This week, my colleagues and I in the state legislature were hard at work on the 2008 budget. I'm happy to say that we've created a budget that makes targeted investments in our children's future-in their schools, their colleges, and their health care. We want them to grow up in a safe society with a strong economy. Colorado's kids are our priority.

What does this mean for the citizens of Colorado and your family in Lakewood?

Early and K-12 Education

• 22,000 more 5-year-olds can attend full day kindergarten in the next six years, getting a smart start to a successful education.
• We will eliminate the current waiting list for the Colorado Preschool Program, providing quality preschool to 3,000 additional four-year olds.
• We're creating the Colorado Counselor Corps and adding 70 new school counselors to work in middle and high schools so that students stay in school and are ready for college.

Higher Education

• We're working to hold down the cost of college by increasing the college opportunity fund to keep college within reach for all Coloradans and adding $53 million for higher education.
• We're providing more aid for students who need it the most. We're increasing need-based aid, restoring work-study funding to its pre-budget crisis level, and doubling the size of our pre-collegiate grant program. We increased financial aid by $10 million including $7.2 million for need-based grants for graduate and undergraduate students attending public and some private universities in Colorado.

Health Care

• We'll enroll 50,000 more kids in health care plans over the next few years by expanding outreach efforts and Child Health Plan Plus funding.
• We're going to substantially cut the developmentally disabled wait list for services by supporting these programs with a $30 million increase.
• We are raising provider reimbursement rates across the board so more doctors will be willing to treat Medicaid patients. We provided $43 million to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates.

Economic Development

• We're going to help bring technologies out of the laboratory and into the marketplace by investing $4.5 million dollars in our bioscience industry.
• We're going to support the Clean Energy fund to reduce high family utility costs with $7 million.
• We are creating the Colorado Solar Incentive Program with $2 million to provide rebates for photovoltaics and solar thermal systems to help Coloradans join the new energy economy and cut their utility bills.

Fiscal Responsibility

• Personnel and Administration Budget was cut by nearly $4 million, down 34% from last year.
• Colorado will save $962,000 in administrative costs by implementing the Preferred Drug List

Colorado's population is growing at an annual rate of just about 2%. That means by 2020, Colorado will see the addition of nearly two million people! Being fiscally responsible means taking Colorado's rapid growth and economic realities into account, balancing the budget, slowing spending and making cuts where we can, and increasing efficiency standards.

So who wins and who loses in this budget?

Winners

The Developmentally Disabled
Colorado's Kids
Middle-Class College Students

Losers

Partisan Politicians
Old-School Polluters
Hard-Core Criminals

I'm confident that we've created a budget in the state house that truly helps Colorado's families, including everyone in Lakewood. This is a balanced budget. It's fiscally responsible, in line with legally-mandated spending limits, and it allows us to invest in our biggest priority-our kids. We are making investments for our children's future-their health, their safety, and their education so they can get a good job in a thriving economy.

Please contact me anytime.
AKerrHD26@earthlink.net