The Citizen Legislator
News from the Desk of Senator Abel J. Tapia
Issue # 2 MARCH 2007
Hall of Fame of Pueblo Gets a New Inductee
Senator Tapia was inducted into the Pueblo Hall of Fame on
March 2nd. He was joined
by family, friends, and many community leaders. The Pueblo Hall of Fame recognizes leaders in the community
who have contributed to the enhancement or betterment of Pueblo.
As a legislator, Senator Tapia has always tried to help Pueblo gain more
recognition as well as help Pueblo financially.
He has always cared about the city where he grew up, and is continually
trying to repay the community of Pueblo by any means he can.
This was a great honor for Senator Tapia and Edmund Vallejo, the other
inductee, both pictured to the right.
A
permanent record of the inductees will be on display at the Pueblo Community
College, Fortino Ballroom.
Boards and Commissions to be Filled by Pueblo Citizens
With Governor Ritter recently taking office, there have
been many changes in the Colorado government.
One place that is having many new changes is in the state’s boards and
commissions. There are
approximately 200 different boards and commissions listed.
Some appointments to these bodies require Senate confirmation, while
others simply require approval from the governor. Senator Tapia would like to extend the invitation for those
interested to look up vacancies in boards and commissions, and to apply for the
vacancies that best suit the individual. “It
would be nice to see more people from Pueblo represent their community while
serving the state of Colorado and Governor Ritter,” said Senator Tapia.
Citizens of Pueblo are encouraged to look at the following websites for
information about Colorado’s Boards and Commissions.
A complete listing of boards and commissions:
http://www.colorado.gov/governor/bca2z.html
A complete descriptions of boards and commissions:
http://www.colorado.gov/governor/press/pdf/BOOK2007.pdf
The application for boards and commissions:
http://www.colorado.gov/governor/pdf/B&C-Application.pdf
If you have any questions about the application process or
about a specific board or commission, please contact Senator Tapia’s Denver
office at 303-866-2581 or send an email to abel.tapia.senate@state.co.us.
Legislator of the Year Declared by the Colorado School Nutrition
Association
Senator Tapia was recently declared to be the Legislator of the Year. He was given this painted picture with a plaque on the bottom that states his name, the honor, and the year. Improving the educational system of Colorado has continued to be a great motivation for what bills Senator Tapia proposes and sponsors. In the past, Senator Tapia received an award for Outstanding Colorado Legislator from the Colorado Association for School-Based Health Care
Long-Bill Introduced into the Legislature
This month and last month, Senator Tapia and the other members of the JBC have been busy with figure setting. Figure setting is when JBC analysts make and explain recommendations to the JBC on the number of employees, funding, and footnotes for each department. At the end of this process, the Joint Budget Committee introduces the Long Bill into the House and Senate. The Long Bill is the annual general appropriations bill. It contains appropriations for the operating budgets and capitol construction projects for the various departments of the state government. Since Senator Tapia is the chair of the JBC, the Long Bill will be introduced in the Senate; if Representative Buescher was the chair of the JBC, the Long Bill would be introduced in the House. During this time of the legislative session, both chambers of the state legislature modify or accept the Long Bill. Both chambers, the House and the Senate, must approve the same form of the Long Bill. If there is not concurrence, the JBC members act as conference committee to resolve the differences. Once the Long Bill is passed by the House and Senate, it heads to Governor Ritter’s desk. He has the ability to line-item veto sections of the Long Bill, without vetoing the entire piece of legislation.
Updates
on Senator Tapia’s Legislation
SB07-016
(Compulsory School Age bill) passed the House and Senate and is now awaiting
approval from the governor.
SB07-052
originally intended for there to be two CSU Board of Governor members from CSU-Pueblo
and CSU- Fort Collins. The bill was
amended to say that the nine-member CSU Board of Governors will include a member
from each of the seven congressional districts, as well as two members who are
graduates of CSU Fort Collins and CSU Pueblo or residents of those counties.
The bill is currently working through the Colorado House of
Representatives, and if passed will head to the Governor’s office.
Hispanic Caucus
Senator Tapia has
created
a Colorado General Assembly Hispanic Caucus.
It is a bi-partisan group of legislators whose primary interest is to
assess the impacts of policy and legislation on the Hispanic communities of
Colorado. The caucus meets monthly.
Legislative
Breakfast in Pueblo