PERA board backs transparency bill — with reservations
Plus: Who Michael Bennet is bringing to the SOTU. Poll tests voter opinions on Denver Public Schools.
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The state pension board Friday voted to endorse a measure moving through the legislature that would impose new transparency and governance rules on the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association.
“I think it’s critical that we embrace this conversation,” board chair Taylor McLemore said during the meeting. “Transparency is a core piece of how government functions in our nation at every level, from the highest to the local. It’s critical around accountability, public trust — also, informed participation. The more we share, the more our stakeholders and our members, who we are responsible to, can participate and give us feedback, and that’s actually really valuable.”
But even as they voted to formally support the bill, board members said they weren’t happy with much of what’s in it.
During Friday’s meeting, several trustees objected to a provision in Senate Bill 147 that would impose term limits on PERA’s 16-member board. Some even said they favored term limits in general — just not for PERA, fearing a loss of institutional knowledge. PERA’s board is tasked with overseeing a $62 billion investment portfolio, but few of its members join the board with formal experience in finance, let alone managing a public pension of its size.
Their complaints are unlikely to find a sympathetic audience among state lawmakers, who have been subject to term limits for decades. But Tim O’Brien, the Denver city auditor who is serving his fourth term on PERA’s board, pointed to the legislature as a cautionary tale for how term limits might work in practice.
“It has changed, I think, some of the power structure away from legacy (lawmakers) and more towards the lobbyists and the staff,” O’Brien said. “So for us, if this is enacted, I think it will really put more responsibility on the staff to make sure that the trustees are up to date, up to speed, and doing the job they have to do.”
The bill would limit members to two consecutive four-year terms, but if they took a hiatus from the board, they could serve for two more terms after that. PERA officials said the provision is intended to only apply going forward, rather than retroactively, meaning long-tenured members like O’Brien could serve an additional two terms even if the bill becomes law.
Board members also took issue with a section that would define the board of trustees as a “local public body” under the Colorado Open Meetings Law.
The bipartisan supporters of the bill have said PERA should be held to the same transparency standards as the local government agencies they serve. But, board members argued, defining PERA as a local body rather than a state one could actually make PERA less transparent.
At the local level, public meetings are defined as gatherings of three members of a public body, while at the state level, a policy discussion between two people can constitute a public meeting. (Notably, the state legislature exempted itself from the same provision last year, arguing that the ability to have candid, one-on-one conversations out of the public eye can actually lead to better governance.)
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“A PROPONENT OF TRANSPARENCY”
Rather than take an “amend” position — a formal signal to lawmakers that they want to see changes to the bill — the board voted overwhelmingly to support the bill at the urging of its staff.
“I feel like in order to demonstrate a willingness to embrace transparency, we recommend a support provision,” Andrew Roth, PERA’s executive director, told the board Friday.
The bill appears to be on a fast track to passage. It passed its first hurdle, the Senate Finance Committee, with a 9-0 vote in support.
Nonetheless, two board members — Lou Fletcher, a school district facilities director, and Ashley Smith, who works at state insurer Pinnacol Assurance — voted against endorsing the legislation, arguing that the board should push for changes instead.
Fletcher objected in particular to a requirement that PERA members be able to contact their board members via email. Currently, PERA’s website provides no way for members to reach their elected representatives directly; instead, it lists only a generic email address that is monitored and replied to by PERA staff.
“I’m not an opponent of transparency. I’m actually a proponent of transparency,” Fletcher said. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea for individual board members to be answering questions in isolation, because that will be interpreted as making policy for the board. Also, when those things come out, that’s how they end up in the press.”
Others appeared to view their role differently.
“I believe it is my responsibility as a PERA trustee to at least engage as much as I can with the membership,” said Julie Friedemann, retired math teacher who said she hears frequently from PERA retirees and the state teachers union. “At times, it is not pleasant, but that is what my commitment is.”
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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK
THE DENVER POST: Denver mayor ready for face-off with congressional Republicans — including Lauren Boebert — over immigration
MICHAEL BENNET’S SOTU GUEST
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet is bringing a former U.S. Forest Service worker to the quasi-State of the Union address as his guest. (Technically, Trump’s speech is not a formal SOTU address, which happens in January. It’s just an address to a joint session of Congress.)
Jamie Werner worked out of the White River National Forest Supervisor’s Office in Glenwood Springs, where she managed recreation infrastructure and restoration projects. Werner lost her job as part of the Trump administration’s federal workforce cuts.
“I, like so many others I know, joined the Forest Service to serve the American people, to steward the public lands we all care so much about, and to contribute to the economic, physical, and mental well-being of our local communities,” Werner said in a written statement. “Another major reason I wanted to join the White River National Forest was to work alongside its exemplary staff. These are dedicated, committed, passionate, intelligent people who have chosen a path of civil service, and even when facing shortfall after shortfall in staffing and funding, they continue to show up every day and find creative ways for our forest to thrive.”
At least 90 USFS staff in Colorado were among the 3,400 members of the agency laid off last month by the Trump administration.
Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans’ guest will be Liz Hardy, whose 25-year-old daughter died of a fentanyl overdose in 2022. Hardy appeared in a Congressional Leadership Fund ad attacking Evans’ 2024 opponent, Democrat Yadira Caraveo, over Caraveo’s votes on drug and immigration policy.
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YOU HEARD IT HERE
The measure went before the House Finance Committee on Monday evening. After five hours of testimony, it was laid over Tuesday at about 1 a.m. to a date uncertain so that amendments could be worked on.
No votes were taken.
Valdez, at the beginning of the hearing, said he planned to change the bill so tipped workers in Boulder wouldn’t see a reduction in their base pay and to halve the reduction in base pay for tipped workers in Denver. The amendment was never voted on, however, amid confusion about the amendment among members of the House Finance Committee.
Read more about the measure here.
THE POLITICAL TICKER
GUN TAXES
Colorado House Republican leaders Monday objected to a measure that would begin implementing Proposition KK, the excise tax on firearms that Colorado voters approved in November.
But while opposing taxes on guns is a bread-and-butter political issue for Republicans, it also left them in the uncomfortable political position of defending a vote against funding services for military veterans. House Bill 1132, which passed a preliminary vote on the chamber floor Monday, would set up the grant program needed to steer $5 million of the new taxes to veteran mental health services.
“We deeply respect the will of the voters, but we cannot ignore the fact that this funding comes from a tax that fundamentally violates Second Amendment rights,” House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, a Colorado Springs Republican said in a statement. “Veteran services should be a priority in our state budget, not tied to a revenue stream that penalizes law-abiding citizens for exercising their constitutional rights.”
Keep in mind: while most Coloradans supported Proposition KK — it passed with 54% of vote — that wasn’t the case in most Republican-led districts. Some 43 counties voted against the tax increase, according to official election results.
AURORA
Republican Amsalu Kassaw, who was born in Ethiopia, announced Monday that he is running for reelection to the at-large seat on Aurora City Council that he was appointed to after the resignation of Dustin Zvonek.
Kassaw works at the GEO Group, the private detention contractor that operates an immigration detention facility in Aurora.
“I’m honored to be not only a voice for the growing Ethiopian population, but the many immigrant and diverse communities that proudly call Aurora home,” Kassaw said in a written statement. “These families and residents deserve a safe and vibrant city that continues to create opportunities for all to succeed, which is why I am running.”
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
Gov. Jared Polis says the Trump administration is not adhering to a court order prohibiting the federal government from pausing, freezing or otherwise impeding the disbursement of federal financial assistance to states.
The governor’s office said the state is missing $69.5 million in public safety grants it is owed by the federal government.
“The state will do everything it can to bridge the gap in funding and ensure that it receives the funds Congress authorized for communities throughout Colorado,” Polis’ office said.
READ MORE
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DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Poll tests voter opinions on Denver Public Schools, including teacher pay and certain board members
A new poll circulating in Denver is testing voter opinions of the city’s school board.
It’s unclear who is behind the survey, but here are some of the questions participants were asked:
Esserman is up for reelection this year, while Youngquist isn’t up for reelection until 2027.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
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