DENVER – Below is the transcript of Colorado Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen’s (R-Monument) speech on the opening day of the Second Regular Session of the 74th General Assembly.
“Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Coloradans, thank you for being here. Dear Colleagues, and I use those words with consideration, welcome back, it’s good to see you.
Please join me, if you would, in extending a special welcome to Yemi Mobablade, the mayor of Colorado Springs, Olympic City USA and the permanent home of US Space Command. Thank you colleagues. I notice that Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, former Congressman, is here as well. Mayor Coffman.
We now return to the very specific and very special business of legislating–creating the laws that govern our society, control our state government, and hopefully make the people of Colorado more free, to live the lives they choose, and pursue the dreams to which they aspire.
As we gather here with our aspirations for the policies we are eager to champion, it is critically important we be actively attentive to the perspectives of the people who sent us here with the expectation that we would serve them– and this is an echo in many ways of what the President just said– as the temporary custodians of the sovereignty they inherently possess. A sovereignty that gives them authority to master and control their government in the grand experiment of representative democracy we call America.
In this chamber, it is not our business to raise armies, secure the nation’s borders or launch a navy. But that makes the work we do in the next 119 days no less important in the lives of the people we represent. In fact–because the work we do is physically closer to the homes and businesses of Coloradans and it is meted out with local specificity it may in fact be more important.
A word before I move on to policy about how we do that business. Decorum is fundamental to the success of our work, and fundamental to achieving the goals created in representation the sovereignty of the people whom we represent. We must be able to bring disparate conflicting ideas together in a way that is rich with the values presented, and equally rich in respect for the process in the people in whom we engage with that process. The question is, will the noise and obstreperous behavior outside this chamber influence us? Or will we influence, for the better, the noise and challenging behavior outside this chamber?
I would say today, we have already heard echoes of that, and the positive potential influence of this chamber. We heard noise in the house gallery and noise in the rotunda, appropriate in some ways, at the edge of decorum in others. And we heard a homily and prayer presented side by side from a Rabbi and an Imam in this chamber.
I would echo many of the comments that the President has just said about how we conduct ourselves, and I would pull from this speech two words: civility, in our engagement with each other, and integrity in our engagement with each other. Mr. President, again, I thank you for your comments.
Recent reports have given us a stark reality check, painting a picture of Colorado that we cannot afford to ignore.
Just a short time ago, we were ranked by a popular business network (CNBC) as the 4th best place to do business in the nation, but now we find ourselves slipping to the 11th spot. Our state’s cost of living has received a dismal D+ rating, and the inflation rate for food has reached levels not seen since 1979, and I graduated from high school in 1977– that was a long time ago.
The statistics are daunting: the price of flour is up 22%, rice and cheese up 20%, and essential items like milk, ground beef, bread, eggs, and coffee beans collectively up 35% in just five years. These numbers represent not just statistics, but the daily struggles of our fellow Coloradans.
Among other challenges, the cost of living is driving our residents away. Denver, once known for its growth and prosperity, witnessed the 9th highest outflow of residents in the country between October and December last year. People who have called this state home for generations, are tapping out and leaving because daily life is becoming increasingly unaffordable, frequently at the hands of the policies we produce in this chamber.
The plight of our small businesses cannot be overlooked either. They are straining under the weight of regulations and burdens imposed upon them by this legislature. A recent survey by the Colorado Chamber of Commerce reveals that the cost of living and the lack of affordable housing are the two biggest barriers to recruiting and retaining workforce talent.
An alarming 86% of our state’s business leaders find it more expensive to conduct business in the front range of Colorado compared to other states, primarily due to excessive regulations and mandates.
Affordable housing is fundamental. It’s an issue intertwined with our need to reform Colorado’s construction defects laws. These laws promote litigation, stifling the construction of much-needed for-sale multi-family housing. The solution to affordable housing necessitates hundreds of billions of dollars of investment, which are currently flowing into homes in other states. Initiatives, like Proposition 123 and public policy responses address only a fraction of the problem. We must entice investment back to Colorado, for that is the only way to tackle the remaining 99% of this housing crisis.
Relief, relief, relief! These are the words that should echo in this chamber and resound throughout our state. 65% of businesses in a recent statewide survey are calling for relief from the regulations that create mandates and increase costs, which cascade onto the backs of the people of Colorado with inevitability. We have heard their voices, and we must heed their call.
Colleagues, friends, fellow senators, we are at a crossroads. The future of our state, the prosperity of our people, and the survival of our small businesses are all hanging in the balance. It is our solemn duty to provide relief to the people and businesses of Colorado. We must work together to alleviate the burdens that have been imposed upon them. Let us advance Colorado to a better glory as a thriving state where businesses flourish, families thrive, and dreams are within reach.
I implore you to join us in this call for relief, to act decisively and swiftly to address these pressing issues, and to ensure that the people of Colorado have the opportunity to lead prosperous lives in the state we all love and hold so dear.
Thank you.”