When the Legislature returns next Monday for what is expected to be the final week in a session that just won’t quit, they will have to deal with about 20 bills, ranging from a proposed limit on how long citizens have to appeal building projects in their community to creation of a Taxpayers Bill of Rights.
The Legislature is still meeting, even though it was supposed to be out April 19.
Instead, legislators took that week off since it fell right after Easter, met the last week of April, and then took the first three weeks of May off. The May break was in part to wait for a court decision on the Taxpayers Bill of Rights or TABOR and to accommodate members’ schedules.
The Supreme Court ruled May 4 that petitions to put TABOR – an initiative that limits state and local spending – on the ballot were valid, but law allows legislators to have the first crack at adopting it. It is expected to fail in the Legislature.
Along with the bills still on the legislative calendar, the Appropriations Committee will deal with more than 50 bills already passed by the Legislature, but tabled for lack of funding. There are millions of dollars in requests, many carried over from last year, but only $730,000 left to spend. The committee is meeting this Sunday to decide which to recommend for funding in a session some say will run into the night.
Democratic leaders also plan to ask for $3 million for the University System and $1.5 million for Community Colleges to fill gaps in their budget, using money allocated but not yet spent elsewhere in state government.
The Legislature also will consider:
• A proposal to have the state pay 45 percent of health insurance costs for retired municipal police and firefighters until they go on Medicare.
• Two bills affecting the Dirgo Health subsidized insurance plan. One would cut the savings offset payment or so-called Dirigo tax for this year about in half, to $23 million, and the second would give the plan the option of becoming self-administered, breaking its ties with Anthem except for perhaps as a plan administrator.
• Floating a $60 million federally secured highway bond to help fill a hole in the transportation budget.
• Floating two general fund bonds to invest in research and development and stimulate economic growth and upgrade water and sewer systems.
• A law that limits citizens to 75 days in which to overturn a land-use permit issued by a municipality.
• Putting a non-binding referendum on the ballot asking voters if they want to expand the sales tax base in order to reduce other taxes.
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