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| Colorado Greens Call on State to Protect Anti-Tobacco Programs. |
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Colorado Green Party Tuesday, January 6, 2004 Media Contact: THE GREEN PARTY OF COLORADO CALLS ON STATE TO PROTECT ANTI-TOBACCO PROGRAMS DENVER, CO - The Green Party of Colorado today called upon the state legislature to stop Governor Owens and State Treasurer Mike Coffman from moving forward with bad fiscal policy and violating the intent behind Colorado's tobacco settlement. "Securitization of the tobacco funds is just a euphemism for stealing," said registered Green and San Miguel County Commissioner Art Goodtimes. "Inventing a fancy word doesn't change the reality of violating the spirit of the tobacco settlement. To take money away from addressing smoking's devastating health impacts and away from educating our youth against a lifetime of tobacco addiction and use that money to help balance the state budget is wrong. It's theft of our childrens' future." Greens note that the State of Colorado will only receive a small fraction of the total amount of money available if we pursue a lump sum payment in 2004. While the budget crisis is very real today, and the legislature has few options, Greens warn against borrowing from our future to pay for the Owens administration's poor fiscal management and reckless permanent tax cuts. "Colorado's Republican leadership continues to blame Colorado voters for the state's fiscal crisis because we've passed TABOR to restrict spending and Amendment 23 to protect public education," explained Alison Maynard, Green Party of Colorado co-chair. "Greens have more faith in individual voters than political leaders beholden to corporate special interests. It's obvious that the majority of Colorado voters do not trust the state's elected officials to spend their hard-earned taxpayer money without strong restrictions." The Green Party of Colorado urges the state legislature to show it can serve the best interest of our citizens by protecting the programs created through the tobacco settlement. For More Information: www.coloradogreens.org ----------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/legislature/... State failing on tobacco Health group gives it an 'F'
for a lack of strong safeguards The American Lung Association gave lawmakers an "F" Tuesday for failing to provide Coloradans with adequate safeguards from tobacco- related diseases and death. Colorado got the bad grade in tobacco-prevention and control funding, smoke-free air laws, tobacco taxes and laws limiting youth access to tobacco. It was one of only six states to flunk all four legislative areas in the American Lung Association State of Tobacco Control 2003 report. The others were: Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina and South Carolina. The association said annual health-care costs in Colorado directly related to tobacco use exceed $1 billion - $259 a person. Some 4,200 Coloradans die of tobacco-related deaths each year, the group says. As bad as the report card is, a spokesman for the group said things could get worse if lawmakers sell off the state's tobacco settlement funds for an $800 million fiscal fix, as Gov. Bill Owens has recommended. "The American Lung Association believes if we were to sell off 35 or 25 years' worth of revenue, it would be fiscally horrible," said Scott Matthews, vice president of programs and policy for the association in Colorado. "We believe the moneys we are receiving from the master settlement were designed to prevent and alleviate the damage that has been caused by the tobacco industry. We'd like to see a significant portion of that money going to resolve those problems. "If we don't resolve them with those funds, then there's no chance of us being as successful with public health as some of our sister states have done." Matthews said a coalition of anti-smoking groups is working to try to convince lawmakers it's a bad idea to "securitize," or sell off, the funds for an upfront lump sum. But Dan Hopkins, a spokesman for Owens, defended the recommendation. He said it would protect money that Colorado could lose if the settlement funds dry up before the state has a chance to use them. State Treasurer Mike Coffman also has argued that sale of the funds would safeguard the money. He has said the money could disappear if tobacco firms continue to be hit with huge lawsuits. "Anyone who looks at the situation across the country regarding tobacco funds knows that these funds in two or three years are not a sure thing," Hopkins said. "Securitization guarantees we'll have those funds in the bank in Colorado." The legislature will decide what to do with the interest from those funds. Currently, money from the settlement - about $100 million a year in Colorado - funds a variety of programs, including nurse visitation, literacy and children's health insurance. Last fall, in presenting lawmakers with a $13.3 billion budget for the 2004-05 fiscal year, Owens recommended selling off future tobacco settlement revenues for a flat $800 million. Owens suggested using $80 million for critical needs and setting aside the other $720 million in a "rainy day fund" for a future economic downturn. Because of financial problems last year, Colorado cut 74.2 percent in tobacco-intervention program spending, leaving $5,164,351 for the effort. If the state sold off future revenues, those programs would have to fight for money in additional years with other budget requests. The proposed securitization also was criticized Tuesday by San Miguel County Commissioner Art Goodtimes, a member of the Green Party. "Securitization of the tobacco funds is just a euphemism for stealing. "Inventing a fancy word doesn't change the reality of violating the spirit of the tobacco settlement," said Goodtimes. "To take money away from addressing smoking's devastating health impacts and away from educating our youth against a lifetime of tobacco addiction and use that money to help balance the state budget is wrong."
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