June 12, 2002

From The Governor's Office...
Colorado Governor Bill Owens' e-Newsletter

Fires Underscore Need for Governor's Order

Governor Owens has banned fireworks and open flame statewide.  He emphasized, “If people in Colorado don't understand yet what a serious situation we are in, perhaps, this will be a good indication.  My message to Coloradans is simple, don’t start fires out of doors this summer, period.”  

Monday, the Governor banned all open burning statewide which includes campfires, warming fires, charcoal grill fires in parks, and fireworks. Commercially sponsored fireworks displays where fire personnel are present are not banned.

Owens has visited the sites of the Hayman, Coal Seam and Missionary Ridge (Durango) fires.  He has been accompanied during some of his visits by federal Interior Secretary Gale Norton and FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh.

The Governor has ordered the transfer of $10 million from the State's TABOR Emergency Reserve to his $2.6 million Disaster Fund, bringing the total to $12.6 million for fighting the fires. The state cost for fighting fires is more than $10 million to date. However, the state will be reimbursed for approximately 75 percent of these costs by FEMA.

Owens said, "Citizens need to exercise extreme caution this summer while in our forests and parks. Our brave men and women who are fighting these fires have enough to deal with when it comes to natural fires and do not need to add human-caused fires to the mix."

The Hayman fire is the largest fire in Colorado in recorded history, at nearly 90,000 acres. The Colorado State Forest Service asked the Governor to stress to Coloradans that there is a definite threat to human life due to this fire. "I am urging citizens near the Hayman fire, if asked by the local officials to evacuate, please do so immediately," said Owens.

To obtain the latest information on the fires and requested evacuations, please go to www.colorado.gov. 

Owens Trims Budget Down to Size

Stressing that a proposed 7.3 percent spending increase in the face of a 13 percent drop in revenue defies fiscal reality, Gov. Bill Owens picked up his veto pen and cut $228 million from the 2002-03 state budget.

“This budget process has been marked by a continuing unwillingness to face the stark reality of Colorado’s ledger sheet,” the Governor said in his veto message to the Legislature.   “Revenues began declining in October 2001, yet the budget process continued to generate appropriations to near the maximum limit. 

“The guiding fact is this: despite revenues being down 13 percent this year, next year’s budget increases spending 7.3 percent.  This is a 20-percentage-point swing away from fiscal reality.”

“Imagine one of our constituents," Owens said, "who, faced with a 13 percent drop in his income, decided to increase spending while ignoring the loss in revenues.  We would view him as woefully irresponsible and he would garner little sympathy.  Yet this is Colorado fiscal policy in 2002.”

The Governor’s actions result in the following savings:

*      $46 million in line-item vetoes;

*      $140 million that he ordered agencies not to spend, amounting to roughly 4 percent of their General Fund monies.  K-12 funds are exempt.

*      $12 million through a delay in increased provider rates; and 

*      $30 to $35 million through a continuation of the current freeze in capital projects in the early stages of construction into the next fiscal year.

This is the second year that the Governor has exercised line-item veto authority of funds in the state budget, having vetoed a total of $25.4 million in the fiscal year 1999-2000 budget.

He underscored that instilling fiscal discipline through the use of line item vetoes is an important departure from past practice.  In the 17 years prior to Gov. Owens taking office, the line item veto was used very sparingly on General Fund items – only three times for a total of $1.5 million.

These budget actions are the latest in the series of fiscal steps the Governor has taken to ensure that the state budget is balanced, as required by the state Constitution.   In the current fiscal year, the Governor and the General Assembly instituted $640 million in savings in capital and operating funds. 

Gov. Owens stressed that he exercised this authority reluctantly.  He said his preference would have been to work with the General Assembly to create a consensus on more reasonable funding levels.   He also noted that he does not believe a special budget session would be productive.

“I am forced into the position of unilaterally making changes to the state budget, which is not the way this process should work,” he wrote.

In the Pueblo Chieftain, Capitol Correspondent Tom McAvoy supported the Governor in an opinion column, praising his adherence to President Truman's "The Buck Stops Here" adage, and calling Owens "Colorado's first truly conservative governor in at least three decades."

The Denver Rocky Mountain News and the editors at the Pueblo Chieftain also further editorialized in favor of the Governor's action.

Governor Nixes College Tuition Hikes

Gov. Owens, as part of his line-item budget vetoes, eliminated a 7.7 percent hike in tuition at Colorado public colleges and universities.

"Affordability is a crucial aspect of college opportunity for Colorado’s citizens," Owens said in his veto message.  "The gap between high-and-low income Coloradans going to college is a glaring policy problem.  At a time when Colorado’s families are being buffeted by a slow economy, an across the board 7.7 percent tuition increase is too high."  

Owens asked the Colorado Commission on Higher Education to prepare a tuition and General Fund increase plan more in line with inflation than the plan in the budget provided by the Legislature.  He directed that the plan must protect affordability and financial aid and take into account the tuition differences among institutions.  

"Through this directive," said Owens, "it is my intent to keep tuition and college costs in line with inflation.  This means more affordability for Coloradans in these challenging financial times."  

Governor Committed to Transportation

At a highway construction site, with work underway on a massive bridge in the background, Gov. Bill Owens signed historic legislation investing more than $15 billion in Colorado's transportation system without raising taxes. 

"Years from now, we will look back on this day and see that it was a milestone for transportation in Colorado. There were many times during the legislative session, even during the last hour of the session, when I wondered if transportation funding would become a priority. In the end, thanks to a bipartisan effort, we have produced legislation which will provide Coloradans with the quality transportation system they deserve," Owens said.  Photo of Transportation Bill Signing.

"We have made great progress over the last few years in transportation. Since 1999, transportation funding has doubled, averaging $1.1 billion per year compared to $573 million during the prior eight years.  Still, there is much more to do and the legislation I am signing today addresses those long-term needs," Owens said.

Under the terms of the bipartisan legislation, $11.2 billion in General Funds will be added to transportation funding over the next 20 years, with an additional $4 billion generated by tolling new facilities and the use of public-private partnerships.

The Governor said an important benefit of the new legislation is the fact that the Transportation Commission has been able to authorize the issuance of $220 million in bonds for six key projects statewide. The ability to bond this year had been in doubt prior to the passage of the transportation plan.

The Governor noted that with the legislation, citizens will have the opportunity to use an initiative process to allow voters to determine the level of sales tax revenue to be devoted to buses and light rail.

"In my State of the State message in January, I said it was time to stop balancing the budget on the back of transportation. By signing this legislation, we have given transportation an equal seat at the budget table, which is a victory for every Coloradan," Gov. Owens said.

Owens Opens Colorado's Newest State Park

Governor Owens has inaugurated Colorado's newest State Park.  John Martin Reservoir State Park is the latest of 40 state parks, and is the first state park in southeastern Colorado.

Owens declared the park open May 22nd, when he visited the Arkansas Valley at the close of a 3-day official trip through western and southern Colorado. See Photos.

Since Owens took office, he has created three new State Parks, and a major addition to an existing park.  John Martin is located near the town of Hasty, between Lamar and Las Animas on Highway 50.

For more information about John Martin State Park, or to purchase passes online, see: http://parks.state.co.us/john_martin/index.asp 

Governor, Cabinet Hold Western Slope Town Meetings

Governor Owens and members of his cabinet have made a wide-ranging bus visit to communities on the Western Slope and throughout southern Colorado. They attended roundtables with regional leaders and experts, as well as town meetings with local residents at several of their stops.

The Governor's itinerary took him through Colorado's northwestern counties, down the I-70 corridor, to the San Luis Valley and along the Arkansas River into southeastern Colorado.  He made nearly 20 official stops along the way, including several town meetings.  He opened a new state Human Services building in Buena Vista, and opened a new state park in the southeast.

All along the route, he continued issuing local interest proclamations whenever he stopped for a town meeting.  

To see photos from the trip, click here.

Owens Signs Environmental Bills

Governor Owens has signed into law the "Instream Flow Bill" to protect Colorado rivers and streams.  

Trout Unlimited's David Nickum has referred to this as "the most significant legislation for Colorado's rivers in 15 years."  It allows the state to borrow water rights from owners in order to maintain a sufficient water level in streams and rivers to preserve the habitat for fish.  

This legislation is critical in drought years.  

Denver Post Outdoors Editor Charlie Meyers wrote in support of the bill last month, saying, "Everything that walks, crawls or swims should be the better for it."  

In another drought-related issue, Gov. Owens' request for disaster declarations, which will speed federal aid to drought-stricken farmers and ranchers, is moving forward. This will help them with approval for low-interest emergency loans.  All counties in Colorado currently have at least a secondary designation, and 60 counties should have primary disaster designations soon.

The Governor also signed two more bills to assist Coloradans in dealing with the drought.  

Governor Protecting At-Risk Children

Governor Owens recently signed legislation making prenatal care available to low-income pregnant women through the basic Children's Health Plan (CHP).  

In his State of the State address in January, Owens said, "We all know that mothers who receive good prenatal care have healthier pregnancies and healthier babies. Even in this challenging budget year, we must demonstrate the leadership and resolve to continue to do what is right for families in Colorado."

The legislation, HB 1155, was sponsored by Rep. Lauri Clapp and Sen. Dave Owen. More than 3,300 low-income, uninsured women are estimated to be eligible for prenatal care through the CHP program.

Pregnant women in a household of two with an annual income of less than $21,500 will be eligible. Upon birth, the child is automatically enrolled in the CHP.

The CHP program is funded by money received by the state from the tobacco settlement trust. The prenatal care program must receive federal approval before it is implemented.

Governor Praised for Air Quality Focus

In a lead editorial, the Denver Post praised Gov. Owens' commitment to improving air quality, giving Owens substantial credit for the Denver metro area's becoming the first U.S. city to reach "full attainment" of federal air quality standards.

Denver was recently recognized by the EPA as meeting federal air quality standards in 5 of 6 categories.  That will seem exceptionally significant to those long-term Colorado residents who remember the density of Denver's "Brown Cloud" during the 1970s.

The editorial notes, "Curbing particulate pollution has been a special focus of Gov. Bill Owens' administration, underscoring that cleansing the metro area's air has been a long-term, bipartisan push."

For the article, please see "A Clean Air Milestone."