy, health care, elections, voting rights, juvenile justice, gun control, and more, so be sure to read it below.
Before I extract a few highlights from this Letter, a reminder to mark your calendars for our annual Legislative Lowdown which will take place on Saturday, February 25, from 9:30 to 11:30 at the Durango Public Library program rooms 1 & 2. This is your opportunity to meet and hear our two legislators, Senator Ellen Roberts and Representative J. Paul Brown, and to question them about their activities and priorities during this State Legislative session.
ELECTIONS Legislative Letter #2 invoked a query from our County Clerk, Tiffany Parker, regarding our partial support for SB 62, Voting by Military Personnel, since la Plata County has signed on to the pilot program designed by this bill. It turns out that we did not support that part of the bill that referenced an Internet-voting capability, because of our National position stating that security and voter control issues have yet to be resolved in Internet voting. After several exchanges with the LAC, we now know that the bill has been amended to remove those references, and we are now fully supporting it as you will see in this Letter.
Another bill involving Elections, SB 109 Improving Voter Lists will be of interest to our Voter Service folks: it proposes to improve the current process of inactivating voters, which is inconsistent and seems to penalize voters for failing to vote. We support this new bill, which has yet to be heard in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Health Care LWVCO opposed SB 53 Colorado Health Benefit Exchange Repeal, which was introduced to stop the health exchanges authorized in last session, and we are pleased to note that this bill has been defeated in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
GUN CONTROL If you scroll down to the Status Sheet in each of these letters, you will see the acronym PI'd applied to some bills. This stands for Postponed Indefinitely, and essentially means a bill has been killed in committee before ever reaching the Senate or House floors. One such bill, SB 25 Concealed Handgun Carry Without Permit, reported in LL#2, which we opposed, was PI'd in Senate committee. Several other bills relaxing Gun Controls are advancing in the House, including a House bill with the same name.
Again, see the complete Legislative Letter #3:20 below.
Ellen Park, LWVLPC Legislative Chair
*LWVCO Legislative Letter #3:20 CONTINUING EFFORTS TO IMPROVE EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES
*2/3/12 LWVCO Legislative Letter #2:11:
Dear LWVLPC Members:
The second of the series put together by the LWVCO Legislative Action Committee volunteers, along with Chris Watson, our lobbyist, the LWVCO office, and the support of all who donate to the LWVCO Lobby Fund and subscribe to the Legislative Letters is now available to members by clicking on this link:
*LWVCO Legislative Letter #2:11 LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE, 2012
In this issue, be sure to check out the Health Care bills: we support several but oppose SB 53 which would repeal the Health Benefit Exchange Law passed in Colorado last year.
We strongly support the Higher Education Bill SB 15, a version of which failed last year.
Also described are 3 bills proposing ever more permissive gun possession laws, all of which the League opposes.
In the realm of Voting Rights is yet another Photo ID bill (HB 1111) which we are opposing.
It was interesting to me to note that we are opposing a part of a bill to ease voting by Military personal (SB 62), that part being the ability to vote via Internet. Our opposition to this part of the bill is based on the fact that Internet voting does not produce a voter-verified paper ballot or record for potential audit or recount, which is in conflict with our position. In my view, at some point in the future we will have to find a way to make Internet voting verifiable...surely the IT industry can figure this out.
See the last page of the Letter for a status of all current bills we are supporting, opposing or watching based on LWV positions. http://www.lwvlaplata.org/Advocy_2012.html#LWV_CO_advocacy
If you no longer wish to receive the Legislative news please reply and let me know.
Ellen Park
LWVLPC Legislative Chair
*1/23/12 LWVCO Legislative Letter #1:1:
Dear LWVLPC Members:
This first LWVCO Legislative Letter #1:1 FACTS ABOUT THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS provides helpful information about CO Senate and House Committees and deadlines schedules for this Assembly. Note that the "Long Bill" refers to state budget for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013.
The advocacy agenda for the Colorado League this year includes:
- Voting Rights and Enfranchisement
- Fiscal Stability and Impact on Education and Higher Education
- Water Quality/Fracking
- Juvenile Justice
- Child Welfare
- Health Care including Reproductive Health Care
10 of the bills introduced this past week are being followed by the LVVCO State Legislative Action Committee and our lobbyist, and they are summarized on the last page of the Letter. We are supporting 6 of these, including:
SB 002 authorizing Civil Unions for all couples, which failed to reach a House vote last year
SB 015, enabling undocumented students who meet certain qualifications to attend CO Institutions of Higher Ed for in-state tuition, which also failed last year
HB 1003 authorizing the use of graywater (wastewater) under specific conditions
We are opposing SB 032, which is seeking a Federal waiver for Medicaid which, in our view, would lower standards for basic health care for Medicaid and Child Basic Health Plan (CHIP) recipients.
Check out the Letter for more detail.
Ellen Park LWVLPC Legislative Chair
***The LWVCO Legislative Letter is made possible by the hard work of our dedicated Legislative Action Committee volunteers, along with Chris Watson, our lobbyist, the LWVCO office, and the support of all of you who donate to the LWVCO Lobby Fund and subscribe to the Legislative Letter. Thank you for your continued support and dedication to producing this important publication.***
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