NCLA sees 2008 General Assembly as success

LOVELAND — The 2008 Colorado General Assembly was better than expected and much better than 2007 for the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance, but area legislators weren’t so sure.

Or, as State Rep. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, put it, “The good news is that we didn’t get much done. The bad news is that we didn’t get much done.”

Lundberg joined six other northern Colorado legislators for the final session legislative session with legislators Monday morning at the American Eagle Distributing in Loveland. The NCLA is the joint public policy advocacy arm of the Fort Collins, Greeley and Loveland Chambers of Commerce and the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp.

Sandra Hagen Solin, NCLA issues manager, told a crowd of about 50 that the NCLA had a 75 percent success rate on measures it considered priority, in comparison with a 44 percent rate in 2007. Democrats, she said, were receptive to the group’s concerns while Republicans continued support of those concerns.

Transportation funding was considered a disappointment, workforce and higher education got a 90 percent success rate, while nothing much materialized in environmental, climate change and renewable energy issues, Hagen Solin said. Health care and the fiscal structure of the state remain a concern, she added.