Here’s a look at what El Paso County lawmakers have planned for 2016:

Sen. Bill Cadman

President of the Senate

Republican

Years served in Senate:  2008-16

Years served in House: 2001-07

Priorities in 2016: fetal homicide, school safety, protect funding for K-12, workforce development and regulatory reform.

Quote: “This is not a destination. It is a journey.”

Contact: 1-303-866-4880, bill.cadman.senate@state.co.us

Sen. Owen Hill

Chair of Senate Education committee

Republican

Years served in Senate: 2013-16

Priorities in 2016: defund Planned Parenthood, farm-to-table legislation to help local growers, require students to pass U.S. Citizenship test as part of civics requirements

Quote: “When you talk to constituents 85 to 90 percent say wherever we are on the issue of abortion, public money should not go to fund it.”

Contact: 1-303-866-2737, owen.hill.senate@state.co.us

Sen. Kent Lambert

Vice-chair of Joint Budget Committee

Republican

Years served in House: 2007-10

Years served in Senate: 2011-16

Priorities in 2016: pass the budget – balanced and on time, try to make spending on transportation under Senate Bill 228 more regular, help the volunteer Colorado Mounted Rangers receive police officer certification

Quote: “The governor doesn’t have a budget. The budget belongs to the legislators.”

Contact: 1-303-866-4835, senatorlambert@comcast.net

Sen. Michael Merrifield

Democrat

Years served in Senate: 2015-16

Years served in House: 2003-10

Top priorities: passing a “death with dignity” bill, further reducing state mandated testing, legalizing rain barrels and requiring motorists to pull aside at the first safe opportunity when cars back up behind them.

Quote: “I hope to get some of my bills out of Senate committee. I think there’s a chance … I’m really passionate about all of my bills.”

Contact: 719-460-0580, michael.merrifield.senate@state.co.us

Rep. Terri Carver

Republican

Years served in House: 2015-16

Top priorities: crack down on human trafficking in massage parlors, credit veterans for their military training for state occupational licenses, improve address confidentiality program for victims and convene a data privacy task force

Quote: “We can shut down these human trafficking operations and prosecute these people and throw them in jail.”

Contact: 1-303-866-2191, terri.carver@state.co.us

Rep. Janak Joshi

Republican

Years served in House: 2011-16

Top priorities: creating a homicide charge for crimes where a fetus is killed, creating a statute of limitations for all professions licensed by the Department of Regulatory Affairs

Quote: “Every year when I bring (the fetal homicide) bill I say I hope …”

Contact: 1-303-866-2937, janak.joshi.house@state.co.us

Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt

Republican

Years served in House: 2015-16

Top priorities: exempting clergy from having to comply with the state’s laws prohibiting discrimination against people based on sexual orientation, repealing the state’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act

Quote: “We have to just keep fighting. We will take as many blows as we can.”

Contact: 1-303-866-5525, klingenschmitt.house@state.co.us

Rep. Lois Landgraf

Republican

Years served in House: 2013-16

Top priorities: creating a pilot program that helps veterans learn how to train their own support dogs for post-traumatic stress disorder, extending the funding available to disabled people for home modification, implementing the recommendations from the state’s respite care task force.

Quote: “I’m very excited about the opportunity to save veterans lives.”

Contact: 1-303-866-2946, lois.landgraf.house@state.co.us

Rep. Pete Lee

Democrat

Years served in House: 2011-16

Top priorities: limiting the use of solitary confinement in the Division of Youth Corrections, automatically expunging records for certain juvenile offenses, tweaking a law that allows crowdfunding for Colorado start-ups

Quote: “Where the work is going to be done is in the middle. The extremists on both sides will be stuck in gridlock and feel dissatisfied.”

Contact: 1-303-866-2932, pete.lee.house@state.co.us

Rep. Paul Lundeen

Republican

Years served in House: 2015-16

Top priorities: funding for the wideninig of Interstate 25 between Castle Rock and Monument, disclosing what data is being collected on students and what it’s used for and how it’s secured

Quote: “I will continue to fight to widen I-25 between Monument and Castle Rock without budget shenanigans to do so … This project has been called a ‘priority’ by the Governor and I aim to make sure it is treated as one.”

Contact: 1-303-866-2924, paul.lundeen.house@state.co.us

Rep. Dan Nordberg

Republican

Years served in the House: 2013-16

Top priorities: crack down on abuse of the senior homestead tax exemption, require the Colorado Department of Transportation to take into account the needs of military installations, improve transparency at the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Quote: “CDOT could not demonstrate how they prioritize projects. That’s troubling on a number of different levels, but how do we know they are prioritizing correctly if we don’t know how they make decisions.”

Contact: 1-303-866-2965, dan.nordberg.house@state.co.us

Rep. Kit Roupe

Republican

Years served in the House: 2015-16

Top priorities: increased charges for repeat domestic violence offenders, work release summons for those arrested on non-violent felonies, regulating marijuana social clubs, define honorable and dishonorable discharge in statute to make things more consistent for veterans.

Quote: “I want to bring a little bit more protection for families and victims of domestic violence.”

Contact: 1-303-866-3069, kit.roupe.house@state.co.us

Democrat State Sen. Michael Merrifield and State Representative Pete Lee (left to right) sit together during a joint session on the opening day of the Colorado General Assembly on Wednesday, January 7, 2015. (The Gazette/Jerilee Bennett)