Widespread Support to Fund Transportation System
Following the release of the March revenue forecasts by the Legislative Council and the Office of State Planning and Budgeting, the Chamber has supported Senate Bill 1, which in its current form allocates $500 million in one-time and $250 million in ongoing funding to transportation infrastructure. Senate Bill 1 passed unanimously out of the Senate on its third reading and is waiting to be heard in the House. We also are supporting the proposed transportation funding included in the 2018-19 Long Appropriation Act, which sets aside $495 million in one-time funding. It is critical that we invest in our transportation system now – it’s been underfunded for decades and is costing Coloradans $6.8 billion each year. The Chamber is supportive of the legislature’s efforts to fund transportation through both Senate Bill 1 and the funding set aside in the long bill and its orbital bills. We applaud the legislature for recognizing and prioritizing our transportation system and will continue to monitor these bills closely as we work with our statewide coalition to determine what ballot item we’ll submit to voters and ensure we’re only asking for funding that we absolutely need.
Engaging Unaffiliated Voters in June Primary
Our President and CEO Kelly Brough spoke at the Capitol this week at the Denver kickoff to the Colorado Secretary of State’s UChooseCO campaign, which is getting the word out to unaffiliated voters that they can vote in the June primary elections.
“By allowing our unaffiliated voters to vote, we believe our elected officials will be rewarded for solving problems and finding solutions and that will encourage people to make better decisions for Colorado that will take us forward and help drive our economy,” Brough said.
The Chamber was a strong supporter of Proposition 108 to allow unaffiliated voters to participate in primary elections; it was approved by 53 percent of Colorado voters in 2016.
For the primaries, unaffiliated voters can choose the party ballot they’d like to receive. If they do not, they will receive both a Republican primary ballot and a Democratic primary ballot. However, unaffiliated voters may only cast one ballot – if they vote in both party primaries, their vote will be negated.
New Policy Positions
The Chamber weighed in on four bills this week and expressed support for the transportation infrastructure funding allocated in the long bill.
The Chamber supports: