Dear Friends,
This year’s legislative session has come to an end…again! Although the last day of the 2012 session was May 9th, with the extra three days of the “special session” the legislatureofficially adjourned this past Wednesday, May 16th. We all welcomed the end of session and the Senate Democrats were proud to look back on our legislative accomplishments focused on Colorado’s economic recovery through a host of jobs bills in our ‘Colorado Works’ initiative.
Along with rural economic development, much of my legislation focused on resource management and environmental stewardship. Many of my jobs bills, such as the “Local Foods, Local Jobs Act,” the “Electronic Recycling Jobs Act,” and the “Forest Health Jobs Resolution” were passed with strong bipartisan support. During the special session, we finally passed my Water Projects Bill, which allocates $61 million in reservoir projects and watershed protection, among other initiatives. Senate District 5 is receiving important funding for local projects – $30M in funding will go toward the rehabilitation of the Rio Grande and Beaver Park Reservoirs. I teamed up with Rep. Pace to pass theAgriculture Land Tax Credit bill, which will help preserve our rural ag. communities and, as the senate sponsor of the Colorado Parks & Wildlife Commission bill, I worked to protect stakeholder interests and a create a balanced commission for stewardship of our state’s outdoor recreation and natural resources.
During the upcoming summer and fall interim, I will remain busy with interim committees, conferences, community events and town halls throughout Senate District 5. As always, please advise me of local events that I can add to my district tour this summer! Since my district is changing due to last year’s redistricting process, I’ll be touring the eleven counties of my current district along with Eagle County and Lake County, which both join SD5 in 2013. While it will be bittersweet to lose the San Luis Valley counties under the new SD5 map, I have many visits planned for this summer and plan to keep in touch long after the district changes are finalized!
Senate District 5