Press Release - Families, Businesses & Communities Benefit
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OFFICE OF GOVERNOR BILL RITTER, JR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2009
CONTACTS:
Holly Shrewsbury, 720.320.0097, holly.shrewsbury@state.co.us
Evan Dreyer, 720.350.8370, evan.dreyer@state.co.us
GOV. RITTER: WORKING FAMILIES, BUSINESSES & COMMUNITIES BENEFIT FROM 2009 LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Working families, businesses and Colorado communities made historic gains thanks to legislation enacted during the 2009 legislative session, Gov. Ritter said today during an end-of-session news conference.
"In my State of the State Address in January, we laid out a number of key goals," Gov. Ritter said. "In every case, we accomplished what we said we would accomplish. We made progress where we said we would, and in some cases we made historic progress.
"Despite a tough economy and a tough budget, we created jobs and made the economy stronger," he said. "We expanded health coverage. We improved transportation funding. We reformed education, we expanded opportunities for kids, and we preserved the safety net at a time when people need it the most."
Click here to visit a special "2009 Legislative Session" web page on the Governor's site. The site includes:
- Fact Sheets highlighting legislative accomplishments in job creation, help for working families, education, healthcare, natural resources, the New Energy Economy, transportation and human services.
- Videos from bill-signing ceremonies around the state.
- Photos from bill-signing ceremonies.
A full list of legislative action by Gov. Ritter can be found here.
Gov. Ritter thanked and congratulated lawmakers, including Senate President Brandon Shaffer and House Speaker Terrance Carroll, for a successful session. Together, Gov. Ritter and lawmakers:
- Initiated the most aggressive economic-development legislation in decades, establishing incentives for companies to create jobs, providing businesses with access to credit, and strengthening job-training programs at community colleges for workers seeking to enter the New Energy Economy and other Industries of the Future.
- Enacted the most significant healthcare reform in 40 years, providing coverage to more than 100,000 uninsured Coloradans and curbing cost-shifting -- without raising taxes.
- Created the first new sustainable funding source for transportation in nearly two decades, allowing for the repair of unsafe bridges and the upkeep of aging roads and highways.
- Advanced Colorado's globally recognized New Energy Economy, creating new jobs and making renewable energy and energy efficiency more affordable for all Coloradans.
- Enacted another major education reform, allowing students to simultaneously earn high school and community college degrees and in the process lower the dropout rate.
- Prevented double-digit college tuition increases.
- Made tough choices to balance a recession-era budget while still maintaining investments in education, healthcare, public safety and other priority services.
- Helped struggling families with measures that extend unemployment benefits and provide a foreclosure "time-out" to responsible homeowners.
- Convened a bi-partisan coalition to take the next step forward in addressing Colorado's outdated and conflicting fiscal mandates, doubling the state's "rainy day" reserve fund and establishing predicable funding for transportation.
- Increased transparency and accountability by establishing a free and searchable web-based system that will provide easy access to state revenue and expense records.