“McNulty has shown that he cares more about predatory lenders than the well-being of Colorado teachers, oil and gas producers, hunters, the poor or the elderly.”DENVER—Today, Senate Majority Leader John Morse (D-Colorado Springs) released the following statement on the last-minute hijacking of the Rule Review Bill (Senate Bill 78) by House Republicans:
"By taking this bill hostage, McNulty has shown that he cares more about predatory lenders than the well-being of Colorado teachers, oil and gas producers, hunters, the poor or the elderly. Frank McNulty is standing up for predatory payday lender organizations while making Colorado citizens feel like they've been slapped with a wet leather glove.”
In a last-minute procedural maneuver, Republican House Speaker Frank McNulty is holding up a bill that is needed to govern nearly every function of government and affect every Coloradan. McNulty and House Republicans attached an amendment to Senate Bill 78, the “Rule Review” bill that will dramatically increase the amount that people will pay when taking out a short-term “payday” loan. This last-minute action is an attempt to overturn great work done by state agencies to implement rules for state and federal laws passed in recent years.
Among the rules affected:
This bill will cost Colorado approximately $800 million from the loss of a full hunting season. Those losses will come from the fees paid for licenses and permits as well as the lost revenue for restaurants, hotels, and other retailers who rely on hunters for a significant part of their business.
The implementation of HB09-1293, which changed the formula for hospital provider fees and made other significant changes to the Colorado Indigent Care Program (CICP), Medicaid, and the Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The hospital provider fees alone amount to $795 million in increased revenue for the state that come from federal matching funds and the changes to Medicaid alone resulted in 30,000 new Coloradoans receiving coverage. Undoing these rules will take away health care from some of our neediest people on the Medicaid, CICP, and CHIP rolls.
This will also throw schools and teachers into chaos as their licenses and accreditations lapse and they have to wait for the Colorado Department of Education to rebuild the rules regarding how to renew those licenses and accreditations.
Finally, this will cost the state an estimated $85 million to recreate the greenhouse gas emissions standards that are part of the State Implementation Plan (SIP) for air quality control.
This last minute maneuver by House Republicans comes on the final day of the 2011 legislative session. It could lead to a special session which would cost the state an additional tens of thousands of dollars per day.
