Each legislator is allowed to introduce five bills. House members can also be the prime sponsor of a bill that originates in the Senate in addition to the five we introduce in the House. Below are the bills I will sponsor in the House of Representative during the 2008 session. Check back during the session for more bills that I sponsor after they come out of the Senate.

1. A bill to extend the existing tax credit for historic preservation. The bill promotes historic preservation and rehabilitation by offering a State Income Tax Credit to residents rehabilitating or restoring a qualified historic property. The State Income Tax Credit is 20% of qualified rehabilitation costs up to a maximum of $50,000 credit per qualified property.
   
   
2. Legislation to restrict the ability of prosecutors to transfer juveniles from the juvenile justice system into the adult system without a court hearing. Currently, the prosecutor can unilaterally transfer juveniles as young as 14 years old to adult court to be convicted of a felony and sentenced to the adult correction system. Juvenile justice experts across the country are calling for reforms to keep more juveniles in the juvenile justice system where they will receive better treatment and more appropriate help.
   
   
3. Changes to transportation planning laws to stop using precious transportation dollars to build traffic jams. My bill will adopt the policy of “fix it first” so we take care of what we have before we fund new projects. It will also require new projects to demonstrate that they improve mobility and will not simply create more traffic, add to the burden on our highways and contribute to emission of greenhouse gases. State transportation planners will work more closely with local governments so that decisions about what planners call “capacity increases” take into consideration long term transportation needs.
   
   
4. New requirements for rural electric associations and municipally owned utilities that serve 5000 customers or more to create energy efficiency programs. Research shows that investment in energy efficiency programs for the 900,000 customers of REAs and Munis would save 1.5 billion kWh per year by 2020, which is the equivalent to the electricity use of over 170,000 typical households in Colorado and avoids construction of one large power plant by 2020.
   
   
5. Provisions to increase confidence in the judicial system in instances in which a current or former judge is a party to the case. My bill will require that a judge from another judicial district be appointed to preside over such cases.

In response to a case in Boulder involving an adverse possession lawsuit, I have been working on legislation to change the law so it will be harder to make a claim for adverse possession. The case struck a nerve with the public and has raised legitimate questions about whether adverse possession is still an appropriate way to settle boundary disputes. Because of the diversity of situations in which adverse possession may be used and the long-standing status of the concept in the American judicial system, changes must be carefully considered so we don’t unintentionally throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater.

The committee created during 2007 to study reform of the health care system will report to the legislature on January 31. Following that report, I will be considering introducing legislation to implement the Colorado Health Services proposal.