Review of Coal-to-Gas Legislation A Positive Step

When I read this past week in the Denver Post that the coal industry lobbyists were asking for a review of last year’s legislation that required conversion of Colorado coal plants to natural gas, it lifted my spirits. The government is way too involved in forcing “green” energy moves in an industry that should be adjusting to economic realities on its own and on a less than crisis-oriented atmosphere so popular with the Obama EPA administration. The government should not be picking winners and losers in any industry and should allow market and economic forces to make improvements naturally.

As an example, this morning I saw a large UPS truck in our office complex with the letters on its side “powered by natural gas.” This is a logical transitional energy movement particularly from expensive oil to currently abundant (in the U.S.) and cheaper natural gas. According to Natural Gas entrepreneur and cheerleader T. Boone Pickens, it’s a lot cheaper to get eight million trucks in the U.S. on natural gas than on batteries by converting existing trucks and building new trucks to run on natural gas. Another major move would be for the conversion of most homes in the northeast United States from heating oil to natural gas heating. Both of these would reduce our importation of expensive oil.

However, we should not legislate away economical use of coal of which we have a great abundance of in the U.S. and for which conversion from coal to lower-cost cleaner fuels is now possible. China is taking and utilizing all the coal it can get its hands on from Canada and other countries to fuel its economic growth. In the U.S. we should continue to use coal and seek the continued technological improvement of our cheaper and abundant coal-based fuels.

Joseph Chavez, Attorney.

Small Business opposes single payer healthcare for Colorado - Vote NO on SB11-168

March 4, 2011

The Honorable State Senators

Re: SB11-168 Colorado Healthcare Cooperative

Dear Senator,

On behalf of the Colorado Republican Business Coalition (“CRBC”) I urge you to vote NO on SB11-168 when it comes to the Senate floor for a vote.

The ultimate end of this bill is the creation of a single payer health care cooperative. The first two sentences of the Bill Summary states, “The bill creates the Colorado health care authority. Its mission is to design the Colorado health care cooperative to be the benefits administrator and payer for health care services.”

Since the cooperative would be positioned to be the sole payer in Colorado for health, dental, vision, hearing, Medicare, Medicaid and workers compensation medical services, it would have the following effects:

• Destroy the private medical, dental, vision and workers compensation market in Colorao
• Result in the loss of 25,000+ health insurance based jobs in Colorado
• Precipitate the loss of $200 million of health insurance premium taxes paid to Colorado each year by commercial insurers
• Cause some of the best and brightest doctors to leave Colorado rather than have their fees dictated by a monolithic government plan
• Limit consumer choice by forcing everyone into a one size fits all plan
• Require an 8.1% increase in the state income tax and a 6% employer payroll tax (based on the Governor’s 208 Commission actuarial studies)

Respectfully,

Christine Burtt, Chairman
CO Republican Business Coalition

CRBC strongly supports Senate Bill 11-019

March 4, 2011

The Honorable State Senators
State Capitol Building
200 E. Colfax Ave
Denver, Colorado 80203

Re: SB11-019 Small Employer Health Insurance Payments

Dear Senator,

The Colorado Republican Business Coalition (“CRBC”) strongly supports SB11-019, permitting employers with less than fifty employees to reimburse their employees for some or all of health insurance premiums paid.

With the steady rise of the cost of health insurance plans along with other pressures causing margins to shrink in the past few years, many small businesses can no longer afford to offer health insurance plans for their employees.

To continue to prohibit small businesses from reimbursing their employees for some or all of the cost of health insurance premiums that employees pay directly, fails to help alleviate the unemployment problem, and is simply unfair for both the employees and the employers.

Respectfully,
Christine Burtt
Chairman
CO Republican Business Coalition

Colorado Republican Business Coalition Monthly Luncheon

• How can we put more working capital into the hands of small business contractors instead of sitting in government bank accounts?
• What is the Republican short-term and long-term strategy for filling the State's $1.1B shortfall?
• What are Republicans doing to protect our electoral process?

Rep. Frank McNulty, Speaker of the House, and Rep. Kevin Priola, Speaker Pro Tem, will answer these and other questions at our next meeting Friday, March 18, 2011, at Brooklyns.

Frank McNulty (R- HD43 Highlands Ranch) is Speaker of the House, vice-chairman of Legislative Council, and vice-chairman of the Executive Committee of the Legislative Council.

In 2006, Frank was first elected to the Colorado State House of Representatives. He advocates for limited government, fiscal responsibility, common sense water policies and for mandatory minimum sentences for violent sex offenses against children. Frank introduced and passed legislation that allows members of our active duty military and members of our National Guard to attend college in Colorado for in-state tuition rates. He advocates for making the development of hydro-electricity in Colorado a priority as a necessary component of our overall energy portfolio.

Frank is an attorney by trade and earned his JD from the University of Denver College of Law. He served in the Bill Owens administration as Assistant Director for Water with the Colorado Department of Natural Resources where he was responsible for developing statewide water policies.

Rep. Kevin Priola (R- HD30- Adams County) is Speaker Pro Tempore; a member of the Economic and Business Development, Legislative Council; and Transportation committees.

Kevin's business background includes Priola Greenhouses and CAP Property Management. Kevin graduated from the University of Colorado Business School with an major in finance and minor in economics. Through community organizations, he helps meet local and international needs and continues to give active support to the University of Colorado at Boulder. In 2010 Representative Priola received the Greenco Legislator of the Year for his work on green industry issues at the Capitol. He and his wife Michelle are parents of three young children.

Friday, March 18, 2011
11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Brooklyn's Restaurant
9th & Auraria Pkwy, across from Pepsi Center,
$1 parking Lot A - tell attendant you're going to Brooklyn's
Member: $17; non-members $20; elected officials and students $15
Menu choices.
RSVP: repgop@gmail.com (not required, but appreciated)