Rep. Morgan Carroll's Blog

The State of Colorado, among its many other functions, is also an employer — and we need to lead by example. We can learn from best practices across the public and private sector. We know that if we expect top rate service and dedication to serving the public, we must also be prepared to back up our workers with a solid, solvent and reliable retirement benefit. A good retirement benefit can help attract good workers, reduce turnover, and ultimately deliver a better service to the public for whom we work.

PERA Shareholder Meeting - Aurora
August 25, 2008
6:30 - 8:00 PM
Doubletree Hotel
13696 E. Iliff Place

*If you are a PERA participant or retiree make your voice heard!

Quick Facts:

Arapahoe County
Active Members 17,543
Inactive Members 8,807
Benefit Recipients 5,795

Adams County
Active Members 12,008
Inactive Members 5,452
Benefit Recipients 3,785

The ability to retire in peace and dignity should be a right for all working Americans.

It seems sad and ironic to me that shortly following the 4th of July, that the Senate could approve something so contrary to the spirit of our Declaration of Independence signed in 1776.

So as you may have guessed, I am talking about the FISA vote  and pondering  why we should care if we (1) made it easier for the government to conduct warrantless searches, (2) without probable cause, (3) to spy on civilians and (4) provide retroactive (5) corporate immunities to those who (6) aid and abet in the violation our constitutional rights?

This is personal for me and should be personal for every American citizen.  You see, the Carrolls knew something about fighting for freedom and independence under British occupation from their experience in Ireland before they were order to convert, swear loyalty to the crown, face execution or leave the country.  Many Carrolls willingly faced execution rather than submit and some of the Carrolls after the edict chose to leave before bowing to their oppressor.

Charles Carroll was the last surviving member of those who signed the Declaration. He died, the last survivor of the signers of the Declaration, in 1832 at the age of 95.

Why did my family fight in the American Revolution or push for our independence from foreign occupation?  The answer is simple - LIBERTY.

Under foreign occupation, they experienced first hand what happens when unchecked government power allowed search and seizure without warrant, taking of private property without due process, charges and detention without due process and trial, and a system where one was assumed guilty until proven innocent.

In 1787, Daniel Carroll would go on to participate in the constitutional conventions and was a signer of the U.S. Constitution for the State of Maryland.  The 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was created as a protection for citizens to foster democracy over a police state.  It provides that,

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

So in 2008 we now think we think we are wiser than the framers of the constitution?  Using terrorism as political extortion to erode the Constitution is particularly offensive when one considers that the tried and true standard of “probable cause” for a warrant would allow for 100% pursuit and apprehension of terrorists without ever gutting the 4th Amendment. If we can’t even articulate “probable cause” to pursue terrorists than we have much bigger problems.  It simply requires some evidence.   Is that too high a hurdle?

Our 1st President of the United States, George Washington, himself was described as a “terrorist” by the British regime and would have been exempted from the very 4th Amendment protections he would later inspire under the revised FISA standards.

The soul of our nation needs to find and remember the flames of liberty that gave rise to this country and carry the torch to forming an ever more “perfect union” as charged to us by the preamble of the Constitution.

Our work of perfecting liberty and justice is not done.  This, was a step in the WRONG direction.

If you are uninsured or underinsured please mark this date!

SUNDAY AUGUST 3, 2008 from 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Kaiser Permanente and various health partners are hosting their 12th annual health fair and all are welcome!

WHAT: Free Health Fair
WHERE: Kaiser Permanente Skyline Medical Offices, 1375 E. 20th Avenue, Denver
WHEN: Sunday August 3, 2008 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM

For more information about the fair and treatments available call 303.344.7560.

Focus on the Family has been issuing radio ads and action alerts indicating that SB 08-200 allows child molesters easier access to children in public restroom.  Talk radio on the right has picked up the same talking points.

I would strongly encourage you to read the bill for yourself. (SB 08-200).  The bill adds sexual orientation to our non-discrimination laws and is long overdue.

The bill does the following:

Adds “sexual orientation” to “race, creed, disability, color, sex, national origin, marital status, ancestry, religion and age”:

1. in representation on the civil rights commission;
2. in prohibiting discrimination in housing, restrictive covenants;
3. in prohibiting discrimination in sale, transfer, lease or rental;
4. in prohibiting discrimination in financial lending practices;
5. in prohibiting discriminatory ads to preclude sale or lease;
6. in prohibiting discrimination in brokering, appraisal of real estate;
7. in prohibiting discrimination in access to MLR and other listing services;
8. in prohibiting discrimination by attempts to block access to neighborhoods;
9. lying about availability or rental property based on sexual orientation;
10. in prohibiting discrimination in “place of public accommodation”.

So for those who opposed this bill, I would like to know:

In which of these categories SHOULD we be discriminating against gays or lesbians?  I think the answer is NONE.

There was opposition historically to giving discrimination protection to each of these other classes:  race, color, creed, sex, marital status, religion, age, and disability.  The opponents rarely declared their open support for discrimination but rather expressed concerns about “public safety”, “inherent differences” and possible “harm to children”.

I believe we now in 2008 recognize the need for individuals to be judged on their merits and not as a class, to be recognized for their character and not defamed as a caricature or stereotype. This is, afterall, the real meaning of “Equal Protection under the law.”

While there certainly may be debate about adding sexual orientation to non-discrimination laws the backlash about this is utterly divorced from anything actually contained in the bill .

The bill does NOT:

1. Change one word of one penalty or prohibition against sexual offenses.
2. Change access one way or the other regarding sexual offenders.

These attacks only work if people assume that one can substitute “sexual orientation” for “sexual offender” — something that is not only offensive but not borne out in fact, data or research.

My mom found a gray & black persian near Lighthouse and the Breakers and has been trying to find its person.  She (I think she) has a “poodle cut” and has her back legs shaved.  If you know anyone who lost their Persian, please call me at (303)726-1742.

Yesterday Governor Ritter signed the FAIR Act (HB 08-1389)!  The bill is an historic reform addressing affordable access to health care.  It requires insurance carriers to justify their rate increases and gives the Insurance Commissioner the ability to reject unjustified rate hikes on behalf of consumers.  It also tracks data on the reasons why rates go up when they do and makes that information available to the public.

Later we had a celebration party for the FAIR coalition were joined by over 50 citizens and supporters to celebrate the bill’s passage and the victory of consumers for health care.

Thank you to all you who got engaged to make a difference on behalf of the people of Colorado.  People’s lives will be better because of what you did.

Christy Blakely (Family Voices), Monica Griego (Colorado Consumer Health Initiative), Rep. Morgan Carroll

More than 4,000 ordinary but fabulous citizens got involved to fight for affordable access to health insurance and their efforts to support the FAIR Act (HB 08-1389 M. Carroll - Sandoval).

This is a real victory for rate-payers in Colorado and for the power of the people. If you were part of the effort to pass this historic legislation in Colorado, we want to thank you.

WHAT:         The FAIR Party
WHEN:         Thurs. June 5, 2008, 5:00 - 7:30 PM
WHERE:      The Red Room, 320 E. Colfax Avenue, Denver

See you there!

Morgan

SCHOOLS & EDUCATION

Build Excellent Schools Today – HB 1335, Speaker Romanoff, President Groff & Sen. Schwartz: Makes as much as $1 billion available to repair and rebuild the state’s crumbling schools.

Ensure Safe Schools – SB 1, Sen. Morse, Rep. Stephens: Creates a school safety resource center to assist in preparing and responding to school crises.

Expand Early Education – HB 1388 (School Finance Act), Reps. Pommer, Sen. Windels: Allows 25,000 more 4- and 5-year-olds to enroll in preschool and full-day kindergarten.

Help Dyslexic Students – HB 1223, Rep. Merrifield, Sen. Williams: Identifies dyslexia early on to help kids with special needs become effective learners.

Teach for Colorado – SB 133, Sen. Shaffer, Rep. Andy Kerr: Provides incentives for college students to teach math and science after graduation.

Recruit & Retain Teachers – HB 1384, Reps. Todd & Merrifield, Sen. Bacon: Awards stipends to teachers who focus on hard-to-serve districts and streamlines the licensure process.

Create Plan for All Kids To Achieve – SB 212, Sens. Romer & Penry, Reps. Scanlan & Witwer: ‘CAP for Kids’ aligns Colorado’s pre-school, K-12 and college educational systems and content standards.

Allow Schools to Innovate – SB 130, President Groff & Sen. Spence, Rep. T. Carroll: Encourages schools and school districts to innovate to improve student performance by creating Zones of Innovative Performance (ZIPs) free of certain district and state regulations.

Raise College Opportunity Fund – HB 1375 (Long Bill), Rep. Buescher, Sen. Keller: Adds $50 million to increase stipends to put higher education within reach for more Colorado students.

Increase Higher Ed. Capital Construction – SB 218, Sens. Schwartz & Penry, Reps. Buescher & Balmer: Re-allocates Federal Mineral Lease dollars to help the state’s underfunded college campuses maintain their infrastructure.

RENEWABLE ENERGY ECONOMY & ENVIRONMENT

Generate Homegrown Energy – HB 1160, Rep. Solano, Sens. Shaffer & Isgar: Gives customers credit when their meter runs backwards from the production of wind and solar power.

Develop Utility-Scale Solar Energy – HB 1164, Rep. Solano, Sen. Schwartz: Advances energy independence and protects consumers by opening the market to utility-scale solar projects.

Support New Energy Technologies – HB 1375 (Budget), Reps. Buescher & Pommer, Sens. Keller & Morse: Grows the Clean Energy Fund to promote innovation and investment in the industry.

Help Coloradans “Go Green” – HB 1350, Rep. Madden, Sen. Romer; SB 184, Sen. Romer, Rep. Levy: Helps consumers afford the upfront costs of renewable energy and efficiency measures with low-interest loans.

Keep Our Rivers Healthy – HB 1280, Rep. Fischer, Sen. Schwartz: Protects water rights and keeps more water in the river to safeguard ecosystems and Colorado’s recreational economy.

Maintain Healthy Forests & Reduce Fire Danger – SB 71, Sen. Gibbs, Rep. Scanlan: Supports community-based responses to the bark beetle epidemic to reduce wildfires.

Protect Our Water – HB 1161, Reps Kefalas & Fischer, Sens. Bacon & Johnson: Helps local communities protect their land and groundwater supplies from radioactive waste produced by uranium mining.

Ensure Reliable Water Supplies for Development – HB 1353, Rep. Madden, Sen. Isgar: Directs developers to identify adequate water supplies before new developments are approved.

Strengthen Conservation Easement Program – HB 1353, Rep. Madden, Sen. Isgar: Preserves Colorado’s open spaces by preventing fraud and misuse of the successful program.

CUTTING TAXES & RED TAPE

Cut Taxes & Red Tape for Small Businesses – HB 1225, Reps. Rice & Buescher, Sens. Williams & Ward: Eliminates the business personal property tax (BPPT) for 30,000 small businesses.

Eliminate the Aerospace Industry’s “Flyaway Tax” – HB 1261, Rep. Buescher, Sen. Bacon: Exempts from sales tax the sale of new and used aircraft that are to be used outside Colorado.

Reduce Tax Burden on Employers – HB 1380, Rep. Jahn, Sen. Shaffer: A “Single Factor Tax” allows businesses to pay one tax – based on sales – rather than pay based on multiple factors, allowing them to put more resources back into their businesses.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & COMMUNITY

Boost Bioscience Business – HB 1001, Rep. Riesberg, Sen. Bacon: Makes $26.5 million available for universities and start-up companies to move new technologies out of the lab and into the marketplace.

Expand Rural Broadband Access – SB 215, Sen. Schwartz, Rep. Riesberg: Encourages greater broadband in rural communities to support access to the Internet and help small, rural businesses.

Help Homeowners Stay in Their Homes – HB 1402, Reps. Gagliardi & Ferrandino, Sen. Bacon: Establishes and finances outreach programs to get homeowners facing foreclosure information about available counseling resources, including the Foreclosure Hotline, to help more Coloradans stay in their homes.

Rejuvenate Colorado’s Cities and Towns – SB 170, Sen. Bacon, Rep. Buescher: Revitalizes cities and towns by allowing them to extend the period that they can return local tax revenue to local businesses.

HEALTH CARE

Expand Health Care Access for Kids – SB 160, Sen. Hagedorn, Rep. McGihon: Helps 50,000 more kids get the health care they need.

Increase Eligibility – SB 161, Sen. Sandoval, Rep. Merrifield: Cuts bureaucracy so more kids eligible for coverage can get the health care they need.

Increase Reimbursement Rates – HB 1375 (Budget), Reps. Buescher & Pommer, Sens. Keller & Morse: Increases reimbursement rates for services provided to low-income and disabled patients through Medicaid program.

Cut Administrative Waste – SB 135, Sen. Mitchell, Rep. Gagliardi: Using standardized health ID cards and claim forms, providers trim costs and focus on helping the sick.

Improve Transparency – HB1385 Rep. Primavera, Sen. Schwartz; HB1393 Pommer & Stephens, Morse & Mitchell: Creates user-friendly report cards with consumer information comparing health insurance companies; publishes the cost of top 25 hospital procedures and creates a consumer’s guide to those health care procedures.

Cancer Screenings – HB 1410, Rep. A Kerr, Sen. Tochtrop: Fights colon cancer – the second leading cancer killer in Colorado – by directing insurance companies to provide evidence-based screenings.

Coverage That Counts – HB 1407, Speaker Romanoff, Sen. Majority Leader Gordon: Holds insurance companies accountable if they unreasonably delay or deny payments for benefits included in their plans.

Hold Insurance Industry Accountable – HB 1228, Rep. Green, Sen. Majority Leader Gordon: Allows the commissioner of insurance to collect restitution – or damages – on behalf of misled consumers.

Fair, Affordable Insurance Rates – HB 1389, Rep. M. Carroll, Sen. Sandoval: Gives the Division of Insurance the ability to deny rate hikes for consumers and employers if evidence does not support the increase and gives full transparency to reasons for premiums increases.

Below are some the tangible results of the 2008 Legislative Session:

100 – New schools that could be built under Building Excellent Schools Today – or BEST – (HB 1335).

25,000 – Four- and five-year-olds who will be able to attend preschool and full-day kindergarten (HB 1375).

124,353 – Students who will benefit from increases in higher education funding and need-based grants and scholarships (HB 1375).

50,000 – Kids without insurance who will get health care because of new outreach efforts, expanded eligibility and streamlined enrollment procedures (SB 160 & 161, HB 1375).

80,000 – Mothers across Colorado who will have the opportunity to donate adult stem cells from their umbilical cords for use as life-saving therapies for illnesses including leukemia, cerebral palsy and sickle cell anemia (HB 1372).

700 – Coloradans on the developmental disabilities services waitlist who will no longer have to wait to receive the services they need (HB 1375).

1.3 Million – Coloradans whose health insurance rates cannot be increased without good cause (Fair Accountable Insurance Rates Act – or FAIR – Act (HB 1389).

30,000 – Small business owners who will no longer have to pay the Business Personal Property Tax and will be able to invest more time and money back into their business (HB 1225).

$63,000 – Average salary of employees at Colorado’s 380 bioscience companies.  Many of those companies are benefiting from Colorado’s successful Bioscience Discoveries Grant Program (HB 1001).

920,000 – Rural Coloradans who can now generate their own solar and wind energy, while staying on the grid (HB 1160)

5600 – Number of homeowners facing foreclosure who will have a better chance of staying in their homes because of legislation we passed this year (HB 1402).

2 Million Acres – Amount of protected land in Colorado already conserved through the Conservation Easement Tax Credit Program. The program was made even stronger this year (HB 1352).

Aurora Special Action Alert

Stop a proposed new jail in Aurora: public meeting Wednesday, April 9

Dear Colorado Progressive Coalition Members and Friends:

As a progressive human rights organization, CPC has long-standing commitments to reforming both the criminal justice and immigration systems. We know that throwing more public money into jail and prison building while our school and health care systems struggle does not help to build a progressive future. We also know that our current immigration system is broken leaving many communities facing unjust criminalization and family separation. This is why we’re writing to you today.

To stand up for both criminal justice reform and immigrant justice, Colorado Progressive Coalition has partnered with the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition to oppose the construction of a large new immigrant jail in an Aurora residential neighborhood.

The GEO Group, a billion dollar corporation, is seeking approval to build a new 1,100 bed immigrant holding facility in a working class residential neighborhood in Aurora. The City of Aurora Planning Commission will vote on this proposal this week, on Wednesday, April 9.

Please join us to stand up against more prison building at the Aurora Planning Commission meeting this Wednesday!

What? Say “No!” to the Aurora Planning Commission before it votes on a proposed large new immigration jail in an Aurora residential neighborhood

When? Show your support for immigrant justice and criminal justice reform this Wednesday, April 9, 5:00 P.M. at a Public Protest; Also, you may testify at the Planning Commission hearing at 6:00 P.M.

Where? The Planning Commission meeting will be in the Aurora City Council Chambers at 15151 East Alameda Parkway, Aurora, 80012

Please join us!

For more information, please contact Miriam Pena at Colorado Progressive Coalition at 303.866.0908 or cpc@progressivecoalition.org or Chandra Russo at Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition at 303.893.3500, extension 106.

Thank you! Hope to see you in Aurora!

In peace,

Miriam Pena
Colorado Progressive Coalition