State's colleges and universities get financial boost from two advancing bills

Two bills that would give a financial boost to Colorado's public universities and colleges are moving steadily toward the law books.

HB 13-1144, which makes permanent a cigarette-specific supplemental sales tax and devote the annual revenue it produces to higher education, is on the way to the Senate. The bill would add about $28 million per year to the state's budget for colleges and universities.

The measure was approved by the House Monday on a 40-24 vote. The chamber's caucuses divided on the bill.

Votes to pass the bill came primarily from majority Democrats, but also from six of the chamber's 28 Republicans. They included Kathleen Conti of Littleton, Don Coram of Montrose, Cheri Gerou of Evergreen, Frank McNulty of Highlands Ranch, Carole Murray of Castle Rock, and Jerry Sonnenberg of Sterling.

The opposition came from the other 22 Republicans and two Democrats - Reps. Crisanta Duran and Dan Pabon of Denver. Interestingly, Duran is a co-sponsor of the bill.

Meanwhile, SB 13-090 sailed out of the Senate on the same day. The supplemental appropriations bill would increase this year's budgets for the state's institutions of higher learning by more than $9 million.

The vote was 27-6. All of the opponents were Republicans. They included Sens. Bill Cadman, Owen Hill, and Kent Lambert of Colorado Springs, Kevin Grantham of Canon City, Ted Harvey of Highlands Ranch, and Scott Renfroe of Greeley.

SB 13-090 will next be considered by the House appropriations committee.

Ferrandino warns of huge higher education cuts

A member of the Joint Budget Committee warned a Greeley audience Saturday that Colorado could be facing drastic cuts in higher education funding within the next few years.

A report in Saturday's Greeley Tribune says that Rep. Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, told people attending an open forum at Evans Community College that the requirements of federal stimulus funding, which have protected the colleges' budgets during the last two years, are ending.

Gov. Bill Ritter's FY 2011 budget proposal would set higher education funding at $555 million. If that amount, or less, is adopted by the General Assembly, Colorado would rank last among the 50 states in the amount of money budgeted for colleges and universities.

Unlike other areas of the state budget, such as Medicaid and K-12 education, there is no law that mandates a minimum level of funding for higher education.

Immigrant Tuition Bill Dies in Senate

The Senate killed Monday a controversial bill that would have allowed some children of undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition at state colleges and universities.

SB 170, which had drawn intense fire from minority Republicans, was defeated 18-16 on second reading.

Five Democrats joined with the chamber's Republicans to block the bill.

Tuition Bill Clears Appropriations Committee

The controversial bill that would allow some children who unlawfully emigrated to the United States with their parents to pay in-state tuition at Colorado universities and colleges cleared a key procedural hurdle this morning.

SB 170 was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee and will now go to the floor.

The measure had been expected to run into trouble before the ten-member panel, as one of the six Democrats among the committee members said she would oppose it. But Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, was absent from the committee's meeting today and so the bill was cleared on a 5-4 vote. Democrat Moe Keller, D-Wheat Ridge, joined the Republicans on the panel in opposition.

GOP's King Wants to Require State Employee Furloughs to Avoid Higher Ed Cuts

A west slope GOP lawmaker is proposing that the state try to avoid anticipated cuts in higher education spending by forcing state employees to take unpaid furloughs and using the money saved to fund the colleges.

According to a press release issued today by the House GOP caucus, King's bill would direct $5.6 million per day to the state's university system.

King's proposal has been introduced as HB 1221.

"Many private sector employees are making these same sacrifices in order to get their companies through these troubling times,” sponsoring Rep. Steve King, R-Grand Junction, said. “I am asking our state employees to make similar sacrifices in order to save some of the government services that Colorado families depend on from ending up on the chopping block.”

Democrats, however, may not be receptive to King's idea.

Rep. Jeanne Labuda, D-Denver, says HB 1221 violates the established procedure of having the Joint Budget Committee determine how the state will close its budget shortfall.

"If that bill were to pass both the House and the Senate and be signed by the governor, and I think all three of those are great big 'ifs,' if would require all agencies to cut their budgets before presenting them to the JBC,” Labuda said.

The Denver Democrat, who is a member of the House committee that will hear the bill, also said that she thinks the public might be put at risk if all state employees are forced to take unpaid time off.

"In theory, I don’t know if I could support that because there are many, many state employees who are in positions that are necessary for health and safety," Labuda said. "It doesn’t specify that anybody is exempted and I wouldn’t want to see our hospitals have mandatory furloughs or are public safety folks to have mandatory furloughs. This bill is one size fits all for starters."

The bill would allocate required furlough days on the basis of employee salaries, with higher-paid public employees being required to take more time off than lower-paid employees. HB 1221 says that state employees make $30,000 or less per year would be required to take off one day per month, while those making $30,000-40,000 per year would have to take 1 1/2 days off per month. Employees who are paid more than $40,000 per year would have to stay away from the job two days each month.

The state is facing a budget shortfall of at least $300 million this fiscal year and more than $600 million for fiscal year 2009.

The bill, if enacted into law, would go into effect immediately.

Pommer Says End to State Funding of Public Colleges Must be Considered

A leading Democratic voice on budget matters at the Capitol says that one GOP legislator's proposal to end all state funding for Colorado's higher education institutions must be considered.

Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, was quoted in a Rocky Mountain News article as saying that the proposal by Rep. Don Marostica, R-Loveland, might be a necessary step because the state has not been able to adequately fund the universities.

"We have three research institutions - Colorado, Colorado State and (Colorado) Mines - and frankly . . . every year, we erode the quality of those institutions," Pommer said. "If you have a house and can't maintain it, why not just move instead of letting it deteriorate?"

Marostica's idea, which is similar to one floated earlier in the decade when the GOP ran the General Assembly, is in the aftermath of an announcement that the state's budget must be cut by nearly one billion dollars this year.

Gov. Bill Ritter announced Dec. 19 that state agencies must find $790 billion in cuts by Jan. 9.

Haynes Named to Higher Ed Commission

Gov. Bill Ritter has appointed Allegra “Happy” Haynes of Denver to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education.

Haynes is currently Denver Public Schools superintendent Michael Bennet's assistant for community partnerships. She served on the Denver City Council from 1990 to 2003 and as council president from 1998 to 2000. She was Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper’s liaison to the council from 2003 to 2005.

Haynes is on the boards of directors for the Colorado Children’s Campaign, Stapleton Development Corporation and the Foundation for Educational Excellence.

She is a 1971 graduate of Denver’s East High School. Haynes earned her bachelors degree in political science from Barnard College at Columbia University in 1975 and her masters degree in public affairs from the University of Colorado in 2002.

Ritter appointed Haynes to a term expiring July 1, 2010.

Appointments to the 11-member Colorado Commission on Higher Education require Senate confirmation.

The commission sets policies for all state-supported institutions of higher learning.