Colorado

Agriculture was highlighted during Governor Owens' State of the State Address on Jan. 14. When talking about economic development, Governor Owens said that Colorado must aggressively support its economic pillars of tourism and agriculture. Owens stressed that Colorado must do all it can to support these vital Colorado industries.

"Colorado Farm Bureau applauds Gov. Owens for recognizing the importance of agriculture in his address," said Alan Foutz, Colorado Farm Bureau president. "Agriculture not only provides a strong economic engine for Colorado, but also provides the open-space that attracts tourism to our state, habitat for wildlife and resources for many renewable energy sources."

Governor Owens also touched on the need to address the state budget situation. The governor said that General Fund dollars available under the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR), after paying required Amendment 23 and Medicaid expenses, will not keep pace with the demands on the budget. He also stressed that TABOR is not the cause of the budget crisis in Colorado and presented points in his proposal to balance the state budget by addressing key points in TABOR while maintaining the fundamental beliefs of TABOR as a protection for Colorado taxpayers.

"The governor's approach in general, looks reasonable," said Foutz. Governor Owens also touched on challenges facing Colorado regarding water. Since 1988, the Colorado General Assembly has introduced 23 out-of-basin water transfer proposals, which all failed. Governor Owens encouraged legislators to enact lasting solutions to benefit all of Colorado. One such solution, being promoted by the governor and the Colorado Department of Natural Resources is a proposal creating Inter-Basin Water Compacts between various water basins. Such compacts would be long-lasting consensus agreements, similar to the Colorado River Compact.

"We appreciate the efforts of the Owens administration to seek solutions to alleviate some of the water concerns facing the state today," said Foutz. "We encourage them to include the water rights holders as major stakeholders in this process."

Date: 1/26/05

	Web hpj.com

Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2008.  High Plains Publishers, Inc.  All rights reserved.  Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com