I quickly hoorayed last week when Governor Bill Ritter announced his full backing for putting the state's checkbook online. But a follow-up report from Face The State seemed to suggest the process could take a long time:“Putting the budget online will be different because there is too much to put it all,†[state representative Don] Marostica said, adding that legislative staff is working on ways to publish a “simplified†version. While Kennedy was hesitant to commit to a timeline, Marostica said the process could take three years. But - as explained in this iVoices podcast with Sandra Fabry of Americans for Tax Reform - the fact is the federal government has already pioneered this work, along with several other states, and all … [Read more...]
Democrat Cary Kennedy: Protecting Coloradans from Open Government
In an editorial today that could herald the great advance of Colorado's upcoming legislative session, the Denver Post lauds a proposal by Rep. Don Marostica (R-Loveland) and Sen. Mike Kopp (R-Littleton) that would place the state government's check register online. Marostica made a similar legislative proposal in 2007, but was shot down with a ridiculous $2 million fiscal note from legislative staff. (Cost money? It's much more likely to save taxpayer money.) One line from the Post editorial jumped off the page when I read it:Marostica again plans to sponsor a bill to create just such a site, and treasurer Cary Kennedy has supported the plan in theory, but wants some citizen protections in place. [emphasis added\ Uh, what? … [Read more...]
Democrat Moe Keller Happy to Spend Your Money While Spending is Good
Hey, Colorado, guess what? Leave the Democrats in charge in your state for too long, and taste the fruits of bad fiscal judgment. Witness this Face The State story about my own state senator:Audio from April 3 uncovered by Face The State reveals Sen. Moe Keller, a Wheat Ridge Democrat and chairwoman of the Joint Budget Committee, optimistically arguing that Colorado’s economic future is a bright one, even though Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke predicted on that same day the country was headed into a recession. "We do not have a projection from our economists that we are going into a fiscal train wreck," she said. Moe Keller and her fellow Democrats at the State Capitol are just happy to spend your money while the spending is … [Read more...]