ERIC AUTOBEE. Eric was a correctional officer at the Limon Correctional Facility. He was born and raised in Avondale and educated at County High School and Pueblo Community College. On October 18, 2002 , while supervising inmates in the kitchen, Eric was struck in the head by an offender serving a life sentence for murder. Eric was killed and in an effort to memorialize his sacrifice in the line of duty, I introduced a resolution that designates a five mile portion of Colorado Highway 71 to be the “Sergeant Eric Autobee Memorial Highway.” This stretch of highway runs along the front of the Limon Correctional Facility. I am grateful to Eric’s parents, Bob and Lola, for visiting with me about Eric and sharing with me their precious memories. Eric’s family was present when the Senate adopted this resolution. I was honored to bring this resolution forward.

EQUAL PAY DAY. It was a resolution kind of week. On April 12th, I presented a resolution in the Senate to mark Equal Pay Day. April 12th symbolizes how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned the previous year. The most recent Census Bureau statistics show women in CO making 79 cents for every dollar men make, based on the median salaries of all full-time, year-round workers in the country. The wage gap is greatest for women of color in Colorado: African American women earn 62 cents for every dollar white men make. Latinas earn 52 cents for every dollar white men make.

I think back to all of the girls and young women I have worked with over the past 30 years. They deserve better and need us to ensure better than this system of inequity. I was shocked to learn that as women get older; their pay gap grows from 6% to over 30%. Pay equity makes good economic sense. We already have incremental and achievable solutions that will ease future retirement costs and strengthen our economy. We know that when we strengthen the security of women and mothers, we strengthen the security of families.

ASSET. I have written quite a bit about the ASSET (Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow) Bill. This bill would provide unsubsidized in-state tuition for undocumented students I want to share with you the speech I gave on the Senate floor as we began a full-Senate debate.

Good morning. Today, I am very excited to discuss my favorite bill –  SB126 – Unsubsidized In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students – known as Colorado ASSET. Colorado ASSET is near and dear to my heart. It is this issue that helped persuade me to run for the Senate. As many of you know, before I was sworn in as a Senator, the only time I had stepped foot in the State Capitol was as a citizen lobbyist in 2009 on this very issue. Needless to say, I am very passionate about this bill. I sat here on Tuesday and I listened to Senator Carroll tell the story of her grandmother, her mother, and herself – all three attorneys. I was moved, I was in awe, and I was a little envious. I come from a community where the most important question is always, “Where did you go to school?” Folks aren’t asking because they want to know where I went to college, they want to know about high school. I come from a community where families throw high school graduation parties that would rival many weddings. I come from a community that values education, but far too many kids and far too many of their families do not or cannot dream beyond high school. Well, I graduated from South High School in 1978 when I was 18 years old. And my father graduated night school from South High School in 1971, but he was 50 years old. I am the youngest of five children, and when I was born, my father had not graduated from high school and my mother had an 8th grade education. So, when I hear a story like Morgan’s, I ask myself, “What made the difference between her legacy and my own?” The answer, is what is at the heart of this bill – opportunity. I wanted to tell you that this bill is about our long-term economic success, about how an educated workforce creates jobs and how an educated immigrant pays way more in taxes. And the advocates for this bill wanted me to talk about millions of dollars of tuition revenue for our colleges and universities and the 11 other states that have passed similar legislation. That we are talking about young people who were brought here as babies and small children and we have already invested in their K-12 education and we should realize that investment. No taxpayer dollars will go towards paying their tuition. But, I want to tell you to vote for this bill because we are people who believe in opportunity. We know the difference that opportunity made in our own lives and want to ensure that all Colorado kids have access to opportunity.

The debate went on for almost 4 hours. It was hard and it was emotional. I celebrate the fact that it passed in the Senate. This legislation has been attempted many times since 2004 and finally, it passed for the first time out of the Senate! All 20 Democrats voted in favor of our students and in favor of opportunity. Unfortunately, we were not able to convince any Republicans of the economic value this bill will provide our state. We will have one last vote in the Senate on Monday and then it moves on to the House. I am looking forward to passing SB126 out of the House and joining 11 other states that provide this opportunity to our kids and in doing so, make a positive economic impact for all their residents.

LOTTERY BILL. A quick update on the Gaming and Lottery Intercepts Bill - it allows the State of CO to collect any unpaid debt due to the state when someone wins money from the Lottery or gaming. On Friday, it passed out of the Appropriations Committee and will be heard next in the full Senate. I expect it will pass out of the Senate and then it heads to the House. This bill is a revenue generator for the State of Colorado. In a year when we’ve made some very difficult cuts, we need to make sure money that’s owed to the State is going to books, not bookies. I am the Senate sponsor for this legislation and Rep. Swerdferger is the House sponsor. I’m happy to be carrying a bill with bipartisan support!

LEGISLATIVE BREAKFAST. Yesterday (Saturday), I attended the Legislative Breakfast sponsored by Pueblo’s Greater Chamber of Commerce. It was an opportunity to share with many in the business community the progress that is being made in the Legislature. We talked, at length, about the budget and I provided an update on the bills I’m carrying.

TOWN HALL. I’m always looking for opportunities to connect with constituents on critical issues in Pueblo County. Given the cuts to education, it was important to provide the chance to hear from folks and report back about what we’re doing at the Capitol. I’m so grateful to the representatives from Pueblo City Schools: Dr. Maggie Lopez, Superintendent; Phyllis Sanchez, Board Member; and Mike Maes, Pitts Middle School teacher and to Bill Bregar, District 70 School Board Member for taking the time to provide their perspectives on the impact budget cuts will have on our kids. And I’m grateful to the almost 50 community members who made time to become more informed and provide their own input.