[Colorado-Talk] Still Time to Hammer on This Committee Re: HB21-1110

Tue Jun 1 16:23:41 UTC 2021

Hey Folks, Senator Danielson just confirmed for me that H.B. 1110 is still on the chopping block.  We need to elevate our advocacy to the highest level on this!!  Our elected leaders are trying to say that we are not worth 331,000 dollars to aid our access to public information contained on the Web when they are spending billions on so many other projects.  In addition to calling the legislators Dan identified, call/email Senator Leroy Garcia, President of the Senate, Steve Fenberg, Senate Majority Leader.  Please do this immediately!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks,
Scott

-----Original Message-----
From: Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Dan Burke via Colorado-Talk
Sent: Monday, May 31, 2021 5:12 PM
To: NFB of Colorado Discussion List <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Dan Burke <burke.dall at gmail.com>
Subject: [Colorado-Talk] Still Time to Hammer on This Committee Re: HB21-1110

There is still time to call these committee members and leave a message, or send them an email telling them that we want them to fund
$331,000 for HB21-1110 - that money mostly goes to reviewing state web sites for accessibility and training state and local governments about web accessibility. Of course, we want to have a right to and equal access to information, programs and services using web forms, and employment. They can't hear from us enough on this!

Here are the Senate Appropriations Committee Members:

Chair Chris Hansen
303-866-4861
chris.hansen.senate at state.co.us

Vice Chair Dominick Moreno
303-866-4857
dominick.moreno.senate at state.co.us

Senator James Coleman
303-866-4864
james.coleman.senate at state.co.us

Senator Bob Gardner  (already voted yes in the Judiciary committee)
303-866-4880
bob.gardner.senate at state.co.us

Senator Julie Gonzales already voted yes in the Judiciary committee)
303-866-4862
julie.gonzales.senate at state.co.us  (

Senator Bob Rankin
303-866-5292
bob.rankin.senate at state.co.us

Senator Jerry Sonnenberg
303-866-6360
jerry.sonnenberg.senate at state.co.us

On 5/30/21, Dan Burke <burke.dall at gmail.com> wrote:
> Good afternoon –
>
> We need calls and emails to the members of the state Senate 
> Appropriations Committee this weekend, and we need lots of them.
>
> HB21-1110, Colorado Laws for Persons with Disabilities was not passed 
> by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Friday. Unexpectedly, it was 
> “laid over” by the committee. That means it is in limbo, but all to 
> likely it could be dead, and it appears for lack of $331,000 in 
> funding. (Previously, I said the amount was just over $600,00, but 
> that was incorrect. It isn’t even that much!)
>
> Our friends at the Colorado Cross-disability Coalition (CCDC) have 
> been skillfully shepherding this bill through the legislature, 
> obviously with strong support and testimony from the NFB of Colorado 
> and many other disability organizations in the state. CCDC’s Executive 
> Director Julie Reiskin on Friday put out a call to action to save this 
> legislation. Here’s part of what she said:
>
> “Suddenly HB 21-1110 was laid over.   Apparently, they have already
> spent the $48 million for legislative priorities that we were supposed 
> to be part of...I am not sure what the answer is but this is not
> acceptable.   They did not even tell our sponsor!!    PLEASE GET THIS
> ALERT OUT FAR AND WIDE IMMEDIATELY... it is less than $350,000 in a 
> year where they are spending on all kinds of stuff.”
>
> The House sponsor is Rep. David Ortiz, but now it’s in the Senate and 
> our long-time ally Senator Jessie Danielson is carrying the bill.
>
> And just think of all the stimulus money the state is about to spend.
> And our legislature can’t scrape up $331,000 to fund our access to our 
> government?
>
> This bill brings Colorado’s anti-discrimination Act (CADA) in line 
> with that part of the ADA that addresses the responsibilities of state 
> and local governments to comply with the Americans with Disabilities 
> Act (ADA). Doing so would eliminate conflict and confusion with state 
> law and, if a Coloradan with a disability needs to file a 
> discrimination lawsuit, they can go to the state courts rather than 
> the federal courts – a process that would be cheaper and faster for 
> all involved, hypothetically at least.
>
> But as we’ve discussed here before, this legislation also calls on 
> state and local governments to ensure accessibility in web sites and 
> electronic documents and forms -indeed all information available 
> electronically – and it tells them what standards to follow. This is 
> exactly what we’ve been working toward on the national level as well, 
> so it shouldn’t be a surprise that our President, Scott LaBarre wanted 
> these provisions included in HB21-1110. The biggest part of the
> $331,000 goes to the Office of Information Technology (OIT) to do the 
> work of reviewing web sites, training web managers on accessibility, 
> etc. It’s very clear that this will benefit blind Coloradans the most, 
> so we really need to step up now to help get this through.
>
> What we want to say is simple:
>
> This is Dan Burke. I live in Centennial and I’m a member of the NFB of 
> Colorado. The NFB of Colorado wants you to fully fund HB21-1110. We 
> have a right to access information from state and local governments, 
> and sometimes it is a matter of life and death. This is the right way 
> to use taxpayers’ dollars effectively instead of waiting for 
> litigation - something no one wants to do.  Please act now!
>
> Below are some more points to consider mentioning when you call or 
> write, borrowed from Julie Reiskin’s email:
>
> . *	Coloradans with disabilities are 10% of the voters!, and we have a
> right to full access to government, Including   emergency information,
> sign up to get a vaccine, and know what activities our local library 
> is holding.
> *	This bill will help state and LOCAL government COMPLY.  If we do not
> get this our only choice is to litigate in federal court.  One or two 
> cases will take more than the cost of HB21-1110 in attorney fees 
> alone.
> *	Failure to fund this bill puts the risk on small local governments
> and special districts because they were going to get the OIT support.
>
> Here are the Senate Appropriations Committee Members:
>
> Chair Chris Hansen
> 303-866-4861
> chris.hansen.senate at state.co.us
>
> Vice Chair Dominick Moreno
> 303-866-4857
> dominick.moreno.senate at state.co.us
>
> Senator James Coleman
> 303-866-4864
> james.coleman.senate at state.co.us
>
> Senator Bob Gardner  (already voted yes in the Judiciary committee)
> 303-866-4880
> bob.gardner.senate at state.co.us
>
> Senator Julie Gonzales already voted yes in the Judiciary committee)
> 303-866-4862
> julie.gonzales.senate at state.co.us  (
>
> Senator Bob Rankin
> 303-866-5292
> bob.rankin.senate at state.co.us
>
> Senator Jerry Sonnenberg
> 303-866-6360
> jerry.sonnenberg.senate at state.co.us
>
>
>
> --
> Dan Burke
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Colorado Legislative Co-chair
>
> President, NFB of Denver
>
> "Blindness is not what holds you back.  You can live the life you want!"
>
> My Cell:  406.546.8546
> Twitter:  @DallDonal
>

--
Dan Burke

National Federation of the Blind of Colorado Legislative Co-chair

President, NFB of Denver

"Blindness is not what holds you back.  You can live the life you want!"

My Cell:  406.546.8546
Twitter:  @DallDonal

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