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Jan. 18, 2011
The weekday Colorado news roundup is a collection of links to news reports from around the state on issues of interest to the Colorado Center on Law and Policy. Listing does not imply endorsement of the content. 

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New governor, former lawmakers
weigh ideas to maintain vital services
Fiscal policy
The Denver Post: Counties add to Hickenlooper's economic development plans
Preservation of Colorado's enterprise zone tax credits surfaced as a common theme Monday as Gov. John Hickenlooper ended a four-day statewide tour to discuss business development strategies.

Denver Post commentary: Difficult solutions to Colorado's $1 billion problem
We asked four former Colorado lawmakers to sit in our conference room for two days and not only balance the upcoming state budget - which has a $1.2 billion shortfall - but also make long-term structural changes to the state budget. This is their report.
Also: Denver Post commentary: The Citizens' Budget

Denver Daily News: State-employee union targeted
A Republican state lawmaker is seeking to reverse a 2007 executive order authorizing state employees to join unions and collectively bargain.
Also: Associated Press via Aurora Sentinel: Organized labor working on makeover in Colorado

Pueblo Chieftain editorial: Belt-tightening
Colorado Congressman Mike Coffman has come up with a plan to reduce the federal deficit by about $5.5 billion each year by starting in the federal government's own backyard.

Colorado Independent: Colorado private school vouchers are back, disguised as tax credits
Colorado educators and school boards are adamantly opposed to the tax credit that would have public taxes subsidizing private education. They say the program is a de-facto voucher program that would see public money being used for religious and non-state accredited schooling.

Durango Herald editorial: College tuition
University of Colorado regents are considering a plan to guarantee CU students that their tuition will not rise over the four years it takes them to earn a bachelor's degree.

Sterling Journal-Advocate: Becker blocks ag fee increase
The Joint Budget Committee, with freshman legislator Rep. Jon Becker, R-Fort Morgan, began making decisions this week on legislation they would carry in the 2011 session, and Becker`s first decision was to prevent increases in agricultural fees. Becker vowed last week to vote down measures that would tap cash funds to short up the state budget, and he did just that on Monday.


Health care
Colorado News Agency: Lawmaker moves to stop sale of state nursing home in Trinidad
The future of the only state-owned nursing home in Colorado is once again the subject of legislation with the resurrection of a bill from last year to halt the facility's sale to a private party.

Colorado Pols commentary: Public Health Care Reform Opposition Withers
As the House prepares to vote on repeal this week, public support for that has flagged. Only about 1 in 4 respondents said they wanted to do away with the law completely. Even among Republicans, repeal draws markedly less support than it did a few weeks ago: 49%, compared with 61% after the November election.


Economic self-sufficiency
Durango Herald: Children squeezed, too, in poverty's clutches
As more La Plata County parents slip from security to poverty, educators and social service providers say the hardship inevitably trickles down to their children.
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