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

Dan Burke burke.dall at gmail.com
Mon May 31 23:12:19 UTC 2021


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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