Office of the Governor - Press Office

OWENS RESTORES FUNDING FOR “READ TO ACHIEVE”

Governor acts on 47 bills from this year’s legislative session

(DENVER) – Gov. Bill Owens today restored over $12.7 million to Read to Achieve.  To restore the funds, Owens vetoed a portion of House Bill 1421 which would have decreased funding for the important literacy program.

“Studies show that intensive reading programs such as Read to Achieve help students succeed throughout their school years.  It is imperative that we invest in our young children,” Owens said.

Read to Achieve provides intensive reading instruction for second and third graders who are not reading at grade level.  The program started in 2001.

Because of this veto, an additional $12.7 million will be allocated from the tobacco litigation settlement fund to Read to Achieve.  This means that the total funding for Read to Achieve in the fiscal year starting July 1 will be $16.6 million.

 The Governor approved other sections of HB 1421 which will provide funding for

·        Colorado’s Nurse Home Visitor program ($7.7 million),

·        the Children’s Basic Health Plan helping children in low-income families ($20.5 million),

·        tobacco education, prevention and cessation programs ($4.3 million),

·        Tony Grampsas Youth Services for at-risk youth ($3.4 million),

·        health care for the poor and uninsured ($2.6 million),

·        and the Ryan-White AIDS drug assistance program for low income individuals ($3 million).

HB 1421 was one of 47 bills acted on today by the Governor.  June 4^th is the last day for the Governor to act on bills from this year’s meeting of the state legislature.

Owens also approved HB 1203, limiting the power of governmental entities regarding eminent domain.  The bill protects the interests of private property owners from abusive condemnation and eminent domain practices. 

Other bills approved by the Governor include:

HB 1311 – Providing additional consumer protection against identity theft

HB 1447 – Providing for the enrollment of children into the Children’s Basic Health Plan if under certain circumstances they are no longer eligible for Medicaid

SB 230 – Authorizing the issuance of a Vietnam Veteran special license plate

Owens also vetoed several pieces of legislation including:

HB 1367 – Would have allowed municipalities to withdraw from library districts without a vote of the people affected by the action.

HB 1165 – Would have raised the threshold for a felony from $500 to $675.  In his veto message, Owens stressed that the bill was introduced as a cost saving measure but “the amount of money saved does not compensate for the potential losses suffered by the victims of these crimes.”

HB 1225 – Would have required Colorado utilities to collect an energy assistance charge from each electric and gas customer unless the customer specifically opted out of the program.  The Governor pointed out that providing energy assistance for low-income families is one of his priorities, allocating over $20 million in emergency funding for the Low-income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP) over the past four years.  However, the Governor has long opposed so-called opt-out programs.

In his veto message regarding HB 1225, Owens referred to a statement from Attorney General Ken Salazar who last year said, “Silence should never mean ‘yes’ in a consumer transaction.  Consumers have the right to expect they will be charged for only those products or services they expressly request.” 

Owens committed to working with Energy Outreach Colorado to find other ways to provide energy assistance for low-income Coloradans.  

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last modified June 10, 2004