In the News
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Take Me Out to the Bill Signing!
Governor Hickenlooper signs Senator Tochtrop’s Rockies state license plate bill at the ballpark today |
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Senator Tochtrop (center with headset) gave the play-by-play on the air as the Governor signed the Rockies license plate bill into law on April 9, 2012. | |
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DENVER─ Today, Governor John Hickenlooper signed House Bill 1295, sponsored by Senator Lois Tochtrop (D-Thornton), to create the Colorado Rockies state license plate. This special license plate will be designed by The Colorado Rockies Baseball Club Foundation, one of two charities supported by the Colorado Rockies Baseball Team. In order to qualify for the Colorado Rockies license plate, drivers must prove they've donated at least $52.80 to the Colorado Rockies Baseball Club Foundation.
Senator Tochtrop offered the following comment on the bill signing today:
“As a long time Rockies fan, I was very proud to carry this bill and see it signed into law in such a perfect location. The Rockies have brought so much to our community and the money from these license plates will go to a great cause.”
The Colorado Rockies Baseball Club Foundation was created in 1991 focusing on helping underprivileged and at-risk youth by offering baseball and softball programs, education and literacy courses, and promoting drug and alcohol awareness. Rockies players and staff donate their time and efforts to help this program successfully reach out to community youth. The Colorado Rockies charity organizations have contributed more than $20 million to community programs. This bill was sponsored in the House by Representative Kevin Priola (R-Henderson). |
Adams County Legislators Go to Bat for Consumers
In a letter to RTD’s Board of Directors, we Adams County senators and representatives made it perfectly clear that residents will not support a tax increase in the fall that would leave our county with only bus service enhancements that would leave us at a permanent, competitive disadvantage compared to the rest of the metro area.
RTD reported last November that costs to use the planned BNSF railroad tracks for the Northwest Commuter Rail project linking Denver to Longmont are $500 million higher than originally estimated. RTD projects that these cost increases will delay the project, pushing completion from its original date of 2016 to 2025.
RTD made a commitment to provide rail to the NW Corridor and our taxpayers have been footing the bill with the full expectation that RTD would deliver on its promise.
The letter requests that RTD elevate the NW Corridor rail project to the same priority as the line being built from downtown Denver to DIA.
Tochtrop named 2011Champion of the Colorado Consumer
Lawmakers at the Capitol often are flattered by lobbyists seeking favors for special interests. It’s less often that those lawmakers are thanked for efforts they’ve already made—on behalf of all their constituents. I am proud to have been recognized recently by the Colorado Consumer Coalition for one such effort: trying to give Colorado’s electricity ratepayers a break from their soaring utility bills.
The Coalition—a nonprofit, non-partisan organization committed to promoting policies that protect consumers—named me its Champion of the Colorado Consumer for 2011. They gave me the honor in part because of a bill I introduced to save Xcel Energy ratepayers $132 million on their power rates over the next decade. My Senate Bill 236 aimed to clean up the emissions at one of Xcel’s Denver-area power plants, but at a lower cost than under a plan approved by state regulators. I wish I could report that my proposal is now law, but powerful interests behind the state-sanctioned approach blocked my effort.
The Coalition wanted to acknowledge my work despite that setback; maybe it’s because they know I won’t give up on the issue and will continue to seek fairness for Colorado’s utility consumers. It’s nice to get a pat on the back, of course, but the real importance of this recognition is to remind you, the voting public, that some of us at the General Assembly are going to bat for consumers and will continue to do so.
That means standing up not only to special interests at the Capitol but also to pushing for greater accountability by the state’s Public Utilities Commission, better known as the PUC. It’s the agency that is supposed to regulate and serve as the watchdog over monopolies like Xcel. And, by the way, I do have some good news for consumers along those lines: The Legislative Audit Committee, which I chair, on July 11 unanimously approved an audit of the PUC over transparency and spending issues. I’ll let you know what the state auditor’s inquiry turns up when those findings are in. Stay tuned!
For more information on how you can support pro-consumer energy policies, visit the Colorado Consumer Coalition at www.coconsumers.org.
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