POSSIBLE CHANGES TO IMMIGRANT-TUITION BILL? Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, said he will not pull or hold his bill granting in-state college tuition to children of illegal immigrants but does want to keep tabs on the DREAM Act, which he believes will be re-introduced in Congress before its April 6 break. The senator said he should see a draft of the DREAM Act in the next few days and will be able to move forward with his bill, SB 170, early next week. The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act has been introduced and killed in Congress before. Previous versions sought to grant certain children of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship if they graduated from a U.S. high school, then went on and attained a two-year college degree or served for at least two years in the military, among other conditions. Romer said he just wants to see if there are any major provisions in the new version of the DREAM Act that may make him want to revisit SB 170 and possibly amend it. SB 170 passed the Senate Education Committee March 5 and is awaiting a full-Senate vote.
DNA DATABASE EXPANSION: New legislation is being introduced that would expand Colorado’s DNA database. Senate Bill 241, sponsored by Reps. Steve King, R-Grand Junction, and Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, would require the collection of DNA from all felony arrestees at the time of booking. SB 241, known as Katie’s Law, is named for Katie Sepich, who was raped and murdered in 2003. Sepich fought back during the attack, and investigators found DNA and blood under her fingernails. Three months later, the perpetrator was arrested for aggravated burglary; however, it was not until he was convicted 33 months later than his DNA was collected and matched to the DNA found on Sepich.
LABOR FORCE SLUMP: The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has reported that the state’s unemployment rate of 6.6 percent for January rose eight-tenths of a percentage point from the December rate of 5.8 percent. The current rate is higher than last year at this time when it stood at 4.3 percent. Yuma County posted the lowest jobless rate at 3.2 percent while Dolores County posted the highest rate at 12.3 percent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the nation’s unemployment rate at 7.6 percent in January. Visit www.coworkforce.com and www.bls.gov for more information.
COLORADO RECEIVES $1.24 MILLION FROM CITIGROUP: Colorado will receive $1.24 million as part of a settlement from Citigroup as a result of an investigation into allegations that Citigroup misled its clients by falsely assuring them that ARS securities were as safe and liquid as cash. The ARS markets froze in February of 2008, triggering a flood of complaints from investors who could not withdraw money from their accounts. Under the terms of the settlement, Citigroup will offer to repurchase at par every ARS from all Citigroup retail customers in Colorado who held those securities at the time the auction market failed on Feb. 12, 2008.
BENNET ANNOUNCES EDUCATION FUNDING: Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., today will announce nearly $900 million in education funding for Colorado under the national economic stimulus package. The funding will go towards the state’s K-12 education.
UDALL PRAISES OBAMA’S EARMARK REFORM CALL: Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., praised President Barack Obama’s comments addressing the need for reform in the Congressional earmark process. After Udall imposed a one-year moratorium on his own earmark requests while he was in the House of Representatives, he has announced that he will only accept requests from public entities in Colorado that seek federal funds in annual appropriations bills. Last week, Udall joined Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., in introducing The McCaskill-Udall bill, which aims to improve transparency in the earmarking process and increase restrictions.
TAX EVASION BILL PASSES HOUSE: A bill limiting a tax evasion scheme used by Wall-Mart and other large corporations is on its way to Gov. Bill Ritter to sign after final passage by the House yesterday. House Bill 1093, sponsored by Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, and Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver, aims to increase corporate transparency, disclosure and fair payment of taxes owed, according to Levy. The bill is in response to a scheme involving Real Estate Investment Trusts, in which a company effectively pays itself rent and calls that a tax-deductible business expense, thus evading payment of standard taxes. The Wall Street Journal reported that Wal-Mart avoided paying $350 million in state taxes between 1998 and 2001.
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE IN DENVER: The FOX television show “So You Think You Can Dance” is holding auditions to star in the reality show at the Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St., this morning; doors open at 8 a.m. FOX tells contestants to be prepared to be available the next two days for potential callbacks. Visit www.FOX.com/dance for more information.
LAWMAKERS APPLAUD BIRTH CONTROL PROVISION: Reps. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., and Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., co-chairs of the Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, applauded President Barack Obama for signing the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, which includes a provision that allows manufacturers to provide medications at a reduced price. In a joint statement, DeGette and Slaughter said that pharmaceutical manufacturers have been restricted from providing contraceptives to safety-net health care providers and college and university health center at reduced prices since the “Deficit Reduction Act” was passed by Congress in 2005. The lawmakers went on to say the new provision “makes birth control affordable again for millions of Americans who obtain contraceptives at community health centers, and at college and university health clinics.”
ANOTHER DU BURGLARY: There was a burglary yesterday morning at 5 in the 2000 block of South Josephine Street in the University of Denver area. The suspect reportedly confronted the resident and attacked her, causing minor injuries. He left the house in an unknown direction. The suspect is described as a black male, about 6 feet tall, with a medium to light skin complexion, approximately 165 pounds, between 20 and 30 years old, neatly dressed and wearing all black. Denver police said they are concerned about the series of recent burglaries in the DU area and have assigned several officers to the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call 720-913-STOP (7867).
