Here’s what Gov. Hickenlooper signed in Pueblo today
Legislation ranged from opioid addiction treatment to water rights to the Southwest Chief.
Gov. John Hickenlooper was in Pueblo on Monday to sign a slew of bills authored and sponsored by Pueblo-area and Southern Colorado lawmakers in two different locations: the Pueblo Riverwalk and the old Alpha Beta plant, which is set to foster growth in the rail industry in Pueblo.
The legislation included water rights, opioid addiction treatment and the Southwest Chief Commission.
Here’s a full look at the six different bills Hickenlooper signed in Pueblo:
SB17–105: Consumer Right To Know Electric Utility Charges
This bill, spearheaded by Pueblo legislators, takes aim at the lack of transparency in utility bills. One of the biggest issues Sen. Leroy Garcia and Rep. Daneya Esgar say they hear from constituents are high utility prices in Pueblo.
The legislation requires investor-owned utility companies, such as Pueblo utility company Black Hills, to list all monthly charges and credits and whether they have increased from the prior month. The now-law will also require a biannual basis insert that indicates, as a percentage, each fuel source used in power generation and purchased for the utility.
SB17–153: Southwest Chief And Front Range Passenger Rail Commission
This bill does not guarantee a Southwest Chief route that extends from La Junta to Pueblo and beyond. It does guarantee a commission will bring forth legislation that could make that possible.
The bill’s main purpose is to continue and add more duties to the commission. The mission will be to continue to preserve the existing track and draft legislation by December 1 that will “facilitate the development of a front range passenger rail system that provides passenger rail service in and along the interstate 25 corridor.”
HB17–1356: Treat Economic Development Income Tax Credits Differently
This bill, which Garcia and Esgar sponsored, allows certain businesses that make a strategic capital investment in the state to treat some income tax credits allowed to the business as either carry forwardable for a five-year period or as transferable.
SB17–074: Opioid Addiction Treatment Pilot Program
This bill seeks to add more healthcare professionals to Pueblo and Routt counties that can treat opioid addiction. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants will be able to receive training to enable them to prescribe buprenorphine and other FDA-approved medications and therapies. This bill only impacts Pueblo and Routt counties. A total of $500,000 for the 2017–18 and 2018–19 fiscal years from the marijuana tax cash fund will fund the university of Colorado college of nursing to implement the pilot program.
HB17–1283: Task Force Child Welfare Worker Resiliency Program
Signed legislation creates a task force that looks at the resiliency of child welfare workers. The bill points out that “the work environment for child welfare caseworkers can be physically and emotionally dangerous” and cause “secondary trauma.” The taskforce will work toward providing resources for these workers.
HB17–1289: Calculating the Historical Consumptive Use of a Water Right
Currently, when a water right owner wants to change a water right — a loan or a change that would have to be approved by a water judge — the determination of what amount can be loaned or changed relies on a calculation of historical use of that right. This bill dictates that the state engineer take into account local conditions that would surround historical consumptive use calculation.
