Good In-state Tuition, Bad In-State Tuition, and Transparent Government

Here's a quick snapshot of some of the key issues I worked on this week:


In-state tuition for illegal immigration on the move (SB 170 Romer/Miklosi)

Two days ago the sponsor of the measure reported that he would like to wait to see if the federal government passed the oft-heralded amnesty bill prior to moving his bill forward. I saw the move as an attempt to find a soft place to crash land the bill and said as much as reported in the Denver Daily News are here. But today, the sponsor brought it up for debate. I led the response by laying some of the legal groundwork. The bill was moved to the appropriations committee where it will debated before coming back to the whole senate.


My In-State Tuition for Vets Bill Advances (HB 1039 McNulty/Kopp)

The bill cleared the house appropriations committee, went to the whole house, then was amended and referred back to the appropriations committee yesterday. I believe that we should roll out the red carpet to veterans as a way to honor them for their service. I think we should do what we can to recruit these skilled leaders to come to our state and help lead our state's economic long-term economic recovery.


My bill to make government transparent and accountable (HB 1288)

This bill will require the state’s expenditures to be searchable on a separate website. It is time to give citizens this tool to look over our shoulders and see how their money is being handled. The house sponsor, B.J. Nikkel, and I wrote an op-ed that appeared in the Denver Post this week. You can view it here .


My bill to protect high risk mountain communities cleared appropriations (SB 18)

I’ve talked about this bill in some detail in the past and will inform you when it clears the senate.


If you are interested in receiving Twitter updates from me, you can follow me @senate22 on Twitter. You can also follow me on Facebook by clicking here.


Finally, my new website has been under construction and will be up soon at www.KoppforColorado.com . I hope you will check it out!