Renewables to be excluded from budget cuts


NFPA 70b Training - Electrical Maintenance

Our customized live online or in‑person group training can be delivered to your staff at your location.

  • Live Online
  • 12 hours Instructor-led
  • Group Training Available
Regular Price:
$699
Coupon Price:
$599
Reserve Your Seat Today

Colorado Budget Cuts and Tax Reforms frame the session, with K-12 funding reductions, sales tax on candy and soda, suspended tax breaks, conservation easements limits, renewable energy standards, job creation plans and agency consolidation.

 

At a Glance

Balancing Colorado's budget with K-12 cuts, new sales taxes, credits, agency consolidation, and renewable energy.

  • $260M K-12 funding cut proposed by Gov. Ritter.
  • Sales tax on candy and soda to raise $312M.
  • Eliminate or suspend 13+ business tax breaks, credits.
  • Strengthen renewable energy standard to drive jobs.
  • Consolidate state agencies to reduce redundancy.

 

Colorado House Speaker Terrance Carroll likens lawmakers' work this session to sometimes-painful surgery.

 

"We're cutting past the bone. We're cutting bone marrow," Carroll, a Denver Democrat, said of the $1.5 billion gap in next fiscal year's $18 billion budget.

"Bone marrow is where the body gets immunity. You limit the body's ability to heal itself. But we have to go there."

As they begin their 120-day session, legislators, amid going green in a downturn pressures, will take a second look at the public schools budget, the state bureaucracy, and even tax credits that could help carry Colorado out of recession.

Gov. Bill Ritter has proposed a $260 million cut in funding for kindergarten through 12th-grade schools. He also wants to raise $312 million by charging sales tax on candy and soda and by eliminating or suspending a dozen tax breaks.

Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, said that as Senate Finance weighs energy taxes lawmakers could start by voting to rescind $110 million that they had set aside for schools. Lawmakers agreed last year to include the money for schools in the budget — but hold on to it to see how the economy, and state revenues fared after they adjourned.

Shaffer said he wants to find ways to increase jobs through retraining and, even as REAs resist subsidized power proposals, requiring utilities to get more power from renewable energy. Right now, investor-owned utilities must obtain 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020.

"The road out of this is an economic recovery and an economic recovery starts with a good job," he said.

Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, R-Fruita, is introducing a bill to combine state agencies and offer financial incentives to school districts to cut costs. His bill would abolish the position of executive director of the Department of Local Affairs and give those responsibilities to the lieutenant governor, whose only real duty is overseeing Indian affairs.

"We cannot get our fiscal house in order without getting rid of the redundancy and excess in state government. This bill will do just that," Penry said.

Ritter told lawmakers he wants to eliminate 13 tax breaks and credits to balance this year's budget, though green power tax breaks remain under debate. Some lawmakers say there are 87 other tax breaks that can be considered, including conservation tax easements.

Under a plan Ritter submitted to legislators, some business-specific tax breaks would be eliminated or suspended, including a sales tax exemption on agricultural compounds and bull semen, worth $1.5 million a year.

Ritter's call to limit conservation easement credits for three years would raise $13 million annually.

House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, said that, with House-approved energy-water projects moving ahead, it makes no sense to offer tax breaks to farmers and ranchers not to build on their property because few people can afford to spend money on development in the current economy.

Environmentalists say the tax credit is one of the only meaningful tools available in Colorado to promote private land conservation and reduce the impact of population growth on habitat and species.

Ritter also plans to make promotion of renewable energy a key issue again this year, as some push for lower green energy subsidies to recalibrate incentives. Environmentalists say that will help the economy.

"This session is about improving the lives of people across Colorado. Strengthening our renewable electricity standard is exactly what we need to create jobs in these tough economic times," said Pam Kiely of Environment Colorado.

 

Related News

Related News

Can COVID-19 accelerate funding for access to electricity?

Africa Energy Access Funding faces disbursement bottlenecks as SDG 7 goals demand investment in decentralized…
View more

Ontario Energy minister downplays dispute between auditor, electricity regulator

Ontario IESO Accounting Dispute highlights tensions over public sector accounting standards, auditor general oversight, electricity…
View more

Electricity Grids Can Handle Electric Vehicles Easily - They Just Need Proper Management

EV Grid Capacity Management shows how smart charging, load balancing, and off-peak pricing align with…
View more

Electricity is civilization": Winter looms over Ukraine battlefront

Ukraine Power Grid Restoration accelerates across liberated Kharkiv, restoring electricity, heat, and water amid missile…
View more

Georgia Power warns customers of scams during pandemic

Georgia Power Scam Alert cautions customers about phone scams, phishing, and fraud during COVID-19, urging…
View more

"Energy war": Ukraine tries to protect electricity supply before winter

Ukraine Power Grid Resilience details preparations for winter blackouts, airstrike defense, decentralized generation, backup generators,…
View more

Sign Up for Electricity Forum’s Newsletter

Stay informed with our FREE Newsletter — get the latest news, breakthrough technologies, and expert insights, delivered straight to your inbox.

Electricity Today T&D Magazine Subscribe for FREE

Stay informed with the latest T&D policies and technologies.
  • Timely insights from industry experts
  • Practical solutions T&D engineers
  • Free access to every issue

Live Online & In-person Group Training

Advantages To Instructor-Led Training – Instructor-Led Course, Customized Training, Multiple Locations, Economical, CEU Credits, Course Discounts.

Request For Quotation

Whether you would prefer Live Online or In-Person instruction, our electrical training courses can be tailored to meet your company's specific requirements and delivered to your employees in one location or at various locations.