BILLINGS, Mont. — A U.S. government watchdog agency said Friday that 81 Bureau of Land Management employees have declined to relocate to Western states or left their positions as the Trump administration pursues a broad reorganization of the bureau’s headquarters staff.

The Government Accountability Office issued a report that faulted the administration for failing to follow key reform practices such as involving employees and stakeholders in its plans.

The bureau has about 10,000 employees, and most are already in field offices in the West with only about 400 in Washington, D.C. The Interior Department said last year it planned to move about 300 of them to the West.

The transfers are part of the Trump administration’s decision to create a new national headquarters in Grand Junction. The move was championed by Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, who is touting the relocation in his 2020 reelection bid. Democrats, including Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, also pushed for the move.

The bureau oversees nearly 388,000 square miles of public land, 99% of it in 12 Western states.

Out of 170 bureau staff who received relocation notices, 90 accepted, 81 declined or left their positions and eight fell into other categories, the GAO found.

About 130 positions already were vacant when the relocation was announced.

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva said the GAO investigation showed the administration was trying to drive out staff and destroy the bureau’s ability to carry out its mission.

In response, Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Megan Crandall said the relocation was “commonsense” and would better position officials to serve the public and allow multiple uses of public lands.

The Colorado Sun contributed to this report.

Gov. Jared Polis celebrated his first-year wins during his second State of the State address Thursday, imploring the General Assembly to go even further by expanding preschool education and reducing Colorado’s prison population. 

He also urged lawmakers to cut prescription drug costs and create a government-managed public option health care system.

The Democratic chief executive’s robust agenda will cost big money to implement, and lawmakers rejected significant elements a year ago. Once again, the legislature expressed immediate caution about whether it’s achievable in this year’s lawmaking term.

“The governor’s completely within his right to make any request he wants,” said state Sen. Dominick Moreno, a Commerce City Democrat who, as a member of the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee, helps write the state budget. “The legislature’s not obligated to give it to him.”

“It’s hard to understand how all of the things the governor talked about get paid for,” said Senate Republican leader Chris Holbert, of Parker.

The 57-minute speech began moments after protesters in the state House chamber — which was packed with elected officials and dignitaries — disrupted the decorum, shouting and waving signs demanding the governor and lawmakers ban hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking. 

At least one demonstrator appeared to secure himself to a railing by supergluing his fingers together and had to be pried free before he could be removed. A handful of other people were forcibly taken out of the chamber by law enforcement officers. About two dozen were arrested, including juveniles, on a variety of charges, police said.

MORE ANNOTATIONS:
> In Colorado House, Democrats celebrate achievements and promise more. Here’s the agenda, annotated.
> Colorado’s Senate president was unusually progressive in his opening remarks. Here they are, annotated.

VIDEO

Here’s a transcript of Polis’ speech — lightly edited for length — with annotations from The Colorado Sun’s reporters highlighting the important lines and explaining what it all means.

A good morning to everyone.

The moment Polis began speaking, a man started yelling, “Ban fracking now!” He was referencing hydraulic fracturing, the controversial process through which natural gas and oil is extracted from the ground. The protester was still yelling as he was dragged out.

Before Polis even entered the House, a group of anti-oil and gas demonstrators began shouting and waving a banner in the House chambers. A photo shared on Twitter from outside the Capitol showed several of the activists in handcuffs being led away by officers.

Members of the Colorado State Patrol work to remove a protestor from the balcony of the house chambers just before Gov. Jared Polis entered the room. (Kathryn Scott, Special to The Colorado Sun)

Polis said he didn’t know what happened before he entered the House chamber and that the lone protester who tried to interrupt his speech was out of earshot. “I didn’t see it. I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t there, and I just wouldn’t be the one to ask,” Polis told reporters later in the day.

Asked if he thinks fracking should be banned, Polis said: “That’s never been my position.”

… Before we begin, I want to offer my gratitude to the so many people whose tireless dedication to our safety allows us to gather here today and keeps Coloradans safe: the members of our military serving across Colorado and overseas, our law enforcement officers, our first responders and their families. They deserve our deepest thanks. …

We know that we are blessed to live in a place as special, as amazing as Colorado. Our state’s breathtaking natural beauty, our strong economy, our optimistic and forward-thinking people truly make Colorado the envy of the nation and attract people from all over the globe who want to visit us, and sometimes move here to enjoy the Colorado Way of Life.

That doesn’t happen by accident. This success happens because for decades, Coloradans from across the Continental Divide and across the political divide have worked together in good faith to find common ground, to protect what keeps Colorado special and to build an even better state. …

Working together last year, we lowered health care costs, we lowered taxes for small businesses, we provided more affordable housing options, we made the largest-ever state investment in transportation and delivered free full-day kindergarten for all.

That’s a pretty darn good start for this General Assembly. On issue after issue, the good-faith and thoughtful and bipartisan work of the members of this chamber really helped move our state forward. You know, we should be proud that 95% of bills that I signed last year were passed with Republican and Democratic votes.

… Our state has seen tremendous gains in jobs, in economic growth, in population and tourism. In national and international prestige. And yet when I travel across our state and listen to constituents, and I’m sure it’s the same with you in your districts, it’s clear folks still feel like they’re on an economic treadmill where paychecks just don’t keep up with the increasing cost of living.

From student loans to health care costs to rent or mortgage –– Coloradans feel like they are running faster and faster on a treadmill, but often not getting ahead. Too many of our fellow Coloradans are anxious that just one hardship — a job loss, a medical emergency, a recession, a natural disaster, an unforeseen challenge — can send them into a financial tailspin.

There is a generation of older Coloradans who wonder when or even if they will be able to retire with dignity. And there is a generation of younger people, saddled with student debt, threatened by the climate crisis, who fear for their future and the world that they’ll inherit.

And Coloradans are wondering, in this ever-changing modern economy, how to get ahead financially, while also finding the time to enjoy the things that make life worth living. Whether that’s a day out exploring our beautiful public lands, or taking a family vacation or just making it home in time to go to your kids’ soccer game. Just a chance to get off that treadmill for a little while. Well, with all due respect to the exercise equipment industry, we don’t prefer treadmills in Colorado. We prefer trails.

We love and enjoy to climb; striving to reach the peak, identifying the next peak and doing it all over again, always reaching to achieve more. Stagnation just isn’t in our DNA. When a challenge arises, we get moving. I mean, why do you think I wear my blue sneakers everywhere? Right? This is who we are. It’s why we are so successful.

And so it is our job as public officials to build a state that allows Coloradans to reach the mountaintop and the next mountaintop — by saving families money, by protecting the natural wonders that grace every corner of our state. By widening the pathways to prosperity, instead of leaving too many folks feeling like they’re just running in place. 

And that pathway to prosperity often begins with a great education. Last year at this very podium, I asked you to take the bold step of providing free full-day kindergarten for every kid in Colorado. And you delivered.

…Thanks to parents and advocates and dedicated legislators, –– like Rep. Jim Wilson and Rep. Barbara McLaughlin and Sen. Rhonda Fields and Sen. Jeff Bridges, members of the JBC –– a unanimous vote in the Senate and a supermajority in the House, we took a really important step to improve kids’ education, to save families money, and to boost our economy.

And I want to show you what that means. I want to introduce someone who is with us in the audience today. Samantha Hosmer, who is seated in the gallery, if you could rise, Samantha is a mother of two from Erie, she had to leave her job in 2014 to care for a newborn daughter, Fiona, and son, Logan, who needed extra support for social and emotional challenges. And this past fall, when it came time to enroll Fiona in kindergarten, Samantha and her husband knew that a full day at school was important, but it wasn’t something they could afford. Thanks to your work on free full-day kindergarten, Fiona is getting that full day of instruction, Samantha’s family is not only saving $300 a month but she was also able to return to work as a special-ed paraprofessional, enabling her to support her family and her two children with more earnings. Thank you, Samantha.

Now it’s time to continue that work. Studies show that preschool is every bit as important and critical for a child’s development as kindergarten. It’s not that parents don’t want their kids in preschool — It’s that too many parents can’t afford it.  Last year we were thrilled to work with you to fund 5,100 additional slots for at-risk children in the Colorado Preschool Program. And in my budget this year, we’re proposing to help an additional 6,000 children attend preschool, which for the first time will bring coverage to half of all eligible Colorado families.

And we should feel good about reaching this milestone. But it has taken more than three decades of work to get half the job done. We know we must do better, which is why over my first term I’m committed to achieving universal access to quality preschool for 4-year-olds by the end of my first term.

And early childhood education isn’t just about giving our kids a great start in life. Although truly that’s where we start. Every dollar invested in high-quality preschool produces a $7 return on investment to taxpayers with higher earnings, lower special education needs, less dependency on public assistance and lower crime rates. This isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do. And it’s time to get it done.

You know, in addition to making essential investments in early childhood education, we also worked with you to address other areas of our K-12 education last year. We expanded loan forgiveness for rural educators to help address our rural teacher shortage. Extended dropout prevention programs to end the school-to-prison pipeline. And last year, we reduced the budget stabilization factor — the debt owed to our schools — by $100 million, and this year we’re calling for an additional $52 million investment. And while we’re at it, our teachers, one of the most important professions in our society, shouldn’t have to work a second or third job just to make ends meet. 

We know that under Colorado’s system of local control, individual districts set teacher salaries. But when I speak with school leaders, they want to pay teachers better. But because of the fiscal rules, the state spends too much money backfilling some of the wealthiest districts, not just in the state, but in the country. And that is truly at the root of our school funding issues. Together, we can fix this systemic problem and finally raise pay for our hardworking educators.

Education is incredibly important, but we can’t fulfill our promise of a better future for our kids if we don’t do a better job of keeping them safe when they walk through the schoolhouse door.

One of the most difficult days of my administration personally for our state of Colorado was responding to the STEM school shooting in Highlands Ranch, where eight students were injured, and Kendrick Castillo lost his life heroically preventing more bloodshed.

Kendrick’s parents John and Maria are with us today, and I want to show our acknowledgement for the heroism of their son.

I’ll never forget visiting with them shortly after the STEM tragedy. John told me how he would spend every weekend together hunting, building robotics, creating memories. He told me Kendrick was more than just his only son — but was his best friend.

Like millions of parents across our state ––and many of us here are parents –– I imagined myself in their shoes. And I know that we all did. The disbelief. The devastation. The anger. And the pain. The despair of losing a child to senseless violence is a weight that too many parents have been forced to bear for too long.

And I want to commend your initial work, the school safety interim committee, for your bipartisan work on this important issue.

I look forward to working with all of you to do more to keep our kids safe, because no parent should have to go through what John and Maria have gone through. Every child in our state deserves a safe opportunity to learn, to make friends, to create memories, and to grow up and graduate and move on to a successful life. Thank you for joining us in recognition of your tragic sacrifice John and Maria Castillo.

You know, most of the time, but not all the time, that path to success involves some higher education — whether that’s a work certificate, a credential, a two-year degree, a four-year degree in industry, a recognized certificate, or an apprenticeship –– but, you know, rising costs are putting higher education out of reach for too many Coloradans. And the burden of student debt is not only holding back a generation of young people from buying a home or having their own families, it’s also holding back our economy as a whole.

So, last year we took action to increase the general fund investment in higher education by a historic 13%, an increase that we are building upon in our new budget. 

Together we expanded concurrent enrollment and dual enrollment programs so that students can spend less time and less money getting the degree they need to succeed. And thanks to new legislation last year, we are putting $100 into a college savings account for every single Colorado child born or adopted beginning January 1st of this year. 

I want to take a moment to congratulate Jorge Esteban Herrera-Delgado, born at 12:07 a.m. on New Year’s Day in Montrose, and Cecily DiCerbo, born at 12:13 a.m. in Summit County. The first two beneficiaries of this new college savings program.

I also want to congratulate the authors of that proposal — Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg, a new dad himself who narrowly missed the deadline for a college savings account, and Representative Leslie Herod — and I want to highlight the next affordability effort they are spearheading called the “Get On Your Feet” loan forgiveness plan. A program that provides debt relief to Coloradans who graduate with a two- or four-year degree and are on an income-based repayment program, helping them on the first two years after they graduate as they are transitioning to the workforce, often when the need is the greatest.

You know, this work isn’t just about helping student borrowers get out of a hole — it’s about growing the economy for everyone. You know, after graduation day, when the caps and gowns are hanging in the closet and the diplomas are hanging on the wall, graduates deserve an economy that’s brimming with opportunity to earn a good living.

We need to keep our economy strong, and also we need to make sure that our economy works for everyone, and when I say everyone, that means, everyone. Because in Colorado, we believe that your future should not be pre-determined by the color of your skin, or your parents’ income, or your religion, or your age, or your disability status, or where you live in our great state, or where you were born, or who you love, or your gender identity. We need a Colorado for all. And that means everybody.

That’s why I was proud to work with you to sign a bill guaranteeing that men and women get paid the same wage for the same work. It’s why we are proud to support our minority women and veteran-owned businesses.

That’s why we were excited to open the door of our brand new Veterans One Source Center in Grand Junction several months ago to increase pay for some of our brave National Guard service members. We just deployed 150 to the Balkans last week. I was able to join them as they said farewell to their families for about 10 months as they represent Colorado proudly on their peacekeeping work in the Balkans.

It’s also why our administration expanded apprenticeships to support the next generation of workers. It’s why we passed bipartisan criminal justice reform measures that will expand opportunities, save taxpayers money, and I know I look forward to continuing to work with you on vital pre-trial reforms to build on that progress.

We are proud in Colorado to continue to support our aerospace industry that bolsters our national defense and creates good high paying jobs. We are honored to work with tribal leadership, including those represented here today, to expand opportunities in our native communities. It’s also why we’re investing in every corner of our state: enhancing rural economic development, helping our rural hospitals thrive, investing in rural broadband, supporting the next generation of farmers and ranchers and keeping Colorado the number one state in the nation for industrial hemp.

We also look forward to working with you to help folks retire with dignity, and I’m proud to join you in supporting the Colorado Secure Saving Plan Board recommendations, which Treasurer Dave Young has been leading, to help more Coloradans save for a secure retirement.

And finally, in the face of unprecedented hostility from this White House toward our immigrant and refugee communities, we can say loudly and proudly that in Colorado we stand with DREAMers and with refugees.

I was proud to appoint Marissa Molina, the first DREAMer in Colorado history to serve on a state board or commission, to the board of Metropolitan State University, and I want to take a moment to recognize Marissa who is here with us today. Marissa?

In Colorado, we still need the federal government to pass comprehensive bipartisan immigration reform, and I certainly urge the Supreme Court to do the right thing by the DREAMers. But in the meantime, we should acknowledge how aspiring Americans like Marissa are already working today to make Colorado even better.

In Colorado, we don’t build walls of exclusion — we build ladders of opportunity for everybody. But of course, opportunity is only one side of the coin. The other side is affordability. And as our state has grown, so has the cost of living.

The common thread in our work is to save Coloradans money — whether that’s on education, on health care, on utility bills, on housing — and we should do more to save Coloradans money on their taxes, too. This year, due to our strong economy and a bipartisan deal from 2005, every Coloradan will receive real tax relief as our state income taxes go down to a historic low of 4.5%. And that’s for all taxpayers, that’s for individuals, for corporations and for every small business in our state.

In addition, working with you last session, we delivered a tax cut for 144,000 small businesses — our retailers, our mom and pop shops — by cutting wasteful subsidies to big box retailers, and we still had money leftover to invest in affordable housing and improving health care.

I am very enthusiastic about working with you to deliver permanent income tax relief, and we should continue down the path of eliminating tax breaks for special interests so that we can lower the rates for everyone without reducing state revenue. A broader base taxed at a lower rate will boost economic growth with the ancillary benefit of preventing the corrosive influence of crony capitalism. 

In the 1960s, President Kennedy delivered a historic tax cut, saying the tax system, “exerts too heavy a drag on growth … siphons out too large a share of purchasing power … [and] reduces the financial incentives for personal effort, investment and risk-taking.” And in 2010, President Obama directed his economic team toward, “closing loopholes and simplifying income taxes for corporations and individuals … to rid the code of its complex buildup of deductions, credits and exemptions, thereby broadening the base of taxes collected and allowing for lower rates.”

Now to our credit, our state taxes are much better than the federal one. So let’s start with some credit where it’s due. But we also know that it’s not just Democrats like JFK and Obama who want to save you money on taxes. I think I may have heard a thing or two about it from my Republican friends and colleagues about it as well.

So in the spirit of collaboration, I am proud to announce today we will be creating a bipartisan study group to work on making our tax code more fair by looking at ways to broaden the base and lower the rate by the end of my first term, and we look forward to working with you to make that happen. Broadening the base and lowering the rate will lead to higher wages and make balancing the family budget that much easier.

In the meantime, I certainly look forward to working with you on other creative ways so we can provide tax relief and invest in roads and schools. And as we work to broaden our base and lower the rates, we also need to focus fiscally on saving more for a rainy day.

Last year, I asked the legislature to put away an additional $180 million into savings to replenish what was spent in the Great Recession, but only $40 million was placed in reserve. So this year I urge you to replenish our reserves and recessionary tools with an additional $118 million to bring us in line with the national average and better prepare us for a future downturn, whenever that happens.

I want to commend my cabinet and budget director for taking the lead on this by finding $73 million in savings, in general fund savings, $238 million in savings overall, to make sure taxpayers are getting the biggest bang for their buck.

We are also working with Treasurer Young on a legislative package that will provide future legislatures and governors with the tools to rebuild and replenish our coffers as a recovery is happening. With so many pressing needs today, putting money in reserves is always a hard ask. I get that. But we truly have an obligation to save during good times like these so we can weather the next storm whenever it comes. 

You know, at the end of the day, there is one issue that from family budgets and worries and costs continues to reign over so many others when it comes to affordability, and that’s the high cost of health care. Americans still pay twice as much for health care than those living in other developed nations, and for most of us it’s our biggest expense after rent or mortgage. 

Nearly one in five Coloradans forgo health care because of cost. One in three Coloradans can’t afford their prescription drugs they need, often leading to higher costs over time. And 13% of Americans — one out  eight people who live in this country — said they know someone who died because they couldn’t afford treatment. This must change.

And it is starting to change for the better, thanks to your bipartisan work — the tremendous work of the Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera who heads up our Office of Saving People Money on Health Care.

Last session, we passed historic bipartisan legislation to tackle surprise out-of-network billing, enact new transparency requirements for hospitals, allow for the importation of cheaper prescription drugs from Canada.

And perhaps the biggest accomplishment in health care last year was the reinsurance program — a bipartisan effort led by Reps. Julie McCluskie and Janice Rich and Sens. Kerry Donovan and Bob Rankin. Thanks to reinsurance, health care rates on the individual market have gone down this year by an average of 20%. And the savings are even higher where Coloradans were getting ripped off the worst, in the Eastern Plains, southern Colorado, and the Western Slope.

And we should be proud of this work. But you know a lot of the time, the best ideas don’t come from inside this building — they come directly from our communities. And I want to give you another example of what’s happening in healthcare and how our work is helping to deliver savings with you. In Summit County, the Peak Health Alliance pools individuals and employers together, and uses their combined purchasing power to negotiate down the prices with hospitals to directly to save consumers money. Our Division of Insurance is already working with the Colorado Business Group on Health to help replicate and expand this successful consumer purchasing model in Grand, Eagle, Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma and San Juan counties and I know there is more to come.

I want to introduce you to someone that our policies directly helped, who saw firsthand how our broken system is and how the decisions we make in this building can help fix that. Glenn Brady is a small business owner in Summit County. Glenn is a single father, because his wife, Kelly, tragically passed away from cancer in 2018, leaving a hole in their family. I met with his three daughters who I met right before this speech. As if the loss of a loved one were not enough, the Bradys were hit with hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical debt. Glenn was also frustrated by the high cost of insurance for himself and his three daughters, Luci, Eva and Adelaide. But thanks to the bipartisan reinsurance program that we passed this year, and the peak Health Alliance, Glenn is saving $7,000 a year on the very same health care plan he had last year.

Before this he was telling me he might have saved even more than $7,000 as he was tallying it up. And what that means, because health care is something — you have three daughters, you’re a single parent — you simply can’t go without it, right? And to be able to afford that, and also that he is able to honor the promises that he made to his late wife Kelly, that his kids would have the best education and tutoring and braces, and that their death wouldn’t interrupt their kids activities or lives. And the savings that Glenn has realized are helping to pay for those things that Kelly wanted for her kids, and fulfill the promises that he made to Kelly and her final wishes and ensure that their wonderful three daughters grow up with all of the opportunities we would want for our own sons and daughters. Thank you, Glenn.

The reinsurance is delivering real savings, but the peace of mind of having health care coverage is truly priceless. We are asking in our budget for a modest $18 million investment in reinsurance to continue to protect these savings for Glenn and for hundreds of thousands of Coloradans for another year. 

We know that health care costs won’t magically go down on their own. We all need to work on it. We need good ideas from the left, the right, the center. From everywhere.

This year I’m supporting legislation to require prescription drug price transparency, and a proposal to provide Coloradans a public option to increase freedom and choice in the health care marketplace.

I want to thank Sen. Donovan and Reps. Dylan Roberts and Rep. Marc Catlin for their leadership on launching this important concept. Because it’s truly simple market economics. When you have more choices as a consumer, companies have to compete for your business, which means lower prices. We estimate that a public option will save Coloradans an additional 9-18% on their individual premiums. 

And furthermore, the public option will empower folks in the 22 Colorado counties where there is currently only one insurer, and no choice.

Now look, we know there are powerful special interests with a stake in preserving the status quo. Colorado happens to have the second-highest hospital profit margin in the country. Front Range hospitals with over $2 billion in profits in 2018 — let me say that again, $2 billion of profits in a single year — are already using some of those profits from overcharging patients to run ads against legislation that would save families money. We won’t let that work.

Just this year, we’re also seeing pharmaceutical drugs coming to market with a price tag of over $2 million for a single dose. 

And of course those folks are going to fight legislation that brings some sanity to pricing. I get that. But we don’t represent the special interests — we represent the people. And the people are crying out for relief on high health care costs. And we can and will do better.

Another way that we can reduce health costs and ensure a healthier population is by standing up to big tobacco to reduce underage smoking and teenage vaping and address our highest-in-the-nation teenage vaping rate. And we look forward to working with you to make progress on that issue.

Reducing costs on our health care will also help us tackle one of our most pressing problems — our state’s behavioral, mental health and addiction crisis. 

Last year, thanks to your work, I appointed a Behavioral Health Task Force to conduct a top-to-bottom review of Colorado’s behavioral health system and author a strategic plan for reform by June of this year.

Our state already spends $1.4 billion on mental and behavioral health. We need to make our system patient-centric and more efficient so we can get the right help to more people when they need it.

I want to thank CDHS Director Michele Barnes, and Reps. Lois Landgraf, Tracy Kraft-Tharp, and Dafna Michaelson Jenet for their work on behavioral health, and Sen. Brittany Pettersen and Rep. Chris Kennedy and the members of the Opioid Study Committee for all of their strong work. I look forward to collaborating with all of you on desperately-needed reforms for behavioral health.

And by the way, often those reforms can save money. It’s a frustration of many hospitals and providers that they don’t have adequate step down facilities that may not only incur a lower billing rate but are more appropriate to deliver a better patient outcome for folks who shouldn’t necessarily be hospitalized, but need a kind of step down facility treatment. 

And finally, we want to work with you to find a way to enact paid family and medical leave for more Coloradans. The Federal Family and Medical Leave Act allows for unpaid leave, but that often forces families to choose between getting a paycheck and caring for a newborn child, an aging parent, or themselves. And for many, who don’t have months of rent or mortgage saved up, that’s not a real choice. I’m hopeful we can construct a unique Colorado solution that provides paid time off to many more Coloradans as soon as possible, without straining state resources or forcing taxpayers to bear the financial risk.

I know that it’s no easy task. You know, one of my favorite sayings is, if it was easy, it would have been done already. We’re not left with easy things to do, we’re left with the hard ones. It’s going to take negotiations and compromise to get it done. But I’m committed to putting in the hard work. And in fact, let’s lead by example in the next fiscal year by extending this benefit to our exceptional state employees who make Colorado run. How about if we say just like President Trump and our congress did for our federal employees.

You know, we need to plan not only for our own health and well-being, but for our state’s. And true leadership is planting trees that we know we may not live long enough to enjoy the shade of. 

Previous generations were wise enough to understand that there are some things that you can’t replace. That once they are gone, they are gone. Of course, I’m talking about protecting our iconic public lands and wild areas and what keeps Colorado special — the weather, the ground under our feet, the water we drink, the air we breathe — really the most essential parts of what it means to be a Coloradan. 

Our majestic lands define our state and also power our economy by making us an international destination for tourism and for outdoor recreation. But like so many things in our state, growth threatens our enjoyment and our benefit from some of our state’s natural treasures. In a very real sense, we are loving some of our public lands to death. 

Admissions to state parks have skyrocketed, which is great, but that means there is more need for upgraded trails, bathrooms, parking and facilities. And it is urgent. So we are asking the legislature for a one-time infusion from the General Fund to make important capacity improvements across our state parks system. This money will also go toward opening our newest state park at Fishers Peak.

I was delighted to stand with Senate President Garcia, Sen. Crowder, and JBC Chair Esgar as we announced our new spectacular state park that will run from near Trinidad all the way to the New Mexico border, and will reap enormous benefit for our economy and for southern Colorado residents. 

We know that our state’s growth also affects our ever-scarce water supply. I was glad to see Proposition DD — led by House Majority Leader Alec Garnett and House Minority Leader Patrick Neville and Sens. Donovan and Cooke — pass at the ballot box. Congratulations. In addition to the future revenues that we’ll derive from DD, I’ve also called for another $10 million investment in the Colorado Water Plan. I look forward to meeting those commitments.

As we’ve all noticed, our growth isn’t just impacting our public lands and waters — it’s also making our roads and bridges more congested, less safe. All of us are spending more and more time sitting in traffic, which means less and less time with our loved ones and less economic productivity. Thanks to good-faith bipartisan work, the state was able to make a historic multi-year investment in state transportation infrastructure. 

My administration held listening sessions in every county in this state to hear directly from folks about their priorities. We’ve worked to develop a plan to use our precious resources in the most effective way that we can: relieving congestion on key choke points on highway I-25 and highway I-70, making busy streets in our cities move quicker, and making the biggest investment in rural roads in modern Colorado history. 

But the general fund alone cant meet our state’s needs, and voters have rejected three straight ballot initiatives in the last two years to fund roads, even while our existing revenue source — the fuel tax — is bringing in less and less at a time when our needs are growing. Thus Coloradans look to us, in this building, to think big and do more to fund our roads.

As we look toward a future where new users and changing technology that needs to pay its fair share, we should also give local jurisdictions and CDOT more flexibility around working together for funding regional projects. 

But we can’t create a system that excludes rural Colorado. We need to deliver for everyone in our state, and it’s going to take all of us in this room working together, not playing politics, to get it done and solve it. By investing in our infrastructure and providing more affordable and convenient transportation options, we can relieve traffic congestion, reduce the harmful emissions that blacken our skies and also boost our entire economy.

Losing traffic and getting people places quicker also helps us address our air quality and carbon emissions and of course when it comes to renewable energy and climate, it’s an issue of course that impacts every single one of us in this chamber, every single one of our constituents and every person on the face of the Earth. In the western United States, we of course seeing firsthand how a changing climate is already impacting our water supply, our outdoor recreation industry, our farming and ranching communities, and our taxpayers. 

It’s causing more frequent, more devastating and more expensive natural disasters. Thirteen of the largest fires in Colorado’s recorded history have occurred since 2010. All 20 have occurred since the year 2000. I want to commend the brave Colorado firefighters who are heading to Australia right now to do their part in helping contain one of the worst wildfires in the history of civilization. 

This is truly a global crisis. And of course we are never going to solve air quality or climate issues. If we look at the person next to us and say, “You. You do something about climate.” If we want to preserve our way of life for future generations, then we all need to lead on clean air and climate. 

And in fact, the states and counties that embrace the renewable energy future will reap the economic rewards. That’s why we have taken bold action to put us on the path toward achieving 100% renewable energy by 2040. 

But the truth is that due to the price reductions and technological advances, the shift towards renewable energy is happening, and it’s being driven by the private sector that sees a profitable future in renewable energy. 

Just this morning, some exciting news, Tri-State and its members announced that they will be replacing their remaining coal power in the state of Colorado with thousands of megawatts of cheaper and cleaner renewable energy sources by 2030. This announcement will result in a 90% reduction in the utilities’ in-state greenhouse gas emissions. 

You know, this transition includes expanded energy efficiency programs and a significant investment in electric vehicle charging stations working with their member coops. 

We’re also excited to work with Tri-State and their 17 member co-ops across our state to help make sure that they are empowered to generate more renewable energy locally. We want communities to have the option of reaping the benefits of clean, low-cost local energy generation, and with talks underway, we’re hopeful that significantly more local flexibility in Tri-State members will be finalized by April of this year. 

This transition means lower energy costs and savings for rate payers, more renewable energy jobs and reduced air pollution. It’s a bold step to protect the future of the planet and to prepare Colorado to succeed in the future.

But we need to recognize the disruption caused to workers, families and communities that are impacted by the private sector’s turn away from coal. That’s why I intend to work with utilities, including Tri-State, and our new Office of Just Transition to expand opportunities in renewable energy and help ensure that no worker and no community is left behind.

And we’re confident that this transition works because it’s happening right now. And here is an example in Pueblo, Colorado. The EVRAZ Rocky Mountain steel plant uses a lot of energy, it’s an energy intensive industrial process. EVRAZ had to find a cheaper power source to stay competitive and to stay in Pueblo. 

So, working with Xcel Energy, they are building the largest behind-the-meter solar project in American history to power the steel plant, creating hundreds of solar jobs, keeping thousands of steel jobs in Pueblo, reducing costs and helping to save our way of life — all at the same time. That’s what our renewable energy future looks like.

That’s about innovation, growing jobs, growing opportunity, about saving people money and doing our part to reduce air pollution in the process. And we don’t have any time to waste. 

Those of you who know me well know that I’m a big science fiction fan. Last year I had a Spiderman quote. This year, it’s not Star Wars — it’s going to be Lord of the Rings. In the first part of the trilogy, Frodo, the protagonist, laments that he needs to carry this awesome burden of saving the world from a growing darkness. Gandalf, his guide, responds with a charge that applies to really all of us here in this chamber today: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

Every lawmaker here — myself included — is term-limited. What do we want our legacy to be? When our great-grandchildren open their history books, what do we want them to read about us and our time? Will it say that we were too scared to tackle the big issues? That we were too timid to act on evidence that’s right under our noses? That we were perhaps too cynical to even try? Or will we be remembered as the generation that rose to the challenge of our time? 

To look beyond the daily news cycle or the next election and found a way to work together to forge a brighter future, and that lived up to the expectations of our children and our grandchildren, whose future we hold in our hands. 

We have the power to do the right thing. All we need is the courage to use it. Colorado has always been a state of trailblazers of frontiers men and women. Ours is a state of can-do people and can-do attitude. We don’t back down from a challenge, and we don’t quit when the going gets tough. 

The state of our state is strong. It is forward-thinking. It is dynamic. It is bold. It is courageous. Now let’s get to work and show the world what we can accomplish together. God bless you all, God bless the great state of Colorado and God bless the United States of America. 

Staff writers John Ingold, Erica Breunlin and Jennifer Brown contributed to this report.

MORE: Colorado’s 2020 legislative session begins this week. Here’s a rundown of 10 issues to watch.

In remarks to open the 2020 legislative session, House Speaker KC Becker outlined the Democratic majority’s lengthy agenda — which touched on everything from criminal justice reform to tackling the burgeoning cost of health care.

The Boulder lawmaker made clear Democrats plan to continue their far-reaching effort to reshape the state that began a year ago when the party took control of the entire lawmaking process in Colorado. And House Republican leader Patrick Neville drew a sharp line in the sand where the party would “stand up and fight.”

Here’s a transcript of Becker’s speech — lightly edited for length — with annotations from The Colorado Sun’s reporters highlighting the big lines and explaining what it all means.

Good morning everyone. Welcome to your Colorado State Capitol. It is my distinct pleasure to welcome each and every one of you to the first day of our 2020 legislative session. … 

A year ago, as I welcomed you to the start of the 72nd General Assembly, I wasn’t shy about our bold plans to work on behalf of the people of Colorado. 

In my speech, I promised that as speaker, I would work to keep this body focused on investing in our state’s bright future, building an economy that works for all, and protecting the Colorado way of life. 

As I stood at this podium and accepted the Speaker’s gavel, I talked about the obstacles our state faces. I called on all of you to put your ideas, your passion and your determination to work toward lowering the cost of health care, investing in education, building a fair economy, tackling climate change, combating homelessness and the housing crisis, confronting the opioid epidemic, and reforming our criminal justice system.

Your response? One of the most historic, productive sessions in our state’s history.  

120 long days flew by as the legislature wrote, discussed and debated 598 bills and 4,500 amendments. We passed laws that are moving our state forward to protect the Colorado way of life for years to come. 

We proved that although inaction and gridlock may have the federal government in a headlock, good government is still alive and well in the Centennial State. While Washington, D.C., gets itself stuck in the mud it’s so busy slinging, our state moves forward.

While some in D.C. are still looking for ways to repeal the Affordable Care Act and strip health care away from millions of Americans, we joined together, Republicans and Democrats, and found innovative ways to save consumers money on health care — like our bipartisan bill to prevent surprise medical bills from costing families thousands. 

As Congress continues its decade-long failure to address the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs, here at home we passed a first-in-the-nation bipartisan bill to cap the cost of insulin. Although it wasn’t always easy, we took on some of the biggest challenges our state faces.

While the Trump Administration denies scientific consensus on climate change and actively undermines efforts to address it by rolling back environmental protections left and right, we fought hard to protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, the mountains we hike and the rivers we fish. 

We passed landmark oil and gas reforms to give our communities a say in what goes on in their own backyards and took a measure to the voters and successfully secured new revenue for our water plan. We set our state down a path toward a clean energy future and set bold targets that we intend to meet while keeping our economy, the future of Colorado workers and the next generation in mind.

I don’t know of a single parent in Colorado who doesn’t want their children to have a better life than we do. I know I want Leo and Ryder to grow up in a more just, more compassionate and more conscientious world. 

In this House, that means working to build an economy that works for all. That’s why I’m so proud last year when we delivered on equal pay for equal work and created college savings accounts to help families plan for their children’s future. 

Our effort to build an economy that works for all didn’t end there — we strengthened renters’ rights and the rights of mobile home park residents and made one of the largest investments in affordable housing in our state’s history.

Despite our state’s unique budget constraints, we managed to make significant investments in our future. 

We paid down the negative factor by $100 million, boosting investment in our classrooms. We passed a budget that included $20 million for rural schools and $22 million for special education programs. And just in case you’ve never heard Governor Polis speak, I’ll have you know we also expanded full-day kindergarten to every school district in our state.

We did great things last year and truly made a difference in the lives of people in every corner of our state, from the Western Slope to the Front Range and from southern Colorado to the Eastern Plains. We worked around the clock — literally — on behalf of our constituents because this House belongs to them. We work for the people, and there is more work to be done. 

This year, we will strive to create a more just economy and to make our state affordable for all. 

So as long as there are families facing the harrowing prospect or the cruel reality of homelessness, this House moves forward.

As long as there are Coloradans making the impossible choice of paying for prescription drugs or paying for groceries, this House moves forward. 

As long as there are teenagers attempting to take their own lives or fearing a school shooting, this House moves forward. 

As long as our schools are underfunded and our classrooms are overcrowded, this House must move our state forward. 

Nationally, this year may go down as one of the most bitter and divisive in our nation that we’ve ever been through. Obstructionism, corruption, and partisan logjams have driven Washington from bad to worse. And while I remain hopeful that a change will soon come in D.C., I invite you to join me in taking matters into our own hands to prove once again that government can still work for the people.

The interim has flown by, and as we begin to see this new session, I am asking you to do it all once again. Work together with diverse stakeholders on all ends of the political spectrum to find solutions. 

Coloradans need and are demanding a more affordable state and a more just economy. Too many people are not feeling the benefits of our state’s growth. That’s where our focus should be. Every Coloradan should have the opportunity to share in our state’s prosperity. 

To get there, we’ll have to have hard conversations and make difficult decisions together. We’ll need Republicans and Democrats alike to work hard, listen to stakeholders on all sides and come to the table ready to work. My door is always open, and all ideas that will improve the lives of Coloradans are ready to be considered. 

We will need everyone at the table to make housing, health care and higher education more affordable. 

We need everyone at the table working to create a more fair and more rational criminal justice system, one that ends the inhumane practice of capital punishment once and for all.

We need everyone at the table to promote responsible gun ownership and move forward on gun safety initiatives that have already been adopted on a bipartisan basis in states across the country.

We need everyone at the table working to heed the call on climate change and protect workers and communities impacted by a changing climate and energy economy.

We need everyone at the table to deliver on our school safety initiatives and increase access to mental health support, especially in our schools.

I have no doubt in this body’s ability to work together and find bipartisan ways to get things done. House members have already reached across the aisle to make sure that we tackle the epidemic of teen nicotine use in our state.

Last year we promised to deliver on paid family leave. We brought our state closer than it’s ever been to guarantee that every working Coloradan can take the time off they need to care for a loved one or a newborn without fear of financial ruin. 

The time is now. We need stakeholders on every side of the issue to return to the discussion and work out a paid family leave program that is fiscally sustainable, workable for business, and makes a real difference for working families.

We’ll also need everyone to come back to the table to tackle one of the most pressing issues facing this state — our retirement crisis. Our population is aging and our economy is changing.

Forecasts show that 1 in 5 residents will be over 65 by 2050. Meanwhile, more and more people in Colorado are participating in the gig economy and taking nontraditional jobs that don’t provide retirement plans. 

A modern and flexible economy requires a modern and flexible retirement savings system — and that’s what we aim to achieve this year.

As we move forward this session, we must keep in mind the unique challenges our state’s fiscal policies present. Colorado is handcuffed by a restrictive and antiquated law that doesn’t allow the state to benefit from our booming economy and doesn’t let us make the investments we need.

Transparency in our budget is critical so that Coloradans can easily learn about where their dollars go. That’s why I’m excited that in the next few months we will have a visual, interactive display of the state’s budget available for the public on the General Assembly website. This is a critical step in providing Coloradans with an accurate and accessible picture of our state’s finances to increase their trust in how we prioritize these dollars because every single dollar counts.  

Given our state’s restrictions, we have to keep in mind that our state’s revenue is precious. Every single dollar must be spent wisely. This means being thoughtful about any permanent decisions we make that could have an impact on our state’s bottom line. 

Permanent tax cuts that only further inequalities, exacerbate the achievement gap, make our higher ed institutions less competitive, and hinder our ability to meet our already dire transportation needs will not put us on the path to becoming a more prosperous and equitable state.   

How we prioritize within our budget is of vital importance. We need to ensure that all of our dollars are being used in service to key goals. 

While we’ve made substantial investments in K-12 education funding by paying down the budget stabilization factor, we’ll remain focused on ways to bring it down even further and will continue working on longer-term school funding solutions.

This session, we will once again face the challenge of finding new money to invest in our state’s transportation system. Over the past few years we’ve made great strides to make multi-year commitments and find creative ways to set aside a significant amount of money for transportation. But there is no secret pot of money hiding in the couch cushions; continuing these investments is challenging.  

So we are going to find actual solutions to invest more in transportation, members on both sides of the aisle will have to bring forward specific solutions that voters haven’t already rejected and that are serious attempts at bipartisan solutions. 

Past proposals like unspecified, across-the-board budget cuts to every department impacting programs like services for the disabled or school funding, is not a realistic approach and is not the answer. Cutting Coloradans off Medicaid isn’t the answer. 

Members need to show where they believe money for transportation should come from and make good-faith efforts to find common ground. I know this is an issue that every single one of us cares about, and if we’re going to make progress, we need to do it together. I know we can do it. 

From criminal justice reform to the great work coming out of the School Safety Interim Committee, we’ve seen incredible bipartisan progress on important issues. 

We must continue this progress for the people of this state. 

We will also continue to grapple with a host of difficult health care challenges as we attempt to improve access and affordability across our state.  

We will work to lower the cost of prescription drugs — an issue that affects Coloradans from the newborn nursery room to the hospice wing and every point in between. We will increase transparency in drug pricing and address the root causes that have made the costs of prescription drugs soar. 

Our work is cut out for us. As long as we keep in mind who we are working on behalf of, our path forward should remain clear. So join me, bring your best ideas to the table and let’s get things done.

On behalf of every veteran and every family struggling to afford the cost of housing, come to the table.

On behalf of future generations of Coloradans and their right to enjoy our state’s natural treasures just like we have, come to the table.

On behalf of every young person caught in an unjust criminal justice system, come to the table.

On behalf of every child in an underfunded classroom in Colorado and on behalf of every teacher working to give those kids the best education possible, come to the table. 

On behalf of every person living with a chronic illness who’s rationed their prescription drugs because they couldn’t afford the cost, come to the table.

Come to the table and let’s move Colorado forward together — toward prosperity, toward justice, toward progress! 

This will be my last session serving as your colleague and your speaker. It will be my last session representing the wonderful people of House District 13 under the gold dome. 

MORE: Colorado’s 2020 legislative session begins this week. Here’s a rundown of 10 issues to watch.

And while there’s a great deal left to do and a great deal of new memories to make before I close this chapter, I can already tell you that working here with you all has been the honor of a lifetime. 

It is with immense pride that I declare the House open for business for the second regular session of the 72nd General Assembly of the great state of Colorado.

New year, new Senate President Leroy Garcia. 

The Pueblo Democrat struck an uncharacteristically liberal tone during his opening day remarks Wednesday as Colorado’s 2020 legislative session got underway at the Capitol. 

While the address was thin on policy specifics, Garcia delved into issues like socioeconomic class disparities and money in politics. He also spent a great deal of time rebuking Republicans for their 2019 tactics and attempted recalls of Democratic lawmakers over the summer. 

Many in his 19-member caucus were surprised at the progressive message sent by the second-year president typically known for being a more moderate Democrat, but grateful that he represented their broad goals well.

“To those set on continuing their commitment to gridlock, let me say: Your efforts have been, and will continue to be, a fruitless endeavor,” said Garcia, who was the target of a failed recall effort last year.

Here’s a transcript of Garcia’s speech — lightly edited for length — with annotations from The Colorado Sun highlighting what’s important and explaining what it all means.

I would like to acknowledge a remarkable woman, our friend and colleague Senator Lois Court, who sadly is not with us today due to a recent medical illness.

After 11 years of public service, we are heartbroken by her resignation and absence, but know that her work and dedication will live on. Senator Court, thank you for the years of meaningful work in our state. Your dedication and genuine passion for all of the people of Colorado serves as an inspiring example for all of us. 

Today marks the day we open the second regular session of the 72nd General Assembly –– continuing our work to protect Colorado’s natural beauty, improve health care and restore the economic dignity of hard-working Coloradans everywhere.

We know this work is not always easy. It takes unwavering personal commitment, a persistent reverence for the people’s will, as well as endless amounts of objectivity, diplomacy and grit. But, more than that, it requires deep compassion. Compassion for the single mother who works two jobs and can barely cover the cost of childcare. 

Compassion for the union worker who has been betrayed by careless corporate greed. Compassion for our children and the climate we are giving them. 

And compassion for the college student whose father was diagnosed with cancer and quits school to help their family avoid bankruptcy.

These are the experiences of people we serve. Except for them, it isn’t just words on a page. It is the reality they live with every single day. 

Yet the truth is, compassion is not enough. They need results. They need us to not just talk about the problems, but present real solutions for the struggles they face. 

The American Dream that once felt like a hopeful promise is becoming more and more difficult to achieve. 

And Coloradans find it harder to get ahead while the super rich write their own rules and endlessly profit off the backs of the hard-working people. They sow division, buy elections and rig the system in their favor. 

And in a time of deep national division, we here in Colorado face a very important choice: 

Will we continue to join together and fight for every Coloradan, putting people before profit and personal gain? Or will we fall into destructive political infighting and attempts at obstruction like that of Washington, D.C.?

I believe we will follow in Colorado’s rich tradition of coming together to solve this state’s pressing challenges.

Growing up in southern Colorado, I watched my parents and neighbors work tirelessly for a better life. They believed in the American Dream as I still do today. 

But watching my community face heartache after heartache, from ballooning health care costs, to an economic recession that tore through the very foundation of our town, it has been difficult at times to remain confident.

But what always gave me hope was the way our community banded together. The way they looked out for each other. The way they never gave up.

Even after the housing market crash, record-high unemployment and other struggles, our community remains hopeful and determined, always finding a way to persevere.

But that is not just the story of Pueblo, that’s the story of Colorado. Countless communities are struggling, while wealthy insiders continue to hoard power and blatantly bend political agendas for their own benefit.

While at the same time, people refuse to give up and continue to pursue meaningful change.

This. This is what makes our country, and our state, great. 

It is this spirit that makes me proud to be a Coloradan and what inspired me to serve my country as a United States Marine in Iraq in 2003. Because at our core, our common and collective purpose stands unparalleled in the world.

Beyond race, class or gender, we believe in justice, opportunity and the pursuit of happiness.

It is these ideals that we sought to serve last session and that we will continue to serve, no matter who or what seeks to divide us.

Let me be clear: There has been a brazen effort to not only divide this chamber, but dismantle it, from Washington-style political antics, to pointless attempts to upend the will of the voters.

To those set on continuing their commitment to gridlock, let me say: Your efforts have been, and will continue to be, a fruitless endeavor.

We, the Colorado Senate, are called upon to find common ground. To come to the table and offer solutions. To join the conversation and debate policy based on its merits rather than party origin. 

It is our duty to give Coloradans our all. Sitting on the sidelines, and using hate and fear to undermine honest efforts, is an unacceptable standard. 

We are better than that. But more importantly, Colorado deserves better. We must be a part of the solution and work together for the common good. 

Thankfully, despite last year’s attempt to derail progress, we did find collaborators in this body and passed significant legislation, 96% of which had bipartisan support. In 2019, we successfully put forth bills to lower the cost of prescription drugs, reduce insurance premiums and empower communities to negotiate directly with providers.

We invested in the next generation by funding full-day kindergarten and worked to address the student debt crisis. We successfully fought for fairness and opportunity by passing Equal Pay for Equal Work, as well as legislation that helps Coloradans afford to live in the place that they call home. 

But that’s not enough.

So many of our communities are still struggling. Far too many Coloradans still face exorbitant health care costs, often being forced to choose between financial stability and getting the health care that they desperately need. 

No one should be burdened with that choice.

Colorado pays some of the highest hospital prices in the nation, while ranking second for the highest hospital profits. So while families are paying upwards of 80% more for health care, CEO salaries are at an all-time high. 

That is why we must continue to find new and innovative solutions for our health care needs. Because going backwards is not an option, and remaining stagnant certainly isn’t one either.

We are committed to increasing competition and driving down insurance costs, with legislation that promotes innovation and addresses the widening affordability gap.

We are also committed to insisting on corporate transparency around prescription drugs and health care billing, protecting Coloradans from unchecked corporate price gouging and allowing communities to hold providers accountable. 

But health care isn’t the only thing keeping Coloradans up at night. Our growing climate challenges weigh heavy on the minds of residents, especially our young people, who will undoubtedly bear the brunt of this burden. 

From floods, to fires, to endless drought, everyone across our state has felt the effects of a changing environment. 

Our recreational industry has suffered, our farmers face financial ruin and our vulnerable communities are continuously jeopardized by extreme temperatures. 

We are at a critical crossroads in our planet’s history. And as Coloradans, we can take meaningful steps toward a more sustainable future.

We are committed to leading the charge with innovative solutions that protect Colorado’s natural resources and the people who rely on them. 

Because we refuse to abandon the workers who have served our state for generations, powering our homes, supporting our businesses and driving our economy. 

In this way, we must prioritize a just transition while in pursuit of environmental stewardship. 

That’s why this year, we will be working toward solutions that invigorate our economy, and provide new, high-paying jobs in the community. Because sustainability and economic growth are not at odds with one another, but rather inseparable partners if we hope for a prosperous future.

In my hometown of Pueblo, we have seen an amazing example of this. 

On the verge of a plant closure from rising utility costs, our local steel mill partnered with energy providers to build the largest solar array in our state’s history, supplying an unprecedented amount of renewable energy while guaranteeing hundreds of jobs remain in our community.

These kinds of partnerships are the keys to our state’s future. 

Because, as solar and wind jobs continue to be the fastest growing in the nation, it is critical that we here in Colorado work to not only harness this economic growth, but lead in the charge.

Beyond creating new job opportunities, we will also be working on dramatically improving our air and water quality in the state, by implementing harsher penalties for negligence and irresponsibility.

Because Coloradans are tired of people recklessly polluting the water we drink and the air we breathe without consequence. Coloradans are also tired of the skyrocketing cost of living, and the flat wages that we have had for years.

Forced to work multiple jobs to make ends meet, too many people are trapped in a crippling cycle of poverty with little opportunity for relief.  

It is time that we attack the root of the problem and address predatory practices that keep our people in debt, limit their power as workers and take them from their families during times of need.

We need to defend our residents from these injustices and ensure that they are afforded the protections every Coloradan deserves. 

This means an opportunity for affordable higher education, stable housing, and paid family leave. It also means access to quality teachers, job training and a seamless transportation system.

Because the American Dream shouldn’t require a VIP ticket. But rather, only be limited by a person’s willingness to work hard and persist in hope. So today, let us renew our commitment to the people of Colorado.

Let us honor the voice they spoke with when they put us at the helm. Because, despite all of the dysfunction in Washington, despite all of the inequalities and the discrimination rampant in our society, and despite the booming economy that doesn’t seem to benefit everyone, the people of this state are remarkably hopeful and passionate. 

They will not accept political gamesmanship in the place of true governing. They will not accept platitudes in the place of action. And they will not accept corruption in any way, shape, or form. 

Because they chose progress over protecting the status quo, and they expect us to deliver.

That means putting self-serving agendas aside, and coming to the table in order to make meaningful change happen. So let us join together on behalf of all Coloradans. Remember what unites us.

We are called to serve with honor and integrity, measure and resolve, vision and leadership. And we, who have had the privilege of the people’s trust, will act with nothing less. 

God’s blessing be with you and this great state we call home as we embark on this journey together.

Gov. Jared Polis outlined an ambitious — and equally expensive — agenda Thursday in his first State of the State address.

The tenor of the 55-minute speech, interrupted dozens of times for applause, left the Democratic majority hopeful, but also anxious about how to deliver on all the policy priorities. Republicans, too, wanted more specifics on Polis’ plans, which included tax reform and leaps into renewable energy.

“If all this that we are talking about were easy,” Polis said, “it would have been done already. But progress is hard, and overcoming these challenges will be a journey for all of us.”

Here’s a transcript of Polis’ speech — lightly edited for length — with annotations from The Colorado Sun’s political team highlighting the important lines and explaining what it all means.

As we confront historical, social and technological changes throughout our state and throughout our country, I want to start by saying what an honor it is to serve as Colorado’s 43rd governor at this juncture, at this moment, in time.

Before I deliver the State of the State, I want to deliver a message to every child in Colorado, that in our state, you can do anything. You can dream, you can dare and you can do. Here in Colorado, we celebrate our differences, we embrace our uniqueness, and believe that what you look like, where you’re from and who you love are less important than what you are like and what you do for your community, and your values. Be proud of who we are, because all of our futures should be full of opportunity.

Polis is the nation’s first elected openly gay governor. His campaign embraced the historical nature but didn’t focus on it. And these remarks are some of the most direct comments Polis has made on what his victory means. He told CNN shortly after his inauguration, “I will be judged by the job I do as governor” rather than for what he represents.

To all the new members of the legislature, welcome. I know there is a number of you. And to all the returning members of the legislature, welcome and thank you. And as a special shout-out to the record-setting number of women who are now serving in this building.

Of the 100 lawmakers in the General Assembly, 46 are women. And in the House, the majority of the chamber — 33 members — is women.

It’s only fitting that the very first state to elect any women to its state House is now leading the way with a majority of women in our state House and the third consecutive woman as speaker. From Clara Cressingham, Carrie Holly and Frances Klock, to Pat Schroeder, my friend and mentor, Polly Baca, and of course Brianna Titone and every other trailblazing woman in this chamber today — Colorado’s barrier-breaking legacy is truly something that we should all be proud of. Colorado for all.

Clara Cressingham, Carrie Holly and Frances Klock were the first women to serve in any legislature when they were elected to the state House in 1894, one year after women received the right to vote in Colorado.

Years ago, I sat over there with the members of the state Board of Education, and I never thought I’d be up here like this, as then-Gov. Bill Owens addressed the State of the State — but you know what, this is Colorado and any of us can do anything.

Polis entered Colorado politics by winning an at-large seat for the Colorado Board of Education in 2000. He spent $1.3 million — an unheard-of sum for that race — and won by 90 votes in a recount.

As all of you know, I stand here with the big shoes of Gov. Hickenlooper to fill. But, rest assured, I’ve got my blue sneakers on and I’m ready to keep us moving forward. And you know what, I’m so proud, and Colorado is so proud, of our amazing Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera, a healthcare leader, a former legislator, and one of the toughest people on the planet, working with me to help shape Colorado’s future. Thank you, Dianne.

Polis campaigned in a pair of blue sneakers and made it a trademark of his bid, even naming the inaugural celebration earlier this week the “Blue Sneaker Ball.”

The state of our state is solid. It is strong. It is successful. It is daring. And it is bold.

While my predecessor and this legislature certainly deserve some credit for so much of Colorado’s progress, we all know our strength lies first and foremost in the bold and pioneering spirit of the people of our great state.

Polis starts his term indebted to former Gov. John Hickenlooper, who left behind a one of the top economies in the nation. And now Hickenlooper needs Polis to continue the work to help cement his legacy as he nears a 2020 bid for the White House.

We all know that here in Colorado, we climb the highest mountains. We look far past the horizons. We dream, we dare and we do. And that spirit has been alive and well under the leadership of Gov. John Hickenlooper as we overcame tough economic times to build one of the strongest state economies in American history.

But I’m not here just to talk about the current state of the state and all the incredible achievements of the past few years. That alone could fill the speech. I want to talk about the state of what yet is to come, and the great and bright future of our state. Because in the days, months and years ahead, we are here to do more than build on the achievements of the past. We are here to boldly forge a new path into the future. To make change work for us, rather than against us.

In an interview with The Sun just after his inauguration, Polis vowed: “I will do things differently. And we are focused on the big ideas — meaning things that will really move the dial and improve the quality of life for Coloradans.”

It’s true that our economy is strong. From agriculture, to the outdoor recreation industry, to aerospace, bioscience, renewable energy, and cannabis. We’ve watched industries succeed and create jobs in our state. We’ve become a model of how we can put politics aside and work together. But, despite all of our progress, still far too many people are either barely getting by, or even falling behind with the rising cost of living.

Polis is considered America’s first pot governor for his full embrace and support of the marijuana industry dating to his tenure in Congress. And marijuana supporters are looking for him to help advance the industry.

Our administration’s mission and mandate from the voters begins with tackling the everyday challenges that Coloradans face because of the rising costs of living and wages that simply haven’t kept up:

These four points outline the big picture legislative agenda for the Polis administration in the first year. The priorities mirror what he discussed in the campaign and it’s evident that he considers his 11-point victory “a mandate” for his policies — a point Republicans consider debatable.

Together, we’re going to build an economy where Coloradans from all walks of life across our entire state aren’t just struggling to get by, but can thrive. Whether it’s the small business owner in Eagle County whose health care costs are threatening their Colorado dream, or the farmer in Fort Morgan whose livelihood is threatened by drought, or the parents struggling to pay $400 a month for kindergarten tuition in Douglas County. To these Coloradans across our state, I want to say that our administration will work tirelessly to make our state work better for you — so that you can earn a good living, keep more and share in our special way of life. And I know that this legislature will work hard toward these same goals because every single one of us wants to see a Colorado in which everybody can succeed — a Colorado for all.

A major dynamic in Colorado politics is the urban-rural divide and the battle for resources. And how Polis navigates this divide — and what he does to reach out to rural areas that feel left behind by the economic boom in the Front Range — will color his term. “I don’t see the challenge as propping up the past,” Polis told reporters after the speech. “I see the challenge as how do we make the future work for residents in a changing state and a changing world.”

Part of what defines our Colorado way of life are the values that we live by — values like equality under the law, honesty, the value of hard work and responsibility, the sanctity of basic human rights, and a free market for exchange of goods and services. We see the erosion of some these values in many quarters of our nation today — which makes them all the more precious for us to protect.

Here in Colorado, we treat each other with respect. We reject efforts to intimidate immigrant families, or tear children from their parents’ arms. We don’t tolerate bigotry or discrimination of any kind. And we don’t accept hostage-taking as a form of governance.

Polis, who served five terms in the U.S. House, didn’t mention President Donald Trump by name here, but these strong words are a clear reference to the policies of the Republican White House on immigration and the federal government shutdown. Colorado is home to more than 50,000 federal government employees.

You know last summer, Marlon and I were having a conversation with our son Caspian, who was 6 at the time. He wanted to know the difference between all the various political parties — Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Socialist, Green, and so on. And at the end, he went over to his 4-year-old sister Cora and asked her, “What political party are you in?”

And Cora responded, without missing a beat, “the Happy Birthday Party.” It was one of those moments that every parent experiences, when your child shows you wisdom you can’t get from most adults. I think there are all times where we would all would rather be in the Happy Birthday Party.

If someone wanted to form the Happy Birthday Party, it’s not hard in Colorado. A minor political party must meet three criteria: file a document of organization with the secretary of state, meet once a year and certify at least one candidate to the ballot every two years. But as The Sun reported in October, it’s not easy to get elected outside the two major parties.

That kind of wisdom will guide our approach to problem-solving in this administration. Because what truly matters most is not the letter next to your name or your part, or which side of the aisle you sit on. What matters are: Will our ideas and will your ideas be good for the state of Colorado? That is always the yardstick with which we measure the legislation you pass, regardless of party. Will your ideas reduce health care costs? Will they improve our schools and help our kids get a strong start? Will your ideas expand economic opportunity to more Colorado families?

That doesn’t mean any of us should ever abandon our values. What it does mean is that mere partisanship should never stop us from embracing good ideas and taking bold action for the people of Colorado, who elected us to deliver, not to grandstand.

Polis is making a pitch for bipartisanship, but it’s easier to say than do. The way the governor frames the issues above is a Democratic lens. Republicans argue that they have “good ideas” for these issues, but Polis is not likely to sign such legislation. “The solution is not going to be more government,” said Rep. Patrick Neville, the House GOP leader. “It’s probably going to be a market-driven solution. Hopefully he’s open to some of those concepts.”

So in the spirit of putting problem-solving over partisanship, let’s work together. We all agree that every child deserves a great education, so let’s start there.

You know, If we want Colorado to be a place where every person can build a great life for themselves, where our economy can continue to grow fueled by a skilled workforce, then our schools need to provide students with the tools they need to succeed. You know, one of the greatest joys of my life was starting the New America School and the Academy of Urban Learning — two public charter schools for at-risk youth — and really getting to see first hand how kids who had fallen through the cracks in our education system could really take off and go on to achieve amazing things when they were given that opportunity.

One issue where Polis breaks from the Democratic Party is education. He supports charter schools, but the party added a plank to its platform that rejects privatization of public schools. Ironically, Republican lawmakers are excited to work with Polis to provide more educational choices for students.

It’s time for us to build a Colorado education system where every child — regardless of their ZIP code, their race, their parents’ income — gets a great education that prepares them for a bright future.

And that begins with preschool and kindergarten. And our top priority this session is empowering every single Colorado community to offer free, full-day kindergarten in our great state of Colorado.

We also look forward to working with you to expand the number of free preschool slots to thousands of additional children. Our state’s strong economic growth means we have the power to do all of this, right now, without taking resources away from other critical areas of the budget. As Uncle Ben once said to Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.” I know that together we can fulfill this responsibility, which many of you have been working on for years: Free kindergarten now.

Polis will need to convince the Democratic-led Joint Budget Committee to allocate the estimated $225 million a year to deliver on this promise. Budget writers have expressed skepticism that the money is available.

The focus during the speech drew a rebuke from House GOP leader Neville: “He kept using the word free, over and over,” the Castle Rock Republican said after the speech. “How many times did he use the word free? Nothing is free.”

Making full-day kindergarten available and accessible for all children sets kids up to be more successful in school and throughout their lives, saves parents money. It improves performance, it narrows achievement gaps, it leads to earlier identification and intervention for those with special needs and will increase the high school graduation rate down the road. And all of us will share in those benefits. It will save taxpayer money in the long run by improving incomes and decreasing the achievement gap. It will strengthen families, our communities and our economy.

JOIN THE SUN: Support local, independent journalism starting at just $5 per month. 

But as you know, the state today only funds half-day kindergarten, leaving individual districts, and all too often parents, holding the bag for the rest. Most districts charge tuition to pay for the extra half day. Some offer it free, but only by cutting funding for other priorities, like teacher salaries or class size. As a result, kindergarten today in Colorado is a picture of inequality, where some students attend free full-day kindergarten, some must pay for tuition, and other families don’t get it free and can’t afford it because of the cost.

In Colorado, families can pay upwards of $500 a month to enroll their kids in full-day kindergarten. And that’s money that can instead could go to a good home, health care, a college fund, retirement savings, starting a small business, or maybe even a nice vacation for their family once in a while. You know what folks, Oklahoma has figured all this out a long time ago. And with all due respect to our wonderful neighbors in the Sooner state, if they can do kindergarten, we can do kindergarten here in Colorado.

Scott Wasserman, president of the liberal Bell Policy Center, applauded this line. He said: “The costs of early childhood education are among the biggest hurdles for families in our state.”

What we are proposing is a real, meaningful expansion of early childhood education. It is an essential first step in our broader strategies for early childhood education and K-12, setting kids up for success right from the start. It will free up district resources to get us even closer to the ambitious goal of making sure that every child who wants to can go to preschool in Colorado. …

And I want to be clear: when we talk about kindergarten or preschool, that’s not a mandate, either for parents or for school districts whatsoever. But for parents who believe public kindergarten or preschool are the best options for their kids — and for school districts who want to offer these vital opportunities for families — we here at the state want to work with you to do everything possible to make that happen.

School districts and education nonprofits, bipartisan state legislators have done amazing work to raise public awareness about the benefits of full-day kindergarten — to make it a top priority in this state. Now it is time for us to finally cross the finish line, after decades of your work, to fund free, full-day kindergarten by fall of 2019. Let’s get it done.

In an interview with reporters after the speech, Polis clarified that he wants to provide districts the money to implement the program, but he won’t tell them how to do it. “There’s not really any good reason districts wouldn’t do it,” Polis said, but he acknowledged each may implement it differently.

Colorado has the fastest growing economy in the country. It’s really time our students, families, and dedicated teachers shared in that success. And there are several other areas we can make real progress in education together, by valuing our students — and our teachers.

We all know about our educator shortage, particularly in many of our rural and smaller districts, often having a devastating effect on our public schools. We’re approximately 3,000 teachers down from where we need to be, and schools in too many rural communities are feeling the brunt of that impact.

I look forward to working with the legislature to offer student-loan relief for teachers who serve in high-need areas, to enable more schools to make good on their potential. This kind of targeted effort will help provide our children with the very best education and help more hardworking educators afford daily life as indispensable members of the communities where they teach. As you know, every day we entrust Colorado’s educators with our children’s safety, with helping them to grow into successful, compassionate adults. And educators deserve our respect, our gratitude and, of course, to be compensated as the hardworking professionals that they are. …

One of the first bills lawmakers introduced is a measure to expand the current program that provides financial bonuses to teachers in rural districts. The measure would remove the limit on the stipends and increase them to $4,000.

You know, more than 750,000 Coloradans are carrying over $19 billion dollars in student-loan debt. And I think it’s important that we do what we can to lessen that burden by bringing additional transparency to the student-loan process and providing basic consumer protection for borrowers to do everything we can to make sure people are not held back by what they needed to do to afford college.

Democrats are also pushing legislation on this front, which failed in the Republican-led Senate in prior years, and want to give the Colorado Attorney General purview over student loan service providers.

And another area in education where it is critical we work together to have a major impact is graduation rates. A high school diploma is more important than ever before in a 21st century economy. And it’s not even just a high school diploma, it’s also what skills or pathway you have to a career in a growing sector that allows you to support yourself with dignity. While we have made some progress over the past few years, Colorado is really in the middle the pack of states with regard to our graduation rate from high school. …

In 2016, the four-year graduation rate in Colorado was 78.9 percent, an increase from the prior two years but below the national adjusted average of 84 percent, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Colorado ranks toward the bottom of the pack, the data shows.

We need to invest in proven programs that prevent students from falling through the cracks, and work with local communities to provide students the support they need to succeed in high school and in life. And that means recognizing that it is often hard for a student to learn if they are hungry, homeless, or struggling with trauma or mental illness. And I know there are a number of thoughtful and innovative proposals here in the legislature to improve behavioral health resources for our schools. And I look forward to working with you to help our most vulnerable students overcome the barriers they face and graduate from high school as healthy and productive adults.

In this changing economy of the 21st century, a high school degree and skills are absolutely critical for economic success.  If we are going to make sure students are prepared for careers in the booming areas of Colorado’s economy — fields like technology and renewable energy — the first step is to look at innovative solutions for reducing the dropout rates and making a high school diploma more meaningful. You know, when our students rise, our state rises even more.

Another top priority — one that we know has lit a fire, not only under Coloradans but under Americans across this country — is the outrageous cost of health care. You know, Gov. Hickenlooper and this legislature did admirable, bipartisan work years ago expanding access to affordable health care through the expansion of Medicaid and expanding access to vital reproductive health services, as well as cutting the uninsured rate to an unprecedented 6½ percent in our state.

But despite all that progress we’ve made, health care costs are still rising. Most of you are recently off the campaign trail, too. And I know, Republican or Democrat, you probably heard constituents complaining about the high cost of health care.

I don’t think I’m going too far out on a limb saying that you probably heard that. And you know what, families in Colorado — Independent, Republican, Democrat, Green Party, Libertarian, not even registered — they’re all just fed up of being ripped off by health care costs. It is time for us to fix that.

It’s time to be bold folks. It’s time. It’s time for us to build a health care system that makes sense where market forces produce savings rather than extra costs, where no person has to choose between losing their life savings or their home and losing their life. It’s time for Coloradans to pay a fair price for the prescription drugs that they need. It’s time for people experiencing mental illness or addiction to get treatment, rather than more costly jail time.

Colorado lawmakers struggled to address this issue in recent years because the cost for providing addiction treatment is so great. In 2017, Arapahoe House, the largest provider of treatment for drug and alcohol abuse in the state, closed because of low government reimbursement rates for care and other financial losses.

And in that process of supporting families, we must make Colorado as family-friendly as possible. And as a first step, on our budget package coming up next week on the 15th, I will be including a formal request to provide parental leave for all state employees.  

As a father, I know important those precious first few weeks of life are to be able to spend with your children and I encourage the legislature — and I look forward to working with with you — to take comprehensive action to establish a paid family and medical leave program in Colorado so employees don’t have to choose between keeping their paycheck and caring for their newborn child or sick relative.

Colorado is not among the few states that requires paid parental leave under law. And this is a top priority for Democratic lawmakers who plan to reintroduce a bill to create a family leave insurance plan that people could pay into and apply for funds for parental leave. The measure failed in the Republican-led Senate in 2018.

Look, if all this that we are talking about were easy, it would have been done already. But progress is hard, and overcoming these challenges will be a journey for all of us. But the people of Colorado need and deserve nothing less than our hard work to overcome these challenges and our work begins now.

Polis made clear he will move aggressively to achieve his agenda. The question is how lawmakers, who hold significant power, respond. Lori Fox, a former legislative liaison for Hickenlooper, told The Sun: “People want to see something happen. But there is a risk of moving too fast without the normal expected stakeholder conversations.”

Another step we’re taking to save money on healthcare is the creation of the first-ever Office of Saving People Money on Health Care. We don’t want to give this office a bureaucratic or fancy name to make it sound important. We want to give it a simple name because it is important.

Led by Lt. Gov. Primavera, the Office of Saving People Money on Health Care will form the beating heart of our efforts to reduce patient costs for hospital stays and expenses, improve price transparency, lower the cost of prescription drugs, make healthcare more affordable and make market forces work for us, rather than against us.

This is one of the first executive actions Polis made since taking office Tuesday, but he didn’t offer more details on how it would work. Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike criticized Polis for not offering more specifics.

And let me say a bit about why Dianne is the very best person to take on this challenge.
Many of you in this chamber had the opportunity to serve with Dianne during her four terms in the state House. And those who did got to see her at work as one of the fiercest, most knowledgeable patient advocates that we’ve had. It comes from personal experience.

As a young woman raising her two young kids, who are here with us today, Dianne was diagnosed with breast cancer and told she had less than five years to live. She knows firsthand how our healthcare system makes getting sick even harder often by robbing people of their financial security at the same time they’re struggling to reclaim their health. Dianne survived cancer four times, got well, worked hard for Colorado, raised two amazing daughters who are here with us today, one of whom works for the state.

And she’s dedicated her life to helping others get quality, affordable health care. We couldn’t ask for anyone better to lead our administration’s efforts to reduce health care costs. For all survivors, Dianne is a fighter and living proof that with strength, courage and resilience, we all in our lives can overcome any obstacles and solve any challenge. Dianne has said that health care is something that affects everyone, doesn’t matter your political belief or faith or lack thereof, it is not a partisan issue. It truly affects everybody. We’ve all had family and friends affected.

I think another issue gripping our state is, we simply must get to work to get a grip on the opioid epidemic, which has taken thousands of lives in our state. Opioids and other illegal drugs have stretched our resources to their breaking point. They’ve torn our families apart and cost lives. In 2017 alone, more than 550 Coloradans died because they overdosed on either a prescription or illegal opioid. I look forward to working with legislators from both sides of the aisle on solutions that focus on addiction prevention and access to effective treatment, because we need to tackle these problems upfront to prevent this continual devastation of the opioid epidemic from growing in our state.

The rates of opioid deaths increased incrementally from 2016 (536 opioid-related deaths) and remains a major issue. The most controversial proposal to address the issue is a supervised injection sites for drug users. Polis has refused to say whether he supports the concept, which is drawing rebuke from federal law enforcement officials.

And we must tackle the outrageous health care costs facing Coloradans in rural and mountain counties in Western Colorado. There’s no reason — there is no reason — that somebody should have to lose their savings or their home simply trying to keep up with the costs of healthcare. And there is no reason a family in Glenwood Springs or Gunnison should pay twice as much for health care as a family in Denver metro area.  

We will work with you and empower the Division of Insurance to protect consumers and support rural and mountain communities to reduce health care costs.

Health insurance costs in Colorado mountain communities are notoriously high. As a result, some are looking to create cost-sharing programs that fall short of being full insurance and that have state regulators nervous.

Polis has not explicitly said if he supports a bill by two Democratic lawmakers seeking to mandate the state explore creating a public health insurance option. He has supported the idea, generally, in the past, but look for this discussion to be front and center during the 2019 legislative session. One idea he has endorsed is realigning the state’s health insurance ratings areas. There are currently nine, grouped by geography, and insurers can set different rates for each of those areas based on the specific costs within them. Polis has proposed changing the boundaries to try to bring down costs in expensive areas. When the state in 2016 examined the idea of doing away with ratings areas altogether, it found that bringing down costs for some people would raise costs for others.

We will work with you to establish a reinsurance program to reduce costs and save Coloradans money.  A reinsurance program for the highest-cost cases is a proven solution to reduce healthcare costs, it has worked in other states, and it’s one we should embrace in Colorado to save small businesses and individuals money.

Reinsurance in this context means, essentially, a government insurance plan for insurance companies. The state would get together a pool of money to help insurers pay for their highest-cost claims, meaning insurers won’t have to raise rates on everybody to cover those extraordinary costs. How it will be funded remains up in the air.

And finally, we will address the appalling and increasing costs of prescription drugs. Canada has the same drugs, often from the same manufacturing plants that we have here in the United States, for their residents who need them at a half, a third, even a quarter of the cost.

I look forward to working with this legislation on setting up a way for Colorado to safely import prescription drugs from Canada. The burden that prescription drug costs place on families is too crushing for us not to act boldly.  And I encourage all of us to do so together.

Sen. Robert Rodriguez, a Denver Democrat and freshman state lawmaker, has already introduced a bill to accomplish this goal. The measure would allow the wholesale import of prescription pharmaceuticals from Canada for resale in Colorado. But whether it will have much of an impact is debatable. Canadian experts suggest it’s not likely to provide much relief, as drug prices in their country are steep, too.

You know, of course our ultimate objective is to work together to bring universal, high-quality, affordable health care to every family in Colorado. But the work that we do has to begin with reducing cost and saving people money. We will work together in this legislative session to put us on the right path and bring us closer to our bold goal.

Pursuing a single-payer health system was a big talking point for Polis during his primary campaign for the Democratic nomination. Since then, though, he has been pretty quiet on the idea and has never explained exactly how he would see such a system operating, how much it would cost or how he would pay for it. Universal coverage in this context, though, could just mean making sure everybody is covered in some way and not necessarily through a government-run, single-payer model. In 2016, voters soundly rejected a single-payer health care ballot proposal.

Because together we can save Coloradans money, we can help small businesses across the state pay less for health care, we can clear away barriers that prevent Coloradans from receiving the needed life-saving health care.

And you know I want to say something here that I know has, I think, complete and total agreement in this room: Colorado is the best state in the nation to live. Frankly, it isn’t even close. And, you know, It’s our job to keep it that way. Here in Colorado, we pride ourselves on our unbeatable quality of life, the breathtaking beauty of the state we proudly call home. Protecting our special way of life for ourselves and future generations is one of the most sacred responsibilities that we share. It’s on us.

Not only do our majestic mountains and plains provide endless opportunities to enjoy our natural world with friends and family or to find solitude — they also are vital for our economic success. Colorado is now proudly the home of the Outdoor Retailer Show, a testament to our collective commitment to our public lands. We will continue to defend our public lands, promote access to outdoor recreation, and do everything we can to support the outdoor industry’s 230,000-and-growing Colorado jobs.

Utah’s support for the Trump administration’s effort to shrink the Bears Ears National Monument led the Outdoor Industry Association to move its conferences to Denver. And Polis appeared at the organization’s winter market in his first speech after winning the November election.

While the outdoor recreation economy continues to expand opportunity in rural Colorado, we also want to double down on supporting Colorado’s rich farming and ranching tradition. Though our agriculture exports have nearly quadrupled over the last two decades, the last few years have been a difficult time for farmers and ranchers. Volatile commodities markets, a damaging trade war from Washington, an increasingly serious water shortage are all making life harder all too often for the men and women who work in or own farms in our agriculture industry.

We need to make sure today’s farmers and ranchers, and tomorrow’s, have the tools they need to succeed. And I couldn’t be more excited that our nominee for Agriculture Commissioner, Kate Greenberg, will be the first woman to hold that position. Kate has spent her career focused on the future of farming rather than the past, which is exactly what today’s challenges call for.

The lifeblood of our agriculture industry is water — which is why we must commit to continue the bipartisan and sustainable funding for the Colorado Water Plan. Gov. Hickenlooper, along with the leadership of John Stulp, did an extraordinary work bringing together a broad coalition of Coloradans from all corners of our state to create the first state Water Plan. And we’re going to do our part by improving and implementing that plan and partnering with organizations and our legislature to meet our current and future water needs.

The water plan developed by the Hickenlooper administration faces a major obstacle: the cost. The estimates doubled to more than $40 billion and so far the state legislature has not put enough money toward fully funding the effort.

We will also partner with organizations like the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union’s Co-Op Development Center and others to reduce barriers to employee ownership and grow wages in agriculture and other sectors. And we’ll work with the Rural Colorado Venture Capital Fund to expand access to capital and help the next generation of farmers and rural communities thrive.

This is a state-run $9 billion fund focused on investing in rural Colorado that is available to businesses in 54 of the state’s 64 counties. The businesses can apply for seed money to get started or debt financing.

And we’ll make good on the promise of industrial hemp here in Colorado. With our world-class universities, like Colorado State and Adams State, which are at the forefront of hemp innovation, and with the leading hemp manufacturers and cultivators already here, we want to  seize on this opportunity, under the most recent national Farm Bill, to help make Colorado the national leader in industrial hemp production. Some of you might have noticed yesterday the programs for my inauguration were printed on hemp paper.

And when we talk about protecting Colorado’s way of life, yes, we need to acknowledge and talk about climate change. Climate change is a scientific reality. It’s real. There’s no pretending otherwise for the farmers and ranchers who are facing historic water shortages. There’s no pretending otherwise for the 46,000 men and women who work in Colorado’s ski industry and see their jobs threatened by decreased snowpack.

And there will be no pretending otherwise in this administration. Because we’re going to confront this challenge head-on — not only because we must, but because we also want to take advantage of the huge opportunities associated with being a leader in the growing green-energy economy.

Democratic lawmakers share the urgency when it comes to climate change. House Speaker KC Becker told The Sun it’s her top legislative priority, and other lawmakers are working on a series of bills to address the issue, hoping a number of smaller steps can add up to something larger.

I launched my campaign for governor in Pueblo at an all-solar coffee roasting company, just 10 miles from the Vestas wind turbine factory, which employs 800 Coloradans today building out the renewable energy economy. And I did so to demonstrate that our commitment to reaching 100 percent renewable energy by 2040 is not just about climate change. It’s also about saving money for consumers with cheaper energy, it’s about making sure that good-paying green jobs of the future are created right here in Colorado. And it’s about making the future work for us.

As The Sun has reported, talking about this goal is much easier than the walk. Xcel Energy says the technology is not yet there to reach such a high bar, though they are hopeful it will be developed in the coming decades. Polis has discussed using his authority to issue executive orders to help advance this goal, but the details remain unclear.

And today the work begins to set Colorado on a course to reach that goal. That means modernizing both our grid infrastructure and streamlining our regulatory processes to ensure that all Coloradans are able to reap the full suite of benefits associated with swift adoption of renewable energy. It means working to electrify our cars and buses and trucks. And it means taking advantage of modern technology to use energy more efficiently — cleaning our air, making Coloradans healthier and saving consumers money in the process.

Colorado adopted the low-emission vehicle standard in November, and now there’s a move to go further and adopt zero-emission vehicle standards. Republicans have pushed back on these moves saying they are burdensome and would increase the costs of buying vehicles.

As governor, my goal is to work with you to lead the statewide transition to a clean, sustainable, growing and prosperous economy because it is imperative for our climate, our security, our health, and our economic growth for all Coloradans to address climate change.

We will lead with policies that support, enable and accelerate market investments. We will work with stakeholders across Colorado on real outcome-based approaches that improve flexibility and competition, and promote innovation and deliver emissions reductions from all sources, as well as save consumers money and lead to sustainable economic growth and sustainable advantage for our industry based on lower green energy costs.

We will build upon the significant work and commitment by communities, businesses, and people across our state. Today 62,000 people are employed in advanced energy in Colorado. Xcel Energy has committed to achieving 80 percent carbon reduction by 2030 and 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2050. Communities like Pueblo, Summit County and Fort Collins and Denver and many others across the state have embraced strong climate goals. We are already leading the way forward right here in Colorado, and we will work everyday to build on that process.

Here’s a story from The Sun about Xcel’s big announcement in December.

You know make no mistake — with price declines and technology advances, the move toward renewable energy is already taking place and it will only accelerate. But as we embrace the renewable-energy future, we also need do right by the men and women in today’s energy workforce — some of the hardest-working people in Colorado. For the men and women who work in the coal and oil-and-gas industries, we will make sure that this future works for you.

In the original draft of the speech, Polis pledged to coal miners and oil and gas workers that “we will not leave them behind.” But he changed the line when he gave the speech. The practical effect appears the same, but the suggestion he wouldn’t leave them behind carries political baggage.

We will embrace the skills and experience that Coloradans from all backgrounds bring to the table. Because we need their help, and yes your hard work will be needed and rewarded at every single step of this transition. And we will continue to support the communities these jobs have sustained, to ensure they can thrive to as part of our renewable-energy economy. Creative financing mechanisms that exist today can ensure that consumers pay lower rates as we move to renewables, and help provide for a just transition that is just and fair both for workers and for the broader communities that are directly impacted by this change.

Republican critics responded sharply to this line. “You have all these high-paid oil and gas people and now all of the sudden we’re going to shut down their jobs and retrain them?” said Assistant Senate Minority Leader John Cooke, a Republican from Weld County, the heart of Colorado’s oil patch. “They’re not going to take pay cuts. How are they going to feed their families? They are going to go to places that are … friendly to oil and gas. They are going to go to North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas. They’re going to leave this state.” As the reaction suggests, oil and gas issues are a touchpoint to watch this session.

Colorado has always been, and must always be, a place where we respect the dignity of hard work. Providing for ourselves and our families is at the core of the Colorado way of life that we all love. And a strong economy can’t be built on any one sector, or any one region of the state, on its own. Our diversity is indeed our economic strength.

Our mission is to help businesses of all kinds start, grow, thrive and create good-paying jobs across Colorado, from the Western Slope and the Eastern Plains, to the Front Range and Southern Colorado and the San Luis Valley. We will value every job. We will respect every worker and every shareholder. We will protect the rights of workers to organize and collectively bargain for the pay and benefits that they deserve. And we support the rights of shareholders to govern their companies.

Polis was endorsed by labor organizations and this line stands in contrast to Republican governors in other states who advocate for “right to work” legislation that undercuts unions.

And just as we stand up for workers and good jobs, so too we stand up for our communities. They have a right to have a voice when it comes to industrial activities within their borders that affect their quality of and economic vitality.And, yes, it’s time for us to take meaningful action to address the conflicts between oil-and-gas drilling operators and the neighborhoods that they impact. We will work to make sure that every community has clean air and water. And this is a vital quality-of-life issue for Colorado families.

Polis rejected a move for larger setbacks in on the 2018 ballot — despite supporting them in the past — and he’s now focused on giving local governments more control. This is a potential deal breaker for the energy industry, which suggests different rules in each jurisdiction could make it too difficult to do business in Colorado.

To keep our economy moving in the right direction, we need to upgrade our antiquated roads and highways and limited public transit options. They are simply not equipped to sustain a growing 21st century economy. Thanks to the bipartisan commitment made last year to dedicate additional funds to transportation, we have hundreds of millions of dollars to improve our roads over the next few years. Now, that’s a strong foundation to work from, but as we know it’s not enough to meet the challenge. We need to come together around a bipartisan funding mechanism to meet our current and future transportation needs that the voters of this state will accept and will continue to help our economy to grow and Colorado to prosper.

Colorado voters in 2018 rejected two competing tax measures to pay for transportation needs — one that raised the state’s sales tax and another that called for using existing tax dollars to cover the cost of a bond. A measure approved in 2018 would ask voters permission in 2019 to issue $2.3 million in bonds for road and transit expansions, but Democrats are considering moves to cancel the ballot question. Republicans are already seeking an additional $336 million for transportation this year. Everyone agrees that more money needs to go toward transportation, but no one agrees on how to pay for it.

“I’m very curious to know if he has any ideas about that,” said Sen. Zenzinger. “Those of us who have been working on transportation issues down here at the legislature have tried pretty much everything. We also believe it’s a priority. If he has some good ideas about how to do it, I’m all ears.”

We also need to expand access to high-speed internet and broadband. I’m eager to work with legislators to cut red tape that forces communities to go through costly and lengthy elections to build out their own broadband. And at the same time, we’ll continue the good work of the Hickenlooper administration in supporting the creation of strategic regional broadband plans to really make high-speed internet access a reality across our state as efficiently as we can.

Under the Hickenlooper administration, statewide access to basic broadband increased to 96 percent of Colorado households, and rural access jumped to 81 percent connectivity. But the effort to make it easier for government-run internet service is likely to face blowback. Internet service providers spent nearly $1 million trying unsuccessfully to block the effort in Fort Collins, for instance.

Because in the 21st century and the changing economy, high-speed internet access is critical infrastructure that everyone must have access to at the risk of being left behind. So let’s work together to make sure no one in our great state gets left behind.

So many of the important issues that Coloradans face today boil down to the word opportunity, a word I love. The opportunity to grow and start a business. The opportunity to enjoy Colorado’s amazing way of life, our majestic outdoors. The opportunity to get a great education that leads to a successful future.

But for Colorado to be a place where these opportunities are available for all, and not just some, we need to make our economy work better for middle-class families. And one way want to do this is by working with you to make our tax code more fair and more efficient, so that we can reduce rates for Colorado families and small businesses. Our tax code simply gives too much power to the special interests who can afford expensive lobbyists, while forcing ordinary families to pay too much in taxes. As legislators, I know that many of you find these tax giveaways offensive. Unlike budget expenditures, which you vote on every year, these tax expenditures are on autopilot, some since the 1930s, before most of you, if not all of you, were born. We need a tax code that reflects today’s realities rather than yesterday’s distortions. Let’s work together to help people keep more of their hard-earned money, rather than give it away to special interests.

The legislature and the auditor, thanks to your efforts, have gotten off to a good start by closely examining these various deductions and finding out which ones are being exploited at Coloradans’ expense. I want to work with you to close these loopholes and pass the savings on to families by lowering the income tax rate.

The tax breaks in Colorado totaled more than $4 billion in 2016. And Polis thinks he can eliminate enough to lower the tax burden in Colorado by 3 to 5 percent, he told reporters after the speech.

For instance, many of the changes in President Trump’s tax-reform law were giveaways to the most influential corporations in the country. Some big businesses pay less, while many families here in Colorado actually have to pay more. So rather than blindly copy President Trump’s policies into our state tax code, as we have done, we do not need to take the bad with the good. Instead, we should reflect the good in our tax code and change the bad to put families and small businesses ahead of special interests as nearly every other state, under Republicans or Democrats, has done but we have yet to do.

Colorado is one of only six states that use federal taxable income as a starting point for state income taxes, and one of only seven that use the federal standard deduction and personal exemption, per the Tax Foundation. Colorado also is one of 16 states that relies on federal taxable income for corporate taxes. That allows federal deductions to reduce their Colorado tax bills, as well. That makes the state among the most affected by federal tax law changes.

Also, 90 percent of the retailers in our state are small businesses. It’s time to cap the vendor fee, which is a giveaway to the largest, most influential and profitable retailers in the nation, and use the savings to lower tax rates to benefit small businesses and millions of working Colorado families.

That’s extra money Colorado families can use on home repairs, a college fund or any of the innumerable expenses that folks are having a harder and harder time keeping up with the cost of living, which seems to keep going up.

This is the one “tax loophole” that Polis identified in his address that he wants to repeal. In Colorado, retailers can keep 3.33 percent of the sales taxes they owe to offset the cost to send the tax to the state. In 2017, it cost the state $96 million in sales taxes and $6 million in use taxes, according to the state Department of Revenue, making it a $102 million tax break.

We want to make Colorado better for everyone. And broadening the tax base while lowering rates leads to more economic growth and a stronger economy for all. We look forward to working with you to seek tax efficiencies and clear-eyed policies that make everyone in our great state better off.

And to be clear, our tax-reform proposal will not change how much money the state collects or affect investment in public priorities one way or the other. It’s simply about who pays. It asks the largest, most influential corporations to start paying their fair share so that individuals, families and small businesses can pay less and don’t have to pay for the tax loopholes that others benefit from.

This is an important clarification. Polis said his tax proposal would be revenue-neutral, avoiding any implications under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights that requires any tax hikes to go to voters for approval. Still, Republicans appeared nonplussed. “I don’t know how he’s going to pay for it all and then cut taxes,” said Cooke, the Republican senator. “Unless he is just going to come out there and we are going to raise fees on everybody. I was disappointed in the fact that he didn’t say how much it’s going to cost and how we’re going to pay for it.”

As we address the inequities in our tax code, so too we must address the inequities that are built in our criminal justice system. That means tackling discriminatory practices that all too often make people of color and individuals living with mental illness, or Coloradans experiencing poverty more likely to face longer and harsher incarceration. And it means working to make sure that Coloradans who do serve prison or jail time are able to live a dignified and fulfilling life after they’ve paid their debt to society.

Criminal justice reform is an economic necessity and a human-rights necessity. We will help you lead on this issue.

Polis did not offer specifics on this front, though Democrats are working on proposals to prevent employers from asking people about their criminal history on job applications and remove prison sentences for low-level drug possession convictions. Polis did not mention gun control legislation during his speech, but he told reporters after the speech that he supports the measure — called a “red flag bill” — to allow Colorado judges to temporarily seize firearms from people they deem a risk to themselves or others.

And it’s not easy folks, but it is simple in one sense: every one of us in Colorado wants the opportunity to earn a good life. And we can break down the barriers that hold us back by bringing high-quality early education to every family, lowering health care costs, creating good-paying jobs here in Colorado and saving families money on their tax bill we can help families get ahead.

These are Polis’ four priorities for his first year in office. But he outlined many more goals in this speech that he wants to achieve. The list of demands left Democratic lawmakers feeling a bit overwhelmed, but in an interview after the address Polis remained confident that he would get what he wanted.

State Rep. Daneya Esgar, a Pueblo Democrat and budget writer, suggested it may be too much. “I would love to say we can accomplish everything he’s talked about, but I think the reality is that we have to really look at the things that absolutely need funding, the priorities of the entire state,” she said.

And what makes Colorado unique isn’t just the boldness of our ideas. It is the resilience and the spirit of our inspiring people, who make change happen, who truly bring bold ideas to life. Our shared responsibility is to turn challenges into opportunities, to turn ideas into action. Now is the time to unite in our common purpose: moving Colorado forward, taking good ideas from across the Colorado spectrum and turning those ideas into real ideas for Colorado families. Together, we will build a Colorado that works for all. Let’s get to work.

Thank you. God bless Colorado. God bless you and thank you.

Staff writers John Ingold, Jennifer Brown and correspondent Brian Eason contributed to this report.

Update: This story was updated at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, to correct figures erroneously published by the Colorado Department of Revenue regarding the value of the vendor fee tax break. The department issued a revised tax expenditure report this week correcting the error.

The 72nd General Assembly, with Democrats at the helm of the House and Senate, convened Friday for the 120-day lawmaking term.

The new Democratic leaders in each chamber — House Speaker KC Becker and Senate President Leroy Garcia — gave opening-day remarks that outlined their visions for the 2019 session and the party’s legislative agenda.

Becker made clear that Democrats would push strongly on a number of issues, and House GOP leader Patrick Neville offered his own strongly worded rebuke in his remarks.

Here’s a transcript of Becker’s speech — lightly edited for length — with annotations from The Colorado Sun highlighting what’s important and explaining what it all means.

MORE: Read the annotated text of new Colorado Senate President Leroy Garcia’s opening speech.

Good morning and welcome to your state capitol. It is one my greatest honors to stand before you today. I want to thank the constituents of my district which stretches from the Wyoming border in the north, to Mount Evans in the south– from Boulder to Kremmling – from Jackson, Grand, and Gilpin counties to Clear Creek and Boulder counties. It’s an honor to represent you. …

I look around this chamber and see many new faces and a lot more Democrats. I’d like to welcome our first years and returning legislators. No matter your party, we are all here because we want Coloradans to succeed. Running for office or stepping forward to participate in public service is never easy.

Democrats in the House hold 41 of the 65 seats, the largest margin in 60 years. Republicans  hold 24 seats in the chamber. The advantage gives Democrats three-vote majorities on all the House committees.

So on behalf of this chamber and our state, I extend thanks to you and your families and friends who have agreed to let us borrow you for the next two years. Your support is key to our success.

Together, we are driven to build a fair economy that expands opportunity for all, to invest in our future, and to protect the Colorado way of life. Today, we open the first regular session of the 72nd General Assembly.

The legislative terms are two years long. But bills and resolutions proposed in one year do not carry over to the next, meaning they need to be reintroduced in 2020 when lawmakers return.

Members, pack your energy and ideas with you every day because you are about to have some of the longest days wrapped into the shortest four months you’ll ever know. Your patience will be tested, your sleep will shorten, your family will miss you and your waistline may grow. But believe me the future is worth the fight and your efforts are worthwhile.

This year, Coloradans made history by electing the first Jewish and openly gay governor. We made history by electing a record number of people of color to our state legislature. And we made history by electing 33 women — a majority — to the House including 25 in the Democratic caucus alone and the first transgender representative in state “Herstory.”

The Democratic Party swept the 2018 election, winning all major statewide contests and both chambers, giving them complete control of Colorado government for the first time since 1936, as The Sun reported exclusively on election night. Here’s more details about of all of the historical firsts from the election, including Rep. Brianna Titone, the states first transgender lawmaker.

Whether you’re a Republican, a Democrat or unaffiliated voter, I think we can all agree that this chamber is sending a strong message that when people participate in democracy, their government is more reflective of their state’s diverse background and ideas.   

It is our shared hope that the number of women and people of color who were motivated to step forward and run for office will inspire the next generation of Coloradans to pursue public service and become more involved. I am honored to accept this gavel and look forward to working with you all. … 

It is not lost on me that I am the third consecutive woman to serve as Speaker and the fourth in our state’s rich history. Standing before you today, I know I won’t be the last. I would be remiss if I did not thank those who have blazed a trail ahead of us. …

The prior two House speakers were also Democrats, Crisanta Duran of Denver and Dickey Lee Hullinghorst of Boulder. The first woman to hold the gavel was Republican Lola Spradley in the 2003-04 term.

One of the things I’m most grateful that my parents decided to let me spend my summers as a teenager in the Rockies. I was a Florida girl discovering the vast and transformative place that is the West. Until then I had never seen mountains. I had never seen snow. Actually, it was hailing when I screamed, “Oh my god snow,” and my now lifelong friend who lived in Denver turned to me with a smirk on her face and said “you dummy, it’s hail.”

Becker is not a native, and neither are most residents in the state. Since 2010, the state’s population has increased 13 percent, to 5.7 million, according to July census figures.

I truly fell in love with the West and feel lucky to call Colorado home. My husband Miles and I have built our lives and family in Boulder. And I’m thankful for the love and support of Miles and our two boys – Leo and Ryder.

11 years ago, Leo had just been born, he was 7 weeks old when the market tanked and I was laid off from my job. I think about how much has changed in those 11 years. I certainly had no idea that I was going to run for local office then and that I would end up standing here as the speaker. …

Becker started her legislative career by being appointed through a vacancy committee, making her one of more than a dozen in the chamber in 2019 who weren’t first elected at the ballot box, a Sun investigation found.

MORE: A citizen’s guide to the Colorado Capitol: What to know about how to make your voice heard.

Each year brings new issues to us at the Capitol. But the more things change, the more they stay the same. We’ve gone from a deep recession over the years to a thriving state. But the advantages of Colorado’s growth and economic prosperity of the last 5 or 6 years hasn’t been felt by every corner of our state.

Unemployment statewide is low and the President might be tweeting about the market – at least when it’s up – but many of our neighbors still find it hard to get ahead and they struggle with the rising cost of living.

The speaker mentioned national politics three times in the speech but never uttered President Donald Trump’s name. House Democrats won’t be shy this session in offering a counter-narrative to the White House and Republican leaders in Washington, D.C.

Hardworking families are trying to save for years down the road or even just the coming month. And they are often one tragedy or paycheck away from financial distress.

That means we need to give them the tools they need to get ahead. Last session, we passed bills to help Coloradans with the high cost of child care, increase the construction of affordable housing, and connect more Coloradans to the good, high-paying jobs our economy is now producing in great numbers.

But it’s not enough. We are a state built on the value that people who work hard and they should be treated fairly. That means finally passing paid family leave because no one should have to risk financial ruin – or lose their job –  to care for a new child or sick relative.

Democrats want to mandate that most businesses offer paid time off to workers in the cases of illness or family reasons, such as maternity leave.

In his remarks, House GOP leader Neville of Castle Rock said Republicans will oppose it, calling it “an expensive and involuntary family-leave program that will cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and one that is ripe for abuse and damaging to business.”

It also means that women and people of color should be paid equally for equal work. We are committed to fighting for every Coloradan to be treated with the dignity, fairness and the respect they deserve.

This is one of dozens of bills that the Democratic majority in the House approved in the prior session but died in the Republican-led state Senate. Here’s a look at all the bills that met a similar fate and what it means for the session.

Despite significant efforts from legislators on both sides of the aisle, the rural-urban divide continues to be a challenge. While Colorado’s economy is working for some, it’s not working for everyone in rural communities and the legislature must do more to ensure that our successes touches all parts of our state.

That means taking steps in rural Colorado to reduce the cost of health care and kick starting more economic development to get more people into good paying jobs.

Gov.-elect Jared Polis, a Democrat, made this a priority in his campaign, and House leaders suggest he will drive much of the agenda this year. “I know Gov. Polis is laser focused on this, so it’s going to be a big part of this session,” Becker said at an event Thursday.

We must keep building on the bipartisan successes of workforce development programs in communities across the state.

Access to affordable housing continues to be out of reach for many people. That means we need to invest state dollars in our affordable housing trust fund. It is my hope and the hope of many in this chamber that we work together to problem solve and expand opportunity.

A report by the Bell Policy Center, a liberal think tank, shows that Colorado is one of 10 states that established an affording housing fund but didn’t dedicate a consistent funding stream. Most states use real estate transfer taxes or document-filing fees, but Colorado’s transfer tax, at 0.01 percent, is the lowest in the nation, the report found.

We are also committed to protecting the Colorado way of life, and I cannot think of a more important challenge for us to take on than climate change. Climate change is real. It’s threatening our thriving outdoor economy and our livelihoods.

In a recent interview with The Sun, Becker named climate change as her top personal priority this year. For more details on how lawmakers will approach the issue, read our story here.

Skiers are seeing smaller snow packs. Rafters are seeing smaller rapids. Anglers are seeing shallower waters. Mountain residents are seeing more frequent and more destructive wildfires. And our eastern plains are seeing more drought.

And unfortunately, Washington has once again chosen to bury its head in the sand while states and the rest of the world work to address the threat of climate change.

We will build a better future by expanding our commitment to renewable energy, giving local communities the tools they need to prepare for the impacts of climate change and creating strong goals to limit carbon pollution.

Our recent economic success shows that we can work together to protect our clean air and water and grow our economy at the same time. It is also a point of pride for our state that the leading solutions and studies to this challenge are coming from Colorado’s institutions of higher education and innovative entrepreneurs in Colorado.

We need to continue Colorado’s climate leadership for the sake of our economy, public health and clean air. Colorado’s way of life is also threatened by the growing conflict between neighborhoods and oil and gas. Our state has grown and schools and neighborhoods are butting up against oil and gas operations. It’s time we update our laws to reflect this new paradigm.

Becker, an environmental lawyer, pushing for aggressive new regulations of oil and gas. And her speech came as anti-industry demonstrators outside the Capitol demanded a moratorium on new drilling permits.

She wants the state to prioritize health-and-safety impacts and empower local communities to have more control. But Neville countered in his speech afterward that Republicans would decry such an effort.

That means, we must ensure communities feel more confident that the oil and gas happening nearby isn’t negatively impacting their air or water quality and their quality of life.

Colorado’s way of life is precious. It’s part of the reason people live, work, play and move here like I did so many years ago. As we think about the Colorado way of life we must also think about investing in our future.

Many of our educators are having to work multiple jobs just to pay their own bills, and many students have never had the experience of being in a fully funded school system.

This is a reference to the so-called negative factor, the roughly $670 million that the state owes schools for not fully meeting obligations in prior years. Democrats want to lower that figure — as well as find money to pay for full-day kindergarten and preschool statewide.

We have recently passed bipartisan state budgets that invested hundreds of millions of new dollars into our schools, we boosted per-pupil funding and made commitments to address the teacher shortage, and brought down the negative factor.

But, if we intend to leave our state in a better position than we found it, we must do more. We need to give our students, teachers and schools the tools they need to succeed. That means we must continue to invest in early childhood education, K-12 and higher ed.

Much of the attention is on K-12 education, but Becker is the voice advocating for the state’s colleges and universities. The University of Colorado at Boulder receives only 5 percent of its funding from the state — other institutions such as Colorado State University are higher, at 10 percent — and Becker says that must be higher to improve the campuses.

And it means we should make sure our students are well prepared for the jobs of the future in a modernizing economy.

Coloradans are tired over the lack of investment in roads, bridges, and transit. That means coming up with creative and collaborative solutions to our transportation problems.

It’s no coincidence that this line lacks any plan to make it happen. Colorado voters rejected competing ballot measures in 2018 on how to find more money for roads, and lawmakers have been unable to find common ground on the issue for years now. The money needed for the state’s transportation system is estimated at roughly $9 billion.

Coloradans — no matter their political affiliation or ZIP code — are fed up with high cost of health care and out of control prescription drug prices. We hear from Coloradans nearly every day about their struggles with health care. We share the concerns of families and seniors across our state who agonize over access and rising costs. In the absence of federal leadership in Washington, we at the capitol must address this challenge head on.

That means, we must work together to address skyrocketing health care costs by promoting transparency in insurance, drug pricing and medical expenses. And it also means we must tackle surprise billing and help provide more stability to our health insurance markets.

One area where Democrats and Republicans may find common ground is the need for more consumer transparency on health-care costs and billing. At least, to a point.

In his remarks, the House GOP leader said, “We must ensure transparent pricing, more consumer choice and voluntary participation — it’s not fair or compassionate when people are hurt by politicians who promise progress but deliver price increases.”

The health and well-being of Coloradans must continue to be a top priority because we are facing a public health epidemic. The opioid epidemic in the United States has claimed more lives than the entire Vietnam War.

During the last session we passed bills to help battle this epidemic by getting people the care and treatment they need and addressing prescribing practices. These bipartisan measures are a good start, but there is much more work to be done to end the stigma surrounding addiction and recovery. That means we must work together to save lives and end this epidemic.

Many of the prior efforts to address the opioid crisis won bipartisan support, but the more controversial proposals remain for this session. In addition to finding new ways to prevent usage and money for treatment, lawmakers are considering a proposal for safe-injection sites.

Neville blasted the idea, saying it would “normalize the self-destructive behavior” and represent taxpayers “subsidizing the slow-motion suicide of our citizens.”

There is another epidemic we must address – gun violence.

Our state, our children, our families and even those who are now represented in this chamber have been personally impacted by this crisis. Coloradans are tired of living with the consequences of inaction. They are marching in the streets and taking to the halls of this building. And they are demanding action on gun sense legislation.

Becker is referring to Rep. Tom Sullivan, whose son Alex died in the Aurora theater shooting in 2012. He stood up in the chamber when he was referenced. Here’s more from our conversation with Sullivan about his election.

That means we will work to pass the life saving Extreme Risk Protection Order bill to prevent tragedies before they happen.

The public knows this more commonly as a “red flag” bill. The line drew huge applause from Democratic lawmakers, who approved the bipartisan measure in 2018 but saw it die in the GOP-held Senate.

Republicans balked. Neville said such laws “are so badly written and open to abuse (that) they are more likely to rob the innocent of the ability to defend themselves than prevent the mentally ill from killing.”

Over the past few years, we have made significant bipartisan strides towards reforming our broken criminal justice system – we are even seeing consensus at the federal level on this issue so it is my hope that this is an area where we can continue to find common ground.

We’ve come a long way from when we were labeled “The Hate State.” Last session, we were able to preserve a strong Colorado Civil Rights Division, and we’ve also made important progress for our LGBTQ community in recent years, but there is still work to do to ensure we have a more inclusive and more fair Colorado.

In 1992, Colorado voters approved a ballot initiative that barred protections for people on the basis of their sexual orientation. The move prompted opponents to call Colorado the “hate state.”

Becker has not outlined any specific legislation, but Democrats expect to propose a ban on the controversial practice of gay-conversion therapy.

That means instead of building walls and barriers that seek to sow division and block progress, we will build bridges and partnerships that will power our people and our state forward.   

Last session, we worked to address the culture of the Capitol. The Capitol must be a place where everyone feels safe and respected, and that means we will continue to focus on reforming the culture and work together – regardless of party – to implement necessary changes this session.

A year ago, the state legislature was rocked by a series of sexual-harassment scandals that led to the expulsion of a House lawmaker who was elected as a Democrat before switching parties.

An outside investigation outlined steps to address the problems at the Capitol, but lawmakers have still not acted on most of the recommendations.

So now it’s time to work together. Coloradans cast their votes for those who will fight to expand opportunity for all and to govern responsibly. Coloradans chose compassion and opportunity over cruelty and chaos. They want leaders who will stand for something – not against everything. They want a government that will work for the people  – not special interests.

This line drew a stern rebuke from Colorado Republican Party Chairman Jeff Hays, who compared the remark to Hillary Clinton’s “deplorables” line from the 2016 campaign. “So Republican voters, whether white, black or brown, employees or owners, stay-at-home moms or graduates just entering the work force, are the forces of cruelty and chaos?” he wrote to supporters. “Turns out, 2019 Colorado Democrats respect you only if you voted for them.”

We must continue to reach across the aisle and not be afraid to find those sweet spots that reflect the Colorado way. This is a new and diverse group of lawmakers who will all bring influential ideas and renewed energy to this chamber and it’s on all of us to problem solve for the next one hundred and twenty days.

Becker and Neville suggested they would work together where possible. And it’s true that the majority of legislation that wins approval in the legislature is bipartisan, but most of it is noncontroversial tweaks to existing laws. But the big-ticket items this session are less likely to represent the bipartisan “Colorado way” that Becker is referencing.

In fact, the opening-day speeches gave clear indications that Democrats and Republicans are prepared to fight major ideological battles, even if the minority party can’t do anything to stop legislation.

I am honored to serve as your Speaker – and a Speaker for all Coloradans. I am excited about what we can accomplish together in order to protect the Colorado way of life. Thank you. God bless the State of Colorado and let’s get to work.

More politics news from The Sun

The 72nd General Assembly, with Democrats at the helm of the House and Senate, convened Friday for the 120-day lawmaking term.

The new Democratic leaders in each chamber — House Speaker KC Becker and Senate President Leroy Garcia — gave opening-day remarks that outlined their visions for the 2019 session and the party’s legislative agenda.

What was notable about Garcia’s speech was more what he didn’t say than what he did. The Pueblo lawmaker stayed away from discussing hot-button issues of climate change, oil and gas, gun control, funding for full-day kindergarten and preschool, and paid family leave.

Instead, Garcia spread a message of unity and bipartisanship, which stood in great contrast to Becker’s unapologetic, ideological presentation. That split will likely foreshadow the differences in the two chambers this year,

Here’s a transcript of the full speech from Garcia, with annotations from The Colorado Sun highlighting what’s important and explaining what it all means:

MORE: The top 10 issues to watch in Colorado’s 2019 legislative session

Mr. Minority Leader. Mr. Majority Leader. Madam President Pro Tempore. Friends. Loved Ones. Honored Guests.

Good morning. It is an honor and privilege for me to welcome you to the Senate chamber as we open the 72nd General Assembly.

I want to welcome our returning members and especially congratulate our newly elected Senators. Will each of you please stand as I call your name:  

Senator Dennis Hisey; Senator Paul Lundeen; Senator Pete Lee; Senator Joann Ginal; Senator Rob Woodward; Senator Tammy Story; Senator Mike Foote; Senator Jessie Danielson; Senator Brittany Pettersen; Senator Faith Winter; Senator Robert Rodriguez; and Senator Julie Gonzales.

There are three new Republicans in the chamber and nine new Democrats. Democrats have a two-seat advantage in the chamber with 19 members to the Republicans 16.

Please join me in giving them a warm welcome to this historic chamber.

If you look around, you might notice that this body looks a little different than it has in the past. That is because not only do we have a majority of women in the Democratic Caucus, but we also have one of the most demographically and geographically diverse caucuses in recent history.

Despite the historic makeup of the Senate Democrats’ caucus, they chose both a male president and a male majority leader, Stephen Fenberg of Boulder. Democratic women were elected to the assistant majority leader and speaker pro-tempore roles.

New leaders bring bold solutions that will carry our great state forward. Institutional knowledge combined with new perspectives will move us towards a better future for every Coloradan.

As my returning colleagues know, it is a unique honor and privilege to work in this body and serve the people of this great state. It is a privilege each of you have worked extremely hard for and overwhelmingly earned.

But you would not be here if it were not for the love and support of your families and friends. Let us take a moment to show our appreciation for everyone who made your leadership possible. In that spirit, I too would like to give a special thank you to my family.

To my parents who are with us today – thank you for teaching my brothers and me the importance of respecting others, treating all with compassion, and always living with love in your heart!

To my brothers – Jake and Evan. I know it took both of you a little longer than me to learn those values I just spoke about, but you both finally got them! But all kidding aside, thank you for your service to our country.

While many of you may know that I served in the Marine Corps, you may not know that Jake and Evan also served in the Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Garcia is a paramedic and also teaches the profession.

If there are any members who have served our country either in the armed services, as a member of law enforcement, or public safety, would you please stand so that we may thank you for your service.

To my sons – Jeremiah and Xan. I am so incredibly proud of the young men you have become. Jeremiah recently received a nomination to West Point and the Merchant Marines and Xan is following in his brother’s footsteps with exceptional grades and is also becoming quite the soccer player.

To the love of my life – my wife Michelle. I am so grateful for your love and support. Not only for everything you do as the rock of our family, but for the amazing person you are, day-in and day-out, through your work assisting families and youth. You are truly an amazing woman and I am so grateful that you asked me to marry you. I love you.

Finally, I would like to thank all of the special guests who have joined us today to ring in the 2019 legislative session.

Several former Senate presidents and other lawmakers were in the chamber for the speech.

As a sixth generation Coloradan, I have deep roots and a strong commitment to our state. My family came to the United States, and eventually settled in southern Colorado. Like so many immigrants, they came in search of greater opportunity. Even though my family only spoke Spanish at the time, it did not slow them down or discourage them. Not one bit.

My great grandfathers worked the coal mines and the fields where they lived and learned the value of hard work. They lived their American Dream – a dream that would become a reality by providing a better life for their families.

This value of hard work has been passed down from generation to generation, eventually shared with my parents who started a small, modest business in Pueblo. They worked hard to provide a good life for my brothers and me. Watching them, we too learned the value of hard work, which was an invaluable lesson that served us well when we enlisted in the Marine Corps.

For me, it was during that time that I learned not only the importance of service and honor, but to care for and respect my brothers and sisters in arms, regardless of where they came from or what their political views were. That was never truer than when I served in Iraq.

Capitol Sunlight: A citizen’s guide to lawmaking and lobbying in Colorado

It did not matter who was to your left or right. We understood that we had a collective mission – and we had to have each other’s back!

It is that understanding of hard work and spirit of collaboration that we must bring back to the Capitol. For too long, we have allowed political party to divide us. As a result, ego and politics determined what bills moved forward – not the merits of the policy.

This is an acknowledgement that politics at the legislature can be messy and petty. Garcia here is saying that business as usual is over while offering an olive branch to his colleagues across the aisle.

Senate Minority Leader Chris Holbert, R-Parker, seemed to nod to this in his own speech. He said: “Mr. President, seeing you take that gavel this morning gives me confidence that the ‘adults in the room’ … will continue to be found here in the upper chamber, the Senate.”

Our state deserves better. Our constituents expect more of us.

Unlike in Washington, D.C. – this Senate must bring a new energy that will yield a standard of trust and respect. We must engage in dialogue and collaboration. This is how we will find common ground and solutions to the bread and butter issues facing everyday Coloradans.

Coloradans did not elect us to engage in gamesmanship. They elected us to work, to reach across the aisle, and to have an open and working government that finds solutions to help them live their American Dream.

Senate Republicans on Friday signaled they will not stand by while Democrats work to push their agenda through.

In his speech, Holbert said: “Mr. President, you know better than any other current member of this body the risk of alienating constituents, of pushing too far. Not that you have done those things yourself. No, like me, you were a witness to the events of 2013 and you deserve credit for the time and effort you have devoted to healing relationships and to restore trust among constituents.”

Holbert was referencing the two Democratic senators who were recalled and the third who resigned amid fierce pushback to gun-control legislation they passed in 2013. One of them was Sen. Angela Giron, who held Garcia’s seat before he took office.

Make no mistake – Colorado is growing and prospering, but not everyone feels that growth and prosperity. Too many cannot afford the healthcare they need. Too many have died at the hands of opioids, and many more struggle with drug abuse and addiction. Too many earn lesser pay for equal work. Too many children in Colorado do not have equal access to a quality K-12 education. And too many are saddled with tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt.

Among the first bills introduced Friday in the Senate are ones that deal with the opioid crisis (Senate Bill 1, being led by Garcia, expands a medication-assisted treatment pilot program), health care and higher-education costs.

One of the first measures seeks to forgive student debt for educators, and another seeks to boost the number of teachers in rural Colorado. There was also legislation introduced seeking to codify how Colorado colleges and universities respond to campus sexual-misconduct allegations.

But Coloradans do not give up in the face of challenges like these, and neither can we. Colorado is a special place – it is a state filled with people who innovate and find solutions, and I am absolutely confident that this body will be able to find many of those solutions.

Solutions that build on the steps we have taken to address the opioid epidemic by making greater investments into programs with a proven record of success. Solutions that ensure student loan servicers do not take advantage of students in Colorado. Solutions that help lower the cost of healthcare by increasing price transparency for prescription drugs.

Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster, introduced a bill that seeks to give the Colorado attorney general oversight of student-loan servicers in Colorado. Doing so would give the attorney general’s office the ability to investigate complaints — which she says are fast rising.

Sen. Kerry Donovan of Vail is working with Rep. Dylan Roberts of Eagle on a state-run health-insurance program that the two Democrats hope will drive down premium costs by boosting competition. Roberts is also among those pushing for better transparency for insulin prices and that of other medications.

Senate Bill 5 would allow Colorado residents to import prescription drugs from Canada — where they are cheaper — for resale.

And solutions that show Colorado can be a state that not only creates a booming business climate and grows good-paying jobs, but one that also values workers and pays them fairly.

The business community is keeping close tabs on what Democrats plan to do with their new power in the legislature. The oil and gas industry, in particular, is holding its breath.

Sen. Angela Williams is seen as the business community’s ally in the Senate to ensure that their ambitious goals don’t hurt commerce.

Notably missing from Garcia’s speech: climate change and oil and gas. House Speaker Becker, of Boulder, is making those issues a prime part of her agenda in 2019 and beyond. Garcia mostly kept from straying into those hot-button issues. Instead, he urged unity and cooperation. In contrast, Becker outlined an ambitious liberal vision.

I know each member of this Senate is different. And while we may disagree and debate about the solutions to the issues facing our state, we cannot allow our political differences to get in the way of our shared goals: to serve with honor and to improve the lives of hardworking Coloradans.

This is aimed at both Democrats in Garcia’s caucus and Republicans across the aisle. Capitol observers are watching closely for rifts within the Democratic caucuses in the Senate and House, especially among the more liberal wing of the party and the party’s legislators who are more moderate and/or pragmatic.

Also of note: the word “honor.” Garcia suggested in an interview with The Colorado Sun before the session began that his caucus might try again to expel Sen. Randy Baumgardner, a Republican from Hot Sulphur Springs, over Capitol sexual-harassment allegations leveled against him. Baumgardner then announced he would resign and wasn’t present in the chamber on opening day.

We – Democrats and Republicans – can accomplish these goals if we put our egos aside. I have no doubt that all of us can agree that we are most successful when we work together.

So, let us today mark a new day for the Colorado State Senate. A Senate where we return to our tradition of honor, trust, and integrity. A Senate that has an unwavering commitment to take care of every Coloradan, no matter where they live.

Again, this appears aimed at Baumgardner and the handling of sexual-harassment allegations brought against members last year. Democrats also remain angry at Republicans in the Senate for their handling of an allegation against Democratic Sen. Daniel Kagan, of Cherry Hills Village, that he repeatedly used a private women’s bathroom for lawmakers and staff during the 2017 session. Kagan has since announced his resignation from the state General Assembly but says the decision is unrelated to the bathroom allegations.

Political parties do not determine what improves the lives of Coloradans. Good policy does, and no one party has a monopoly on good ideas. That is why we should be willing to work with anyone – regardless of party – who has a solution to the serious issues that Colorado faces.

Holbert, in his speech, outlined a long list of policies Republicans will oppose this year at the legislature. They include paid family leave; a so-called “red flag” bill allowing judges to temporarily seize firearms from people deemed a risk to themselves or others; and safe-injection sites for opioid users.

“What will Republicans do over the next two years? We will stand for this Constitution and we will stand with the people who gave it to us,” Holbert vowed.

Republicans also announced they will seek $336 million for transportation funding and $336 million to buy down the state’s massive education-funding gap. It will be worth keeping tabs on those issues as the session continues on.

If we are willing to work hard and collaborate, we can empower every Coloradan to live their American Dream – just like my family and so many families in this room have been able to do – and ensure we pass on a better Colorado to our children and grandchildren.

It is a big task, but I know we can do it. So, let’s get to work.