Author: Tim Hoover
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Car-seat rules for kids get first OK; Republicans call it ‘nannyism’
The state Senate gave initial approval Tuesday to a bill requiring children younger than 8 to be in booster seats while riding in cars, just days after the bill narrowly survived on the Senate floor. Senate Bill 110 eliminates current requirements on booster seats and child-safety restraint systems on the height and weight of the…
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Ritter outlines steps to close $203M deficit next year
A prison boot camp program in Buena Vista would close and a scholarship fund would be tapped to help close a roughly $200 million shortfall in the state budget for the fiscal year that begins in July. But the largest single chunk of the plan Gov. Bill Ritter announced today to finish balancing the 2010-2011…
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Elimination of Colorado tax breaks gets initial approval in state senate
The Colorado Senate gave initial approval to a package of bills removing tax breaks on candy, soda, software, junk mail and other items Monday night. After more than 11 hours of debate on the bills Monday, the Senate approved the package just before 11:30 p.m. and only after a last-minute partisan dust-up nearly led to…
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November retail sales drop across Colorado
State sales-tax collections have dropped again, falling in November compared with the same month the previous year, according to reports from the Department of Revenue. The latest report of flagging revenues comes as Gov. Bill Ritter and lawmakers await the latest economic forecast from the legislative staff, which is to be presented on Friday. State…
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Low state funding could imperil CU med school’s accreditation
State funding for the University of Colorado’s medical school is so low that college officials are concerned the institution could lose its accreditation, CU president Bruce Benson told lawmakers Wednesday. While the School of Medicine, housed at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, is still fully accredited, its level of state funding has been listed…
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State retirement system in jeopardy
Following the loss of more than $10 billion last year, Colorado’s largest public employee retirement system now can meet only 51.8 percent of its obligations to retirees, a development that could mean higher deductions from government workers’ paychecks and greater taxpayer subsidies.That fact was revealed Monday before a legislative panel reviewing an audit of the…
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Colorado PERA benefits in peril
DENVER — Following the loss of more than $10 billion last year, Colorado’s largest public employee retirement system now can meet only 51.8 percent of its obligations to retirees, a development that could mean higher deductions from government workers’ paychecks and greater taxpayer subsidies. That fact was revealed Monday before a legislative panel reviewing an…
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Audit: Colo. police don’t have resources to enforce immigration laws
Police departments in Colorado are largely complying with a 2006 law that requires them to report suspected illegal immigrants that they have arrested, according to a state audit released Monday. However, the audit said, the law still will not prevent future incidents similar to the one in Aurora last year in which a vehicle driven…