Press Release- May 31, 2007
OFFICE OF GOV. BILL RITTER, JR.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2007
Contact:
Evan Dreyer, 720.350.8370
CHILDREN'S HEALTH, HIGHER ED & HIGH-TECH TAX CUT BILLS SIGNED INTO LAW TODAY
Gov. Ritter signs 40 bills as Monday deadline approaches
At separate ceremonies in Lakewood and Fort Collins, Gov. Bill Ritter today signed into law bills that will enhance health care for children, make Colorado universities more competitive for national research grants, and provide a tax break to high-tech companies that build "clean rooms."
In all, Gov. Ritter signed 40 bills today as the Monday deadline approaches for action to be taken on legislation from the 2007 session of the General Assembly.
"Each and every child deserves a healthy start to life," Gov. Ritter said at Stein Elementary School in Lakewood, which is home to a community-based health clinic. "But in a state where 180,000 children don't have any health insurance, that's hard to accomplish.
"So I'm pleased to be signing Senate Bills 130 and 211 into law, because they will help further that goal. They represent important investments in the health and well-being of our young people -- investments that will pay off in the long run."
SB 130 (Boyd/M. Carroll) instructs the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) to increase the number of children enrolled in Medicaid and Children's Basic Health Plan through the use of qualified "medical homes." A medical home is a community-based facility that can provide a high-quality, continuum of basic health care to neighborhood children.
SB 211 (Hagedorn/McGihon) begins the process of insuring the 180,000 low-income Colorado children who lack health insurance by 2010. It gives HCPF the authority to convene a task force and set baselines and standards to achieve this goal. At a ceremony at the grand opening of the new Intel building in Fort Collins, Gov. Ritter signed SB 182 (Bacon/Pommer) and HB 1277 (Jahn/Veiga)
SB 182 provides nearly $1 million in state matching funds to the state's research universities ¿ CSU, CU, Colorado School of Mines and UNC ¿ to help the institutions qualify for national research grants.
HB 1277 expands the sales- and use-tax exemption for high-tech companies that build "clean rooms" to manufacture computer chips and other highly sensitive components.
The other bills signed today:
HB 1004 (Summer/Bacon), "Sex Offender Report Requirements"
HB 1020 (McFadyen/Hagedorn), "Motor Vehicle Temporary Tag Fraud"
HB 1021 (Frangas/Keller), "Medication Management"
HB 1024 (Cerbo/Tochtrop), "Fire and Police Pension Association Property Tax Exemption"
HB 1054 (T. Carroll/Shaffer), "Increase Number of Court Judges"
HB 1062 (Solano/Williams), "Early Childhood Councils"
HB 1093 (T. Carroll/Bacon), "Sexual Assaults in Penal Institutions"
HB 1096 (Fischer/Bacon), "Colorado Water Resources Research Institute"
HB 1131 (Kefalas/Bacon), "Hemodialysis Technicians Training"
HB 1163 (McNulty/Kopp), "In-State Tuition for Military"
HB 1170 (Sonnenberg/Morse), "Compensation of Elected District Attorneys"
HB 1177 (Judd/Sandoval), "Adjust Residential Valuation Assessment"
HB 1178 (Butcher/Spence), "Charter School Purchase Facilities"
HB 1182 (Curry/Isgar), "Species Conservation Trust Fund"
HB 1247 (Judd/Tupa), "Recover Wages Due Attorneys Fees"
HB 1263 (Rice/Morse), "DCJ Training Fee Authorization"
HB 1321 (Hodge/Sandoval), "Continue Regulation of Wholesale Food Manufacturer"
HB 1326 (A. Kerr/Sandoval), "Sex Offender Register E-Mail Addresses"
HB 1335 (McGihon/Romer), "Supplement Low-Income State Employees"
HB 1343 (King/S. Mitchell), "DNA Testing for All Felons"
HB 1349 (Kefalas/Ward), "Child Support Obligations"
HB 1350 (Romanoff/Tupa), "Victim Address Confidentiality Program"
HB 1354 (Primavera/Groff), "Breast Cancer Income Tax Check-Off"
HB 1357 (Buescher/Johnson), "Hazardous Substance Response Fund"
SB 33 (Brophy/Frangas), "Adoption of High-Risk Children"
SB 70 (Takis/Marostica), "Motor Vehicle Recyclers Garages Dealers"
SB 114 (Shaffer/T. Carroll), "Substantive Criminal Omnibus"
SB 122 (Isgar/Curry), "Water Conservation Board Construction Fund"
SB 187 (Johnson/McGihon), "Modify Colorado Veterinary Practice Act"
SB 198 (Isgar/Curry), "Severance Tax Coalbed Methane Seepage"
|SB 218 (Ward/Primavera), "Continuation of Environmental Management System Program"
SB 221 (Veiga/Rice), "Sunset Motor Vehicle Dealer Board"
SB 225 (Sandoval/Riesberg), "Colorado Works Alternative Earnings Disregard"
SB 241 (Johnson/Pommer), "Driver¿s and Plate License Fees"
SB 255 (Keller/Buescher), "Allocation of IDEA Child Find Activities"
SB 260 (Tapia/White), "Sentencing Provisions For Certain Crimes"
On Friday, the Governor will be signing a package of foreclosure and mortgage-fraud prevention bills. A signing ceremony is schedule for 10 a.m. at Brothers Redevelopment Inc., where the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline is headquartered, at 2250 Eaton St., in Denver. The bills are:
HB 1322 (Marshall/Groff), "Mortgage Fraud Prevention Act"
SB 85 (Veiga/Massey), "Protect Consumer Real Estate Transactions"
SB 203 (Groff/Marshall), "Mortgage Broker Licensing"
SB 216 (Veiga/Marshall), "Mortgage Loan Acts Practices"
SB 249 (Veiga/Rice), "Real Estate Title Escrow Settlement"