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Sens. Schwartz and Boyd's Bill Empowers Women and Doctors to Fight Breast Cancer

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DENVER—Today, a Senate committee passed a bill by Senators Gail Schwartz (D-Snowmass) and Betty Boyd (D-Lakewood) to help fight breast cancer by ensuring decisions about mammograms will be left to women and their doctors. HB 1252 allows women of any age to receive a mammogram if her health care provider believes she has sufficient risk of developing breast cancer.

Colorado Governor Signs Health Legislation

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DENVER (AP) -- Gov. Bill Ritter said Monday it's time to end discrimination in health care as he signed a bill ensuring that women in Colorado will no longer have to pay higher insurance rates than men.

Ritter said gender discrimination allowed insurance companies to charge rates up to 60 percent higher than rates for men.

''This bill ensures access to care and coverage for all at an equitable price and eliminates the financial burden that gender rating puts on women,'' he said.

Colorado's New Renewable Energy Standard Among Nation's Strongest

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Though the pace of federal action on climate and clean energy issues continues to lag, states across the nation are keeping up the momentum with strong legislation on a diversity of clean energy fronts. Colorado topped the list this week by adopting a renewable energy standard (RES) that requires 30 percent of the state's energy to come from renewable sources like solar and wind by 2020. Colorado's RES, which also promotes rooftop solar by requiring three percent of the renewable energy to be acquired through distributed generation, is among the strongest in the nation.

Colorado enacts renewable energy law

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From Green Right Now Reports

The move to renewable energy got another boost today as Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law landmark legislation that 30 percent of the state’s electricity be generated from renewable sources by 2020, including 3 percent to be generated by local solar power.

With Colorado’s new law, 29 states now have renewable energy requirements. The state said its 30 percent requirement is the best in the Rocky Mountain West and among the highest nationally.

GOV. RITTER SIGNS HISTORIC RENEWABLE ENERGY BILL

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Legislation will create thousands of new jobs and require nearly one-third of Colorado’s
electricity come from sustainable renewable energy sources

Gov. Bill Ritter today signed into law landmark legislation that gives Colorado the highest renewable energy standard in the Rocky Mountain West, requiring that 30 percent of electricity be generated from renewable sources by 2020.

Buena Vista is First Fair Trade Town in Colorado

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BUENA VISTA, CO – TransFair USA, a national certifying entity, has officially declared the Buena Vista community as a whole as a "Fair Trade Town."

In February, The Buena Vista Town Council adopted a resolution in support of fair trade products, and a steering committee of citizens has started a Fair Trade BV campaign, led by the Buena Vista Roastery. The efforts of this committee secured Buena Vista’s place as the First Fair Trade Town in Colorado, and the 14th in the nation.

Tax measure turns Colorado Republicans into tree huggers

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Colorado Republicans have complained vociferously in recent weeks about Democratic legislators pushing to end a dozen tax breaks and then turning around and introducing new exemptions and credits for their favored industries.

But it appears there’s at least one new "green" tax break that’s got everyone on board.

The state Senate on Thursday gave unanimous approval — yes, unanimous — to Senate Bill 177, which gives tree farmers the same existing tax breaks received by everyone in the agricultural industry.

Green Jobs Bring In The Green - Sens. Newell and Schwartz Introduce Legislation to Train Workers

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DENVER—Colorado continues to be a leader in the renewable energy field and the demand for trained energy workers continues to grow. To supply these workers, Senator Gail Schwartz (D-Snowmass) and Senator Linda Newell (D-Littleton) are sponsoring legislation to provide funding for employers, economic development organizations, educators and training providers to develop renewable energy training programs, called the Green Jobs Colorado Training Program. This bill will create a qualified, highly paid, green workforce for Colorado.

Lifetime state-parks pass for seniors wins Senate approval

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Think of it as an early-bird special for the great outdoors.

The Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that allows Coloradans 64 or older to purchase a lifetime pass to get into state parks, despite concerns from some lawmakers that not all seniors need a financial break.

Some lawmakers also are worried about abuse, with seniors letting their friends use the pass to get into parks for free.

Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, said the bill is "warm and fuzzy" but wrong.

Senate passes Sen. Schwartz's biomass and geothermal bills on 2nd reading

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BIOMASS, BEETLES, AND BIG JOBS

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There are 3 million acres of dead lodge pole pine in Colorado contributing to a massive risk of forest fires
* Tourism is the second largest industry in Colorado in terms of jobs, employing 143,700 people. Nearly one in four jobs in Colorado is in the tourism sector. Overall, these employees earn some $4 billion annually, contributing to state revenue.
* The Governor’s Energy Office forecast that 200,000 new jobs in the next 20 years will be created in solar, wind, geothermal and biomass industries.

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