The Denver Business Journal - 12:33 PM MST Thursday, February 22, 2007
Boosting the amount of power Colorado's utilities would get from renewable resources from 10 percent to 20 percent would lead to more jobs, higher wages and an increase in the state's gross domestic product, according to a report issued Thursday by the Environment Colorado Research and Policy Center.
HB 1281, sponsored by Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, and Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, would raise the state mandate for using renewable resources to generate electricity to 20 percent by 2020 for large utilities.
The bill, to be considered by the House on Feb. 23, caps the cost of complying with the mandate that utilities can pass along to customers at 2 percent of their electric bills. The report compared the overall effect of the existing mandate on the state's economy -- that utilities get 10 percent of their power from renewable resources by 2015, a mandate voters approved in 2004 -- to the effect of raising the mandate to 20 percent by 2020. The comparison focused on how each policy affects overall spending, water use and air pollution.
The report found that under the higher 20 percent renewable standard, job creation would be 4.3 times higher, wages paid would be 2.2 times higher, and an increase in gross domestic product would be 1.9 times higher than under Amendment 37's lower requirement of 10 percent.
In an statement about the report, Gov. Bill Ritter -- who has backed renewable energy efforts in the state -- said increasing the requirement to 20 percent would raise Colorado's domestic product by $1.9 million, "bring over 4,000 high-paying, high-skilled jobs and over $570 million in wages paid to our state."
The report also said the 20 percent renewable energy goal also would lead to significant reductions of soot, smog, and mercury pollution, as well as 18 billion gallons of water savings by 2020 because wind and solar power uses less water than power generated using fossil fuels.
The rural economy also would benefit, the report said, via payments to farmers for renting land for wind turbines and increasing the property tax base in rural counties.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Imprisoning the budget
As inmate population booms, state faces a crisis
Colorado is taking a hard look at its prison-sentencing system, and not a moment too soon.
Between 1985 and 2005, Colorado's prison population quintupled, rising from 4,000 to 20,000 inmates. Two years from now, the population will probably reach 25,000, meaning the number of prison inmates will have risen more than six times in 24 years. In the same period, the state's entire population rose by only about 1.5 times.
Colorado is taking a hard look at its prison-sentencing system, and not a moment too soon.
Between 1985 and 2005, Colorado's prison population quintupled, rising from 4,000 to 20,000 inmates. Two years from now, the population will probably reach 25,000, meaning the number of prison inmates will have risen more than six times in 24 years. In the same period, the state's entire population rose by only about 1.5 times.
The exploding prison population comes with a significant price tag: It costs between $40,000 and $90,000 to build each new prison bed, and it costs about $26,000 annually to incarcerate each inmate. With 1,000 extra convicts a year, it all adds up.
But it doesn't compute within the confines of the state budget. In 2005, the Colorado Department of Corrections spent about $533 million, up from $57 million in 1985. In short, the cost of state prisons has risen about six times faster than the population that must fund prisons.
Why does state population matter? Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, passed in 1992, limits the growth of state revenue to the rate of inflation plus population growth. It also limits spending growth to no more than 6 percent annually.
Even with the five-year TABOR "time out" voters approved last year, the prison problem will prove difficult to manage. And since the supply of beds is so costly, it only makes sense to consider the demand.
The steady rise of the prison population is partly a product of stiff sentencing laws passed by the Legislature. The effect is a burgeoning population of inmates guilty of committing lower-level drug offenses and other non-violent crimes.
Last week, the Colorado Lawyers Committee released a report recommending the establishment of a sentencing commission, the Rocky Mountain News reported. Sentencing commissions have helped 17 states curb their prison expenditures and add a dose of reason to sentencing guidelines.
Highlighting the commissions' effectiveness, the lawyers' group noted the experience of North Carolina, which, with the help of a sentencing commission, cut its prison population by more than half in four years, the News reported.
The North Carolina Legislature adopted a new sentencing structure that stiffened punishment for violent offenders and encouraged alternative sentences for non-violent criminals. Such a system, the lawyers' group noted, might not be right for Colorado. But we would be remiss if we did not at least explore the options.
Some lawmakers are ready to take up the cause. During last fall's campaign, for instance, State Rep. Jack Pommer, a Boulder Democrat, effectively and chillingly outlined the clear and present need to confront this issue.
Sentencing commissions and sentencing guidelines are not intrinsically captivating. The topics become more compelling when one considers the looming budgetary havoc. When they return to work this week, legislators should confront this issue in earnest.
Dems want "new energy future"
By Todd Neff
03:44 p.m., January 17, 2007
DENVER — The state’s Democratic leaders will introduce at least a dozen energy-related bills during the 2007 legislative session, ranging from upping Colorado’s renewable energy output to adding power transmission lines to the state’s green-energy hotbeds.
Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Coal Creek Canyon, House Majority Leader Alice Madden, D-Boulder, and other Democratic leaders announced their plans to "literally embark on a new energy future for Colorado," as Madden put it, at a Wednesday news conference at the Capitol. Gov. Bill Ritter also spoke at the event, and representatives from Xcel Energy, the Rocky Mountain Farmer’s Union, wind-energy and environmental groups stood behind the podium.
"We’re going to play a leadership role in a way that in the long run makes a difference in the national energy economy and energy independence," Ritter said.
The legislators highlighted five bills, all of which remain works in process. They range from support for biofuel projects and money for school renewable-energy projects to standards for "net metering," which allows consumers to sell excess solar, wind or other power back to the utility. The two with the biggest potential impact relate to increasing the state’s energy-transmission capacity and raising the percentage of renewable energy Colorado utilities generate above the limits instituted by Amendment 37.
State Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, said he’s working on a bill that would require utilities to produce 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020. Amendment 37, the state renewable-energy portfolio passed by voters in 2004, requires major utilities to provide 10 percent of energy through renewable means by 2015.
Pommer said he’s still working on the bill’s specifics but it could include smaller rural electric associations, a move Ritter said he would support.
Ray Clifton, executive director of the Colorado Rural Electric Association representing 22 member cooperatives, said the association would not comment on specific bills until they could review them. But he said associations should reserve the right to opt out of any such bill, as the Intermountain Rural Electric Association and United Power, which serves parts of eastern Boulder County, did with Amendment 37.
Xcel Energy is investigating how much renewable energy could be introduced to the system without wind power’s inherent ebbs and surges harming it, spokesman Tom Henley said.
He said Xcel supports a Fitz-Gerald-sponsored bill to help energy companies build or upgrade transmission lines by charging customers an estimated 0.5 percent surcharge on monthly bills during construction. Customers generally pay for such infrastructure as part of the price of electricity when it’s eventually delivered. Overhead transmission lines cost between $750,000 and $1 million a mile, she said.
The idea, Fitz-Gerald said, is to boost transmission capacity to the eastern plains, the San Luis Valley and other renewable-energy hot spots.
Fred Grantham, general manager of the Morgan County Rural Electric Association, questioned the cost estimate, saying buried power lines cost two or three times more, and that such costs of right-of-way procurement would add to the bill.
Madden said Democrats are doing what the public has said it wants and that utilities should follow suit.
"Before Amendment 37 passed, we heard the sky would fall," Madden said. "The sky did not fall, apparently. It’s an industry that doesn’t want to change."
Contact Camera Staff Writer Todd Neff at (303) 473-1327 or nefft@dailycamera.com.
03:44 p.m., January 17, 2007
DENVER — The state’s Democratic leaders will introduce at least a dozen energy-related bills during the 2007 legislative session, ranging from upping Colorado’s renewable energy output to adding power transmission lines to the state’s green-energy hotbeds.
Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Coal Creek Canyon, House Majority Leader Alice Madden, D-Boulder, and other Democratic leaders announced their plans to "literally embark on a new energy future for Colorado," as Madden put it, at a Wednesday news conference at the Capitol. Gov. Bill Ritter also spoke at the event, and representatives from Xcel Energy, the Rocky Mountain Farmer’s Union, wind-energy and environmental groups stood behind the podium.
"We’re going to play a leadership role in a way that in the long run makes a difference in the national energy economy and energy independence," Ritter said.
The legislators highlighted five bills, all of which remain works in process. They range from support for biofuel projects and money for school renewable-energy projects to standards for "net metering," which allows consumers to sell excess solar, wind or other power back to the utility. The two with the biggest potential impact relate to increasing the state’s energy-transmission capacity and raising the percentage of renewable energy Colorado utilities generate above the limits instituted by Amendment 37.
State Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, said he’s working on a bill that would require utilities to produce 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020. Amendment 37, the state renewable-energy portfolio passed by voters in 2004, requires major utilities to provide 10 percent of energy through renewable means by 2015.
Pommer said he’s still working on the bill’s specifics but it could include smaller rural electric associations, a move Ritter said he would support.
Ray Clifton, executive director of the Colorado Rural Electric Association representing 22 member cooperatives, said the association would not comment on specific bills until they could review them. But he said associations should reserve the right to opt out of any such bill, as the Intermountain Rural Electric Association and United Power, which serves parts of eastern Boulder County, did with Amendment 37.
Xcel Energy is investigating how much renewable energy could be introduced to the system without wind power’s inherent ebbs and surges harming it, spokesman Tom Henley said.
He said Xcel supports a Fitz-Gerald-sponsored bill to help energy companies build or upgrade transmission lines by charging customers an estimated 0.5 percent surcharge on monthly bills during construction. Customers generally pay for such infrastructure as part of the price of electricity when it’s eventually delivered. Overhead transmission lines cost between $750,000 and $1 million a mile, she said.
The idea, Fitz-Gerald said, is to boost transmission capacity to the eastern plains, the San Luis Valley and other renewable-energy hot spots.
Fred Grantham, general manager of the Morgan County Rural Electric Association, questioned the cost estimate, saying buried power lines cost two or three times more, and that such costs of right-of-way procurement would add to the bill.
Madden said Democrats are doing what the public has said it wants and that utilities should follow suit.
"Before Amendment 37 passed, we heard the sky would fall," Madden said. "The sky did not fall, apparently. It’s an industry that doesn’t want to change."
Contact Camera Staff Writer Todd Neff at (303) 473-1327 or nefft@dailycamera.com.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Pommer derides enrollment exclusion
Democrat says charter schools ‘cherry pick’ students they want
By John Fryar
The Daily Times-Call
DENVER — Some Colorado charter schools are “cherry picking” the students they’ll admit and weeding out “kids that they don’t want,” a local lawmaker charged on Tuesday.
Even though semi-independent charter schools are technically public schools and get government funding, “we’ve built a separate set of schools that are quasi-private,” said Democratic Rep. Jack Pommer, whose House district includes parts of both the St. Vrain Valley and Boulder Valley school districts.
During a budget hearing with Colorado Department of Education officials, Pommer reported that parents and local school district officials have complained to him that there’s little they can do to prevent charter schools from turning away certain students they would rather not admit.
Pommer did not specifically name any such schools during the hearing. But several State Board of Education members said such exclusionary practices are illegal because charter schools have to have open-enrollment policies.
“I don’t know legally how the school can cherry-pick,” said Randy DeHoff, a Republican education board member from Littleton.
Evie Hudak, a Democratic state board member from Westminster, agreed with DeHoff but added that “it’s true that some charter schools counsel out students” who don’t fit into a school’s particular educational program.
Boulder Democrat Jared Polis, vice chairman of the state board, said the exclusionary enrollment practices Pommer described are not only illegal, but that local school districts shouldn’t allow them.
Polis said he thought the state board would be unanimous in saying that school districts should not allow preferential admissions policies by the charter schools within those districts.
But Pommer told Polis and DeHoff during a break in the hearing that school districts “all over the state” say there’s little they can do about the creation or practices of charter schools within their local jurisdictions.
Those local school districts fear they’ll be overruled by the State Board of Education, or that would-be charter schools will bypass the districts entirely and seek authority to form and operate themselves under a separate charter school law, he said.
Pommer charged that some families can’t even get their children into charter schools in their own neighborhoods because slots have been filled by children of the charter schools’ board members or employees.
Meanwhile, Pueblo Democratic Sen. Abel Tapia aired a separate charter-school-related complaint during Tuesday’s hearing.
Charter schools, which began forming under a 1993 law sponsored by Gov. Bill Owens when he was a state senator, were supposed to be laboratories for education innovations that could be adapted by conventional public schools, said Tapia, the chairman of the budget committee.
Tapia said he’s seen little idea-sharing between charter schools and public school districts in the 13 years since.
Polis suggested the blame may lie both with some charter schools, which may be too protective and “proprietary” about their techniques, and school districts with “an excess of pride” that don’t want to implement ideas they didn’t come up with for themselves.
“There is a lot of room for improvement” on both sides, Polis said.
By John Fryar
The Daily Times-Call
DENVER — Some Colorado charter schools are “cherry picking” the students they’ll admit and weeding out “kids that they don’t want,” a local lawmaker charged on Tuesday.
Even though semi-independent charter schools are technically public schools and get government funding, “we’ve built a separate set of schools that are quasi-private,” said Democratic Rep. Jack Pommer, whose House district includes parts of both the St. Vrain Valley and Boulder Valley school districts.
During a budget hearing with Colorado Department of Education officials, Pommer reported that parents and local school district officials have complained to him that there’s little they can do to prevent charter schools from turning away certain students they would rather not admit.
Pommer did not specifically name any such schools during the hearing. But several State Board of Education members said such exclusionary practices are illegal because charter schools have to have open-enrollment policies.
“I don’t know legally how the school can cherry-pick,” said Randy DeHoff, a Republican education board member from Littleton.
Evie Hudak, a Democratic state board member from Westminster, agreed with DeHoff but added that “it’s true that some charter schools counsel out students” who don’t fit into a school’s particular educational program.
Boulder Democrat Jared Polis, vice chairman of the state board, said the exclusionary enrollment practices Pommer described are not only illegal, but that local school districts shouldn’t allow them.
Polis said he thought the state board would be unanimous in saying that school districts should not allow preferential admissions policies by the charter schools within those districts.
But Pommer told Polis and DeHoff during a break in the hearing that school districts “all over the state” say there’s little they can do about the creation or practices of charter schools within their local jurisdictions.
Those local school districts fear they’ll be overruled by the State Board of Education, or that would-be charter schools will bypass the districts entirely and seek authority to form and operate themselves under a separate charter school law, he said.
Pommer charged that some families can’t even get their children into charter schools in their own neighborhoods because slots have been filled by children of the charter schools’ board members or employees.
Meanwhile, Pueblo Democratic Sen. Abel Tapia aired a separate charter-school-related complaint during Tuesday’s hearing.
Charter schools, which began forming under a 1993 law sponsored by Gov. Bill Owens when he was a state senator, were supposed to be laboratories for education innovations that could be adapted by conventional public schools, said Tapia, the chairman of the budget committee.
Tapia said he’s seen little idea-sharing between charter schools and public school districts in the 13 years since.
Polis suggested the blame may lie both with some charter schools, which may be too protective and “proprietary” about their techniques, and school districts with “an excess of pride” that don’t want to implement ideas they didn’t come up with for themselves.
“There is a lot of room for improvement” on both sides, Polis said.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Area Democrats prepare for new leadership posts
By John Fryar
The Daily Times-Call
DENVER — Longmont’s Brandon Shaffer will take over the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee when the Legislature convenes its 2007 session next month.
The Democrat has spent the past two years as vice chairman of that panel, which typically considers such measures as bills proposing changes in the state’s criminal-justice laws.
Shaffer also will remain on the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
In the House, Louisville Democratic Rep. Paul Weissmann will resume chairmanship of that chamber’s State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.
That panel sometimes is handed some of the Legislature’s more controversial measures. Last year, for example, House State Affairs was the first stop for many of the bills proposing tougher laws on illegal immigration.
Weissmann also will continue to serve on the House Appropriations Committee.
Boulder Democratic Rep. Jack Pommer stepped down as chairman of the House Transportation and Energy Committee last spring after being named to the Joint Budget Committee.
Besides serving on the Legislature’s panel of budget writers, Pommer is now vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
Boulder Democratic Sen. Ron Tupa will no longer head or be a member of the Senate State Affairs Committee when the 2007 session gets under way. But he will be vice chairman of the Senate Education Committee and serve on the Senate Local Government Committee.
Those are among the assignments that legislative leaders unveiled recently.
One new lawmaker, Mead Rep.-elect Glenn Vaad, was designated by House GOP leaders to be the “ranking Republican” among the minority-party members on the House Transportation and Energy Committee.
Vaad, a former Colorado Department of Transportation employee, also was named to the House Appropriations Committee.
Other appointments for area lawmakers:
Rep. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, will serve on the House Finance Committee and the House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.
Rep.-elect Claire Levy, D-Boulder, will be on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Transportation and Energy Committee.
Rep.-elect Dianne Primavera, D-Broomfield, will serve on the House Health and Human Services Committee and the House Transportation and Energy Committee.
Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, will be a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
Sen. Steve Johnson, R-Larimer County, is the newest member of the Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee and also will be on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
John Fryar can be reached by e-mail at jfryar@times-call.com.
The Daily Times-Call
DENVER — Longmont’s Brandon Shaffer will take over the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee when the Legislature convenes its 2007 session next month.
The Democrat has spent the past two years as vice chairman of that panel, which typically considers such measures as bills proposing changes in the state’s criminal-justice laws.
Shaffer also will remain on the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
In the House, Louisville Democratic Rep. Paul Weissmann will resume chairmanship of that chamber’s State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.
That panel sometimes is handed some of the Legislature’s more controversial measures. Last year, for example, House State Affairs was the first stop for many of the bills proposing tougher laws on illegal immigration.
Weissmann also will continue to serve on the House Appropriations Committee.
Boulder Democratic Rep. Jack Pommer stepped down as chairman of the House Transportation and Energy Committee last spring after being named to the Joint Budget Committee.
Besides serving on the Legislature’s panel of budget writers, Pommer is now vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
Boulder Democratic Sen. Ron Tupa will no longer head or be a member of the Senate State Affairs Committee when the 2007 session gets under way. But he will be vice chairman of the Senate Education Committee and serve on the Senate Local Government Committee.
Those are among the assignments that legislative leaders unveiled recently.
One new lawmaker, Mead Rep.-elect Glenn Vaad, was designated by House GOP leaders to be the “ranking Republican” among the minority-party members on the House Transportation and Energy Committee.
Vaad, a former Colorado Department of Transportation employee, also was named to the House Appropriations Committee.
Other appointments for area lawmakers:
Rep. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, will serve on the House Finance Committee and the House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.
Rep.-elect Claire Levy, D-Boulder, will be on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Transportation and Energy Committee.
Rep.-elect Dianne Primavera, D-Broomfield, will serve on the House Health and Human Services Committee and the House Transportation and Energy Committee.
Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, will be a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
Sen. Steve Johnson, R-Larimer County, is the newest member of the Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee and also will be on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
John Fryar can be reached by e-mail at jfryar@times-call.com.
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