Budget

Budget, redistricting on legislators' minds

Jan 5, 2002

By Janelle Holden
Journal Staff Writer

State legislators expect to face several difficult challenges during the 2002 general session, which starts on Wednesday.

Solving a significant budget shortfall and ratifying new congressional districts are further complicated by an almost evenly split Senate and the political histrionics of an election year.

Rep. Mark Larson (R-Cortez) said redistricting will "set the table" for the rest of the session.

Denver District Judge John Coughlin gave the Legislature a Jan. 25 deadline to come up with new districts before he makes a ruling that could include his own plan.

Redistricting is supposed to be the job of the Legislature, but because of partisan bickering, Larson doesn’t think it can be done.

"I don’t hold hope that we’ll get anything accomplished. The courts are ultimately going to decide, because both sides are going to try to make the other side look bad," he predicted.

Larson said that legislative issues could be polarized because Stan Matsunaka (D-Loveland), the president of the Senate, along with another Democratic senator, Bob Hagedorn, are running for governor, and Republican House Speaker Doug Dean, who is not running for re-election, may try to thwart Matsunaka’s legislation.

"Do you think he’s going to let any of the Matsunaka bills that have any substance, that can give him an in over Gov. Owens, out of the House? I don’t think so," said Larson.

Larson said the Republican Party was too dogmatic during the fall special session called to solve congressional redistricting.

"We played these partisan politics. We never came out with any real clear message, so what did we send to the courts for a decision-making process? Partisan issues."

Larson and Montezuma County’s two other legislators, Rep. Kay Alexander (R-Montrose) and Sen. Jim Isgar (D-Hesperus), all say they are planning to back a redistricting plan that keeps the Western Slope whole. Alexander said there is some threat to the Western Slope.

"There’s an effort to try and do something with the San Luis Valley," she said. "If that were added to the Western Slope then we’d have to bump another portion of the Western Slope because our numbers would be too great, so that would mean that those counties just west of the Continental Divide, like Summit and Grand, might be impacted."

Once the battle over redistricting is solved, or given to the courts, Larson said the Legislature will begin solving budget shortfalls that could hold up major state transportation projects for two years.

Many of the state’s most important transportation projects, which are lumped into what is called the "Seventh Pot," may not be funded because the state does not expect a surplus for the next two years.

In 1997, the state Legislature agreed to fund 28 state transportation projects out of the general-fund surplus, dubbed the "Seventh Pot" because CDOT has six transportation regions, and the additional pot of money was supposed to cover extra projects across the state.

So far, 11 of the projects have been completed or are nearly complete,

And transportation projects outside of the Seventh Pot that were not already bid out will be put on hold, which could affect local projects, such as the Mancos intersection.

However, Isgar said there is some hope transportation projects will continue to be funded.

"We don’t know quite yet how bad it’s going to be for the rest of the year or next year, so it’s kind of premature to say that there isn’t money to fund highways until we know what’s there and what has to be funded," said Isgar.

Larson said the battle will probably center more on whether capital construction, which is also in trouble, or transportation projects will be funded.

"We know that transportation is in need of more money, but I think it will be difficult if they (CDOT) propose to take $100 million out of the general fund. I think there will be strong opposition to that until we see what all can be funded," said Isgar.

Isgar said he thinks it’s important to protect the severance-tax fund because there are many proposals to transfer the severance-tax revenues into the general fund.

"Severance tax is used to fund Department of Local Affairs, and they make Energy Impact grants out of that money and that affects a lot of our rural communities," said Isgar.

"I think rural legislators have to be vigilant that people don’t view that severance-tax fund as a source to use to backfill the general fund."

And because of the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, legislators are not allowed to touch the $927 million surplus that will be refunded to taxpayers this spring.

In a story on Tuesday, the legislators will give their views on health care, possessory interests, and the bills they plan to carry.