Ritter's goal: Build a better Colorado

By Chris Barge, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 10, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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Photo by Darin McGregor © The Rocky

Josh Gillespie with 5280 Digital Inc. adjusts one of the new video cameras in the House Chambers at the Colorado State Capitol. Starting January 21 the cameras will record all House sessions to be broadcast live on Comcast channel 165. The recordings will also be archived on an internet website available to the public.

Bill Ritter says he'll back no more than one tax question.

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Gov. Bill Ritter challenged Coloradans to think differently about how they power their cars, heat their homes and educate their children during his first State of the State address one year ago.

"We will invest to save in the long run," he said then.

Look for him to hit on a similar theme when he delivers his second State of the State at 11 a.m. today.

His agenda for the coming year includes education reform, economic development, public safety, conservation easements, transportation, health care reform, higher education and reforming the state constitution.

It's a long shopping list, designed to get lawmakers and the state as a whole thinking about how to build a better Colorado. It's also one that has just about everyone wondering whether Ritter will back placing a tax hike on the November ballot to help pay for improvements.

Ritter has said he would support no more than one tax question this year.

Deciding which tax, if any, to put forth "is a Rubik's Cube of a conversation," he said during an interview with the Rocky Mountain News editorial board. "Any slight twist can change the face of it."

Ritter's Republican critics will be listening with a sharp ear toward any sign of a tax increase.

The governor has accomplished many of the short-term goals he set in last year's State of the State, particularly in the area of renewable energy initiatives. And he has received tempered praise from Republicans for his economic policies.

However, his long-term, legacy-building goals around health care, education and transportation remain on the to-do list.

He set a goal last year of giving every Coloradan access to basic health insurance and health care by 2010.

He said this week that while the vision is intact, the timeline probably isn't.

However, he expects lawmakers to start making progress toward improving health care coverage this session.

He said the state could get close to the minimum $500 million more it needs per year for transportation maintenance by passing new impact fees.

And he said that increasing severance taxes on the oil and gas industry could help pull higher education funding up from where it sits, at 49th in nation.

bargec@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5059

State of the State address

* Who: Gov. Bill Ritter

* When: 11 a.m. today

* Where: floor of the Colorado House to a joint session of the 66th General Assembly

* On TV: Most local TV stations will air the speech live, including KUSA 9, KMGH 7 and CBS 4. FOX 31 will air parts of the speech.

* For live streaming audio: www.leg.state.co.us, Web site of the Colorado legislature.

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