2009 Legislative Bills
Hunger and Poverty
“At least 18 states, most of them since 2006, have established a poverty commission, planned a statewide conference, or created a new legislative caucus to address the issue. This trend is a dramatic signal that governors and legislatures feel a need to take stock and take action on poverty and opportunity.
At the National level, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a “Sense of the Congress Resolution” in January, 2008 that calls for a national goal of cutting poverty in half over the next 10 years.” Source: Sustaining Anti-Poverty Solutions, Jody Levine Epstein, Center on Law and Social Policy, 2008.
Lutheran Advocacy Ministry is working with legislators and coalitions to create and support:
1) A plan to reduce poverty by half in Colorado in ten years. House Bill 1064 would establish a Legislative Task Force to:
1) Assess current state polices and practices, along with evidence-based solutions utilized in other states that promote economic opportunity and poverty reduction. 2) Develop a comprehensive plan to reduce the number of Coloradans living at or below the federal poverty level by 50% in ten years.
2) Mandatory Paid Sick Leave— House Bill 1210 would give employees at private companies with more than 15 employees 1 hour paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to 9 sick days per year. This time cannot be cashed out or used in conjunction with vacation time. This bill would keep sick individuals at home at reduce the risk of spreading disease to others.
Access to Health Care
Two important pieces of legislation, one yet to be introduced, will have major impacts on health care access for low-income populations.
Establishing a hospital provider fee (House Bill 1293) which could draw a matching funds from the federal Medicaid program, then go back to health-care providers to increase statewide health-care funding. Forty states have established such provider fees. In Colorado, the additional funding would be dedicated to several purposes:
2) The Colorado Indigent Care Accountability Act (House Bill 1028) would require the department of Health Care Policy and Finance to change the requirements of a grant program to allow one use to be the implementation of an advisory board to oversee complaints/concerns from those treated by clinics that are part of our CICP safety network.
Individuals who must use the CICP program are those who do not meet the requirements for Medicaid or Medicare but do not have the funds themselves for health insurance. This includes many homeless single adults and low-wage earners with little other resources.
Now when these people do not receive proper medical care or are treated poorly, there is no system set up to receive and deal with their complaints. An accountability board would give them a place to air grievances and seek justice in their healthcare system.
3) Colorado Guaranteed Health Care Act—this bill will create a Colorado Health Care Authority that will design and create the Colorado Health Care System through a phased-in approach. The goal is to create a system that will allow flexibility, choice and provide all Coloradoans with basic healthcare coverage. With over 800,000 Coloradoans unable to access healthcare, and many more underinsured, this bill offers one approach to providing comprehensive health care to everyone in Colorado.
Death Penalty
House Bill 1274 would abolish the Death Penalty in Colorado. This bill will make Class 1 Felonies punishable by life imprisonment. The resulting savings from Colorado not having the death penalty would go into the Colorado “cold case” file to help use new technologies to solve old cases.