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General Assembly Scheduled to Convene on
January 13, 2010
The Second Regular Session of the
Sixty-seventh General Assembly of Colorado
is scheduled to convene on Wednesday,
January 13, 2010 at 10 am. The Legislature
will meet for a constitutionally mandated
limit of 120 days, with adjournment sine
die occurring no later than midnight on
Wednesday, May 12, 2010.
Of the several hundred bills that will cross
the desks of lawmakers this session, a
number will have fire and life safety
implications or will potentially impact
local fire departments. It is for this
reason that the Colorado State Fire Chiefs’
Association (CSFCA) follows legislative
activity in the General Assembly very
closely.
CSFCA Adopts New Legislative Approach for
2010
At its meeting of
November 13, 2009, the CSFCA Board of
Directors adopted a proposal for
reorganizing the Association’s approach to
dealing with legislative matters. The
association’s past success in advancing its
legislative agenda and minimizing the impact
from other bills is due in part to the
participation of CSFCA members in the
process. The reorganization builds upon this
member involvement and adds a level of
organization that previously did not exist.
At the core of the reorganization is the
creation of a Legislative Committee
comprised of CSFCA members that are
interested in and available to actively
participate in the legislative process.
Among other responsibilities, the
Legislative Committee will review
proposed legislation affecting the fire
service and recommend a position to the
CSFCA Board of Directors.
During the legislative session, the CSFCA
Executive Director and Legislative Liaison
will review and analyze bills introduced in
the General Assembly to determine if they
have implications for the Colorado fire
service. Any bill with potential impact
will be referred to the CSFCA Legislative
Committee for recommended position.
The recommended position to be taken on a
legislative proposal shall then be approved
by the Board of Directors. It is important
to note that the recommended position on a
particular legislative proposal (as well as
the position taken by the Board of
Directors) may change as the bill moves
through the legislative process, as it may
be favorably or unfavorably amended.
All bills of interest to the fire service
will be made known to the CSFCA membership
by way of legislative updates and the
Legislative Page on the Association’s
website
here. CSFCA
members are encouraged to routinely check
this page for updates.
2010 Legislative Committee
Steve Pischke, CSFCA Vice-President and
Deputy Chief of Mountain View Fire
Protection District, was appointed to Chair
the Legislative Committee. The other
members of the Legislative Committee for
2010 are:
Chief Larry Donner, Boulder Fire Department
Chief Doug McBee, West Metro Fire Protection
District
Chief Daniel Noonan, Durango Fire Rescue
Chief Dave Parmley, Lake Dillon Fire Rescue
Chief Dan Qualman, South Metro Fire Rescue
Chief Jerry Rhodes, Cunningham Fire
Protection District
Chief Christopher Riley, Pueblo Fire
Department and CSFCA President
Chief Ken Watkins, Grand Junction Fire
Department
Paul Cooke, CSFCA Executive Director
(ex-officio)
Roberta Robinette, CSFCA
Legislative Liaison
(ex-officio)
Subject Matter Experts
Another integral part of the reorganization
is increased reliance on CSFCA members that
to serve as subject matter experts (SME’s).
A list will be developed and maintained of
SME’s that may be called upon to assist in
the drafting of proposed legislation, review
legislation proposed by others, represent
the CSFCA on matters pertaining to their
area of expertise, and provide testimony on
proposed legislation.
If you have expertise in any particular
subject matter and would like to be added to
the Legislative Committee’s list of SME’s,
please send a message to
Steve Pischke,
Legislative Committee Chair or
Paul Cooke.
For more information on the proposed
reorganization of the legislative approach
that was adopted by the CSFCA Board of
Directors, go
here.
A memo concerning
proposed and potential legislation for the
2010 Legislative Session is posted on the
CSFCA website here.
If you have any questions, feel free to
Steve Pischke,
Legislative Committee Chair or
Paul Cooke,
CSFCA Executive Director.
Posted 01-04-10 |
