That was the week that was

That was the week that was

January 15, 2002

Capitol Report
By State Senator Jim Isgar

We arrived in Denver on Sunday, Jan. 6, checked in to an empty apartment (no furniture till Tuesday) and started with the mail. Life was much simpler before Al Gore created the Internet and thus e-mail.

We knew that fiscally things were tight but we found out that the state’s purse is expected to hold even less money than we figured before Christ-mas. The good news is that the rate of decline is slowing.

However, there are a lot of issues that do not require tax dollars that are important to people’s lives. I am working especially hard on these issues. I am the sponsor of a bill to require insurance companies to promptly pay claims to claimants. This bill requires companies to adopt uniform health care claim forms and standardized billing codes. It also requires insurance companies to accept electronically filed claims and technology such as the Internet for filing purposes. It also sets a time limit on claims to be paid, denied or settled. Hopefully, this will speed up payment and not allow things to be dragged out forever and get payment quickly to those who are owed money.

I am working on a second bill to exempt those with possessory interests on public lands from paying property taxes. This is a very complex issue and could affect the economic success of anyone who operates a business on public property from ski areas to livestock grazers to concessionaires to guide services.

There are other issues that may require legislation that are of great interest to constituents in District 6.

The Division of Wildlife, the Department of Agriculture and elk breeders are all concerned about cleaning up chronic wasting disease in our wildlife herds. I sat in on two meetings this week with my friend Senator Lew Entz (R-San Luis Valley). We are both very anxious to help in getting rid of this problem and will work with those involved.
Mark Larson (R-Cortez) and I are pursuing a bill that would focus on surface owners’ protection from sub-surface development by oil and gas owners.
I will ride herd on Severance Tax Revenue. This is an important source of money for a variety of things for towns on the Western Slope, and that is where the resource is mined. Our statewide revenue shortfall makes this fund a target for others who look for money to fund projects elsewhere.
I have received a lot of calls from pharmacists regarding the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing's desire to cut back Medicaid reimbursements for prescriptions for low-income people in Colorado. This might even eliminate all pharmacies from accepting Medicaid prescriptions. That seems very bad to me.

I would like to respond to an article that appeared in the Durango Herald this last week concerning Kay Alexander (R-Montrose) and myself. In the article Senate Minority Leader John Andrews (R-Centennial) was quoted as saying that I have to choose between what my Democrat colleagues in the Senate want and what looks good in my district. In reality, there is no conflict. I am here to represent the interests of my constituents and the leadership of the Senate knows that. The main concern of the leadership on my side of the aisle is for me to represent my constituents as best I can with the values I have. If that means I vote against my fellow Democrats then that is what I will do and the leadership knows that. I will not lose my chairmanship or position on any committees. They know that in order for Democrats to win across the state they must represent the values of the voters.

Jim Isgar is a state senator from La Plata County. He can be reached in La Plata County at (970) 385-7664, or at the Capitol in Denver at (303) 866-4884 or email at isgar1@outerbounds.net