THIS WEEK IN THE LEGISLATURE

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Apr 21, 2008 | by Michael Davidson

Agenda

Today: A bill by Rep. Amy Stephens, R-Monument, to require hospitals to publicly list charges for common procedures goes before the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee.

Wednesday: The Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee hears Colorado Springs Republican Sen. Dave Schultheis' constitutional amendment to require Colorado government documents to be printed only in English.

Thursday: The House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee votes on a Republican constitutional amendment to repeal Gov. Ritter's 2007 property tax rate freeze.

Keep those licenses

Drivers who love their Colorado College licenses have a better chance of keeping them under a bill coming up before the House Transportation and Energy Committee on Tuesday.

Currently, 3,000 copies of any specialty license plate must be sold within three years of its issuance or the plate must be discontinued. SB 143 reduces mandatory sales to 500.

Nearly two dozen license plates are on the chopping block, including those from Colorado College, only 465 of which had been sold as of March 31. The bill, which also requires issuance and renewal fees from the plates to be used for scholarships and academic programs, passed the Senate by a 23-11 vote.

Legislator to know

When Bob Hagedorn was growing up, his heroes were medical pioneers Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch. Eventually, the Democratic senator from Aurora gave up his hope of following in their footsteps, but he has never lost his fascination with medicine.

"I'm a health policy wonk. I'm a very boring person. My family won't invite me over anymore," Hagedorn joked.

The 56-year-old will be leaving the Legislature this year after serving for 16 years. In that time, he became the chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and one of the state's most important health care advocates.

Hagedorn wants to cover the state's estimated 500,000 to 750,000 uninsured adults. But unlike many reformers, he thinks any program created by the government is doomed.

The best approach for now, Hagedorn said, is to work with private insurers so they create affordable health plans for the uninsured. The plans will be more financially sound than what government could produce, he said.