Rallying for a raise

Democrats show support for Amendment 42
By Douglas Crowl
The Daily Times-Call

LONGMONT — Mead resident Paul Zoric may have been one of the few people who attended the Boulder County Democratic Party’s rally to raise the state’s minimum wage Monday without his mind already made up.
The rally was formed to support Amendment 42, which, if passed in November, would raise the minimum wage in Colorado from $5.15 to $6.85, the first increase in nine years.
It also would adjust the rate each year for inflation and add the law to Colorado’s constitution.
“It’s a tough one,” Zoric said. “It’s really not my issue.”
He wondered if his taxes would have to be increased to account for government jobs, for example.
“I’m really just going to have to think about it,” Zoric said, though he said he’s leaning toward supporting the amendment.
About 90 people gathered Monday afternoon at Roosevelt Park for the rally, which turned into a stumping opportunity for candidates.
Many people howled in support of pro-Amendment 42 rhetoric from the speakers and literally hissed at any mention of Republican politicians, including President Bush, Gov. Bill Owens and U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave.
“Five-fifteen an hour is a joke,” said state Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont. “This is absolutely the right thing to do.”
Fourth Congressional District candidate Angie Paccione, Boulder County Commissioner Tom Mayer and state Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, all spoke at the rally.
“If you are working hard, 40 hours a week, you should not be in poverty,” Paccione said.
Amendment 42 proponents say people who work minimum- wage jobs, three-quarters of whom are adults, can’t make ends meet. They also say nearly everything has increased in value in the last nine years, except that wage.
Jan Rigg — spokeswoman for Respect Colorado’s Constitution, a group formed to oppose Amendment 42 — said there’s more to the issue than these points. She said only 37,000 Coloradans earn the minimum wage, a quarter of whom are teenagers and most of whom are in their early 20s.
It’s an “entry level” wage, not a living wage, and it’s used to train people, she said.
“You certainly don’t leave them at the minimum wage forever,” Rigg said Friday in a phone interview.
Raising the wage would mean eliminating many entry-level jobs, she said, because businesses will have to make up for the mandated salary increases.
“A lot of small businesses are going to be crushed, seriously,” Rigg added.
She also said it’s dangerous to change Colorado’s constitution to automatically increase the minimum wage for inflation because it takes away control of the wage in times when the economy is down.

Owens: Do not regress

Gov. urges lawmakers not to retreat from past years’ reforms in Colo.
By John Fryar
The Daily Times-Call

DENVER — Gov. Bill Owens urged lawmakers Thursday not to retreat from seven years of progress toward reforming education, reducing taxes and improving highways.
In the Republican governor’s eighth and final State of the State address, Owens said he’s been able to work well with leaders of both parties, including Demo- crats now in their second year of majority control of the Legislature.
There will be policy differences this year, Owens said, just as there have been in the past, such as when he vetoed a record 47 bills that lawmakers approved during last year’s session.
The governor predicted, though, that he’ll once again be able to work out most disagreements with lawmakers and sign into law most of the bills they send him.
Owens warned, however, that he’ll wield his veto pen again “if you send me a bill that in my opinion weakens Colorado families, puts our jobs- friendly climate at risk or reverses any of the great progress we’ve made in education.”
Longmont Democratic Sen. Brandon Shaffer said after the speech that while he doesn’t always agree with the governor, Owens is “a classy guy.”
Shaffer said Owens demonstrated that quality Thursday by taking time to recognize Coloradans’ efforts in aiding Hurricane Katrina victims and by applauding the work of this state’s military reservists and National Guard members, both in Iraq and in post-Katrina duties in the Gulf Coast.
Owens outlined an “ambitious” agenda for his last year as governor. That includes includes several state spending recommendations as well as calls for reforming a public pension system, reining in medical malpractice lawsuits, protecting Coloradans from violent sexual predators, and reducing the costs of government health-care programs for the poor.
“Anyone who came here today expecting a farewell address will be sorely disappointed,” Owens said.
Owens campaigned alongside Democratic leaders and some legislative Republicans last year to convince enough Coloradans to adopt Referendum C, which allows the state to keep and spend nearly $4 billion over the next five years.
Owens said Thursday that passage of Referendum C will allow Colorado “to recover from years of recession while keeping our taxes among the lowest in the country, and I want to thank the bipartisan team that helped make this possible.”
Owens and Democratic leaders have had unresolved disagreements over how much Referendum C money should spent on transportation, and he used his speech to restate his case for highway funding.
But the governor also told lawmakers he looked forward to working with them on several “critical budget items.”
“And I have a message today for my many friends who could not support Referendum C,” Owens added. “I want to benefit from your views as well as we shape this budget.”
After the governor’s speech, House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver, said in an interview, “We heard a lot less saber-rattling than last year,” when Owens pointedly itemized a list of “basic principles” that the governor said he would not compromise.
Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, said, “I think it was a kinder, gentler Gov. Owens” this year.
Pommer also contrasted the compromising themes that Owens expressed with a sharply partisan opening-day speech delivered Wednesday by House Minority Leader Joe Stengel, R-Littleton.
Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Jefferson County, said in a statement that Owens made “several points upon which we can agree,” including the use of “telemedicine” to lower health-care costs, streamlining services for Medicaid-eligible children and providing additional funding to help needy families pay home heating costs.
But Romanoff said he still disagrees with the governor’s request for a supplemental $80 million highway appropriation from this year’s budget. And Fitz-Gerald expressed disappointment that Owens did not talk about the need for more accountability for state government computer contracts.
Owens, meanwhile, told lawmakers that after voters “gave us the revenue we need so that Colorado can recover from recession,” it’s “now our duty to use these funds wisely.”
“That’s going to be the biggest challenge of this legislative session,” the governor said.
The governor’s agenda
In Thursday’s State of the State address, Gov. Bill Owens outlined his legislative agenda for his final year as governor. Items on his agenda include:
• Allowing biotechnology companies to generate capital for labs and employees by allowing them to sell portions of net operating losses from their startup years.
• Allowing the state Economic Development Commission to award financial incentives to companies that create high-quality, high-paying jobs, especially in rural Colorado.
• Exempting high-speed Internet voice communications from Colorado taxes charged on conventional telephone service.
• Discouraging repeat drunken driving by making first-time offenders help clean up highway rights of way as part of their sentences.
• Requiring voters to prove their identities and verifying their U.S. citizenship when they’re added to voter rolls.
• Requiring public colleges and universities to commit to supporting and retaining underserved students, especially minorities.
• Terminating the emissions-testing requirement for motor vehicles in the metro area.
• Creating dedicated state funding to help pay for fighting wildfires.
• Working with the Colorado Commission on Higher Education to establish a basic statewide threshold and standard for awarding academic tenure at public colleges and universities.
• Retaining Colorado students’ eligibility for in-state college tuition when their parents are posted to out-of-state military assignments.
• Addressing Colorado’s nursing shortage through a student loan-forgiveness program and by allowing nurses to move to Colorado and work here without having to obtain a new license.
• Adding $10 million to this year’s tourism promotion budget by using part of the severance-tax money the state collects on oil, gas and mineral production.
• Adding $20 million, also from severance tax revenues, to the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program that helps needy families pay winter utility bills.
• Requiring the automatic notification of communities when convicted sexual predators move into neighborhoods, and subjecting predators to mandatory arrest when they fail to register.
• Reforming the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association to reduce current and future unfunded liabilities, possibly including a changing of benefit levels for current employees when they retire.
• Clarifying the out-of-pocket expenses to which plaintiffs would be entitled when they win medical malpractice lawsuits, and requiring experts to sign off on such cases before they can move forward in court.
John Fryar can be reached by e-mail at jfryar@ times-call.com.

Questions linger about state's role

Some asking if Coffman should have noticed red flags

By Kate Larsen, Camera Staff Writer
December 25, 2002

While it's clear the St. Vrain Valley School District mismanaged its budget into a $14 million debt, some community members say they think the State Treasurer's Office should share the blame.

It's common for school districts to borrow money from the state treasury's interest-free loan program to tide them over until property tax revenues are collected in the spring. For the past two years, St. Vrain Valley borrowed a larger amount of money than normal to cover its growing debt and did it earlier than usual — and some say that should have raised a red flag at the state level.

Rick Samson, vice president of the St. Vrain Valley school board, said if a lending institution notices an abnormal borrowing pattern, it should take notice.

"We hardly ever borrow, and then one year we borrow six times and earlier — you'd think that someone would say, 'What is St. Vrain doing?'"

State Treasurer Mike Coffman, who approves the loans, said the law outlining the loan program is not set up in a way that would help him detect problems. Additionally, Coffman said St. Vrain Valley used misleading numbers on its loan request forms.

"I wish they had been honest with us," Coffman said. "They disguised their purpose."

On a Nov. 5 loan request, St. Vrain Valley Finance Director Walker Nielsen stated the district's cash balance to be about negative $2.4 million. The debt was in fact much larger — about $10 million — at that point.

Nielsen has since resigned. Ken Kirkland, the district's assistant superintendent of business services, has been suspended without pay.

In an agreement with St. Vrain Valley last week, Coffman ordered across-the-board pay cuts and a series of other cost-cutting measures to rectify the district's recently uncovered $13.8 million deficit, attributed to budget mismanagement over several years. The Boulder County District Attorney's Office is investigating the mismanagement.

Jennie White, the parent of a Skyline High School student, said she holds St. Vrain Valley staff and board members accountable for the budget crisis, but Coffman should also take some responsibility. White said she's concerned that Coffman loaned the district so much money without ever asking questions.

"I have concerns not only as a citizen of the (school) district but of the state," she said. "Where was Coffman's office when it came to checks and balances?"

Dick Murphy, who served as a deputy state treasurer and as the chief financial officer for the Boulder Valley School District, said St. Vrain Valley's loan applications may not have raised any red flags because school districts' spending patterns can vary.

"One large purchase can throw off a budget," Murphy said. He is acting as a liaison between Coffman's office and the St. Vrain Valley staff as the district works on its financial recovery plan.

"The state treasurer doesn't have much choice but to loan the money unless there is evidence that the loan cannot be repaid," Murphy said. "I don't think there's anything within the (loan) document that would indicate one way or another if it could be paid back."

Coffman said he had no reason to be suspicious, as St. Vrain Valley had never been in default on previous loans and there hadn't been any problems with other school districts.

But Jack Pommer, a Democrat recently elected to the State House to represent Boulder and Longmont, says it is Coffman's job to be suspicious because he's watching over the state's money.

"Mike Coffman is so interested in becoming governor that he forgot he's the state treasurer, and the state treasurer has the responsibility to watch over our money," Pommer said.

Pommer said Coffman overreacted to the situation to keep the public's attention away from his office and on the school district.

One change Pommer said he would like to see in the loan program is for school boards to be notified within 30 days of how much their district is borrowing and for what purpose. He is drafting legislation to introduce during the next legislative session.

Currently the loan program requires the signature of a school district's chief financial officer and the superintendent.

Boulder lawmaker to target high prescription drug costs

By TOM McAVOY
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

DENVER - A Boulder legislator plans to introduce a bill next year to use the state's buying power to negotiate reduced prescription drug prices for Colorado's working poor.

Rep. Jack Pommer's proposal would cover people who don't qualify for Medicaid's federally controlled prescription rates and who aren't on any managed health insurance plan.

"It's an unfair twist in the market," Pommer said Thursday. "It forces people who are working but can't afford insurance and people on Medicare to pay the absolute highest prices for prescriptions."

Pommer relied on a Colorado Public Interest Research Group survey that found Colorado's uninsured pay 64 percent more than the federal supply price for 10 commonly prescribed drugs.
According to the survey of 19 states, filling prescriptions for the 10 common drugs costs $52.59 if purchased through Medicaid, but for the uninsured, $86.12 in Colorado and $90.21 nationally.

Colorado buys millions of dollars worth of prescription drugs for Medicaid recipients, giving the state the buying power used by private insurers to negotiate discounts, Pommer said.
Similar bills were introduced by Pommer and Rep. John Salazar, D-Manassa, in the last legislative session, but they died.

Salazar's HB1162 would have established a Colorado Council on Pharmaceutical Bulk Purchasing to negotiate discount prices on behalf of government agencies and other organizations wanting to participate in a pool insurance program.

Two other area legislators - Reps. Dorothy Butcher, D-Pueblo, and Buffie McFadyen, D-Pueblo West - sponsored bills intended to make prescription drugs more affordable. Their bills also died in the House Health, Environment, Welfare and Institutions Committee.

State drug discount proposed for uninsured

By Julia C. Martinez, Denver Post Capitol Bureau
July 18, 2003

A Democratic lawmaker on Thursday proposed to protect uninsured Coloradans from high costs of prescription medication by having the state negotiate lower prices on their behalf.
Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Longmont, said he will sponsor legislation again next year to create a program similar to one in Maine, which enables uninsured citizens to get a discount on retail pharmaceutical prices.

"We don't want to wait for the federal government. We can solve the problem in Colorado," Pommer said at a news conference at the state Capitol to discuss a survey released earlier this week.

Pommer estimated that 100,000 Coloradans lack prescription drug coverage, including thousands of seniors.

The national survey by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group found that uninsured Americans pay an average of 72 percent more than the federal government for 10 common prescription drugs. Uninsured Coloradans are paying an average of 64 percent more for prescription medications, the report said.

While the federal government is able to use its buying power to negotiate lower prices for its employees, veterans and retirees, uninsured citizens have no one to negotiate on their behalf, said Rex Wilmouth of CoPIRG, the local arm of the national consumer advocacy group.
"They are at the whim of the pharmaceutical industry," Wilmouth said.

In dollars and cents, for example, the average price charged to uninsured Coloradans for a 30-day supply of the cholesterol-lowering drug Zocor is $131.82. That is 94 percent more than the price charged the federal government, $67.81, the survey found.

For Celebrex, a medication for people with arthritis, the average monthly price for Colorado's uninsured is $166.54, 29 percent more than the federal supply price.

Denverite Martha Everett, 54, said that her eight prescription medicines cost $300 a month before she got help from the state's Indigent Care Program. She sometimes did not bother to get them refilled.

"It wasn't right for me to go without medication, but often I couldn't afford them," said Everett, a part-time employee of a Denver nonprofit agency.

The survey found that Denver ranks as one of the least expensive cities for uninsured consumers, yet prices also averaged 64 percent more than the federal price, roughly the same as statewide average prices.

Pommer proposed that the state use its buying power to obtain medicine for underinsured or uninsured Coloradans whose income is at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level. A similar measure he introduced in this year's legislative session was killed in committee.

Last month, the U.S. House and Senate passed differing versions of legislation to add drug coverage beginning in 2006 under Medicare. A conference committee will try to reach a compromise.