In an appearance on CNN today, Mitt Romney said the following: “I’m in this race cause I care about Americans. I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich. They’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of America, the 90-95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling. And I’ll continue to take that message across the nation.” When questioned further, he added, “I said I’m not concerned about the very poor that have a safety net, but if it has holes in it, I will repair them. The challenge right now—we will hear from the Democrat Party ‘the plight of the poor.’ And there’s no question, it’s not good being poor and we have a safety net to help those that are very poor. But my campaign is focused on middle-income Americans … You can choose where to focus. You can focus on the rich. That’s not my focus. You can focus on the very poor. That’s not my focus.” “My focus is on middle-income Americans, retirees living on Social Security, people who can’t find work, folks that have kids that are getting ready to go to college. These are the people who’ve been most badly hurt during the Obama years. We have a very ample safety net and we can talk about whether it needs to be strengthened or whether there are holes in it. But we have food stamps, we have Medicaid, we have housing vouchers, we have programs to help the poor. But the middle-income Americans, they are the folks that are really struggling right now and they need someone that can help get this economy going for them.”

HB12-1009 Federal Funds Transparency Act

House Sponsors: Cheri Gerou (R-HD 25)

Senate Sponsors: Kent Lambert (R-SD 9 )

This bill seeks additional information than is currently provided on how each department and agency of the executive branch spends federal tax dollars. Most importantly, the agency or department must provide “plans for operating the state agency if there is a reduction” in federal funding of five percent or more.

This is a common sense bill that forces state agencies that rely heavily upon the federal government such as the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO), Education Department, and Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to address possible future austerity measures. For the GEO, which received and spent hundreds of millions of federal taxpayer dollars with little accountability, the time for planning for life after stimulus money is now.

Prediction: This bill will pass the House. It should pass the Senate but won’t. The excuse will be that it is too much to ask of overworked state employees.

HB12-1118 School Collective Bargaining Open to Public

House Sponsors: Kathleen Conti (R-HD 38)

Senate Sponsors: None

This bill declares that collective bargaining negotiations between boards of education or school administration personnel and union representatives are part of the people’s business and thus must be open to the public.

In addition, the terms of the written collective bargaining agreement must be made available for public inspection.

This issue erupted last spring as my colleague Ben DeGrow explained in his April 2011 opinion editorial:

The collective bargaining agreement that gives the Jefferson County Education Association (JCEA) exclusive representation more than 5,000 district teachers plainly sets transparency as the default setting: “Negotiations shall be conducted in open sessions, unless both parties agree to the contrary.”

Nevertheless, the language is hollow. In recent years, while negotiations were supposed to be open, finding any information of times and locations on district outlets has been next to impossible.

This year it has become even worse. On April 11 at a joint appearance, JCEA president Kerrie Dallman and Jeffco superintendent Cynthia Stevenson publicly concurred that all negotiations had been closed.

Conti is not out of line for requiring this kind of transparency. “Six other states have enacted laws ensuring public access to negotiations between government agencies and employee unions,” writes DeGrow. While…”Colorado leaves it up to local discretion. Only one of 42 school districts that practice union bargaining, Poudre R-1 in Fort Collins, thoroughly ensures citizens’ right to observe negotiations. Poudre officials have observed “no negative effects” from the practice.”

Prediction: This bill passes through the House but union lobby in the Senate lead by Evie Hudak will make sure it dies in committee.

SB12-084 PERA Transparency

Senate Sponsor: Kent Lambert (R-SD 9)

House Sponsor: Spencer Swalm (R-HD 37)

This bill requires transparency for Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA) members and retirees “who have ever been elected officials or cabinet-level appointees of elected officials.” Data elements to include:

• Person’s name
• Each position held
• Amount of any annual salary paid for each position
• Amount of employer and employee contributions paid on such salary
• Age of retirement
• Highest average salary
• Amount of benefits paid

When State Treasurer Walker Stapleton, a statutory member of the PERA board, has to sue to get information regarding benefits paid and plan solvency, taxpayers realize they are past due for PERA transparency.

Prediction: The state employees union and PERA lobby will kill this bill in the Senate. Too bad.

Check the Transparency blog for updates. We’ll track the legislation so you don’t have to.

Actually, that's pretty close to the response my blog gets. While you read these amazing links, I'm going to go cry in my hot cocoa.

Colorado

• I like knowing that movies and TV shows are being filmed out here in the sticks but I don't like my taxes going to pay for it.
• The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing failed their audit in 51 different ways. Aren't you glad the government is looking out for your health?
• Gov. Hickenlooper have his State of the State address. I had a few comments..

Everywhere else

• A group of school kids booed Michelle Obama when she talked about adding more vegetables to school lunches. She seemed surprised. Did she expect them to cheer?
• SOPA is on hold in the House. That's a good thing but the bill's not dead yet. We need to keep working to make sure it doesn't revive when supporters think everyone is looking somewhere else.
• Jon Huntsman is dropping out and endorsing Mitt Romney. Both people who care are named in that sentence.

The bill requires the department of health care policy and
financing (state department) to seek a federal waiver to allow for increased flexibility and efficiency in the management of the medicaid program and the children’s basic health plan.

The waiver will seek authorization to determine eligibility
categories and income levels and to establish an asset test for eligibility, implement cost-sharing and premiums, encourage the use of private health benefits coverage, and encourage persons to maintain employer-sponsored health insurance. As part of the waiver, the state department may negotiate for capped federal reimbursements with provisions for adjustments in the federal reimbursements for population growth and inflation.

The state department shall report to the general assembly
concerning the waiver request and identify necessary changes to state law to implement the reforms requested in the waiver.

My take:

Cost-sharing and premiums:  I assume this means increasing them. This is a good idea, as I discussed in this article at Health Policy Solutions: Colorado Child Health Plan: Parents should value children’s health more than sweets and booze.

Encouraging this use of (nominally) private health plans: The bill text says: “Encourage the use of the private health benefits coverage market rather than public benefits systems.” This is also a good idea. Medicaid is a dreadful program in terms of access to care, fraud, and cost to taxpayers.  See also “Medicaid’s Unseen Costs” by Michael Cannon.

If the political left approves of food stamps (food vouchers for private grocery stores) rather than government-run grocery stores for the poor, then why not the same for health plans?

Florida has tried this, and according to the Heritage Foundation it has been successful. (I need to read up on this myself.)

Capping federal funding: Matching funds from the Feds is a disaster. It encourages waste and rewards Colorado bureaucrats for spending taxpayers’ money. For more, read my posts about Medicaid Block Grants. Or watch the video above for a summary.

Thanks to Colorado Senate News for informing me about this bill.

Tim Hoover of the Denver Post comments here: Republican senator files bill to force state to seek Medicaid waiver.