State Representative Sue Schafer

2013 Legislative Summary

Sue’s 2013 Prime Sponsored Bills

• SB13-111 Mandatory Reporting of Elder Abuse establishes greater protections for persons 70+ by requiring professions in regular contact with the elderly to report physical or financial abuse to the police/department of human services.
• SB13-011 Civil Unions bill grants important legal protections and responsibilities to LGBT couples, making families stronger and communities more inclusive.
• SB13-153 Farm-to-School Task Force continues its work to develop methods of bringing fresh, healthy, locally-grown Colorado ranch and farm products to lunch rooms in our schools.   These methods will improve child nutrition and grow local economies.
• SB13-213 reforms our outdated school funding formula. It will only be enacted if voters approve an initiative this November to fund the reforms, and it will benefit every school district in Colorado, including Jeffco.

 Sue’s 2013 Co-Sponsored Bills

•  HB13-1001 Advanced Industries Acceleration Act promotes the growth of Colorado’s advanced industries such as manufacturing, aerospace, bioscience, electronics, information technology, and infrastructure engineering by making grants available to businesses, creating high-tech jobs.
• HB13-1002 increases funding for Colorado's Small Business Development Centers that assist entrepreneurs in learning how to grow and develop their business ideas into a successful, job-creating businesses.
• HB13-1003 Economic Gardening Pilot Program helps mid-level businesses streamline their business strategies and grow to the next level, putting more Coloradans to work.
• HB13-1008 Hiring Preference for Disabled Veteran’s Spouse extends state jobs hiring preferences to the spouses of veterans who have a service-related disability that prevent the veterans from working.
• SB13-266 improves our mental health system by creating a Coordinated Behavioral Health Crisis Response System that includes a 24-hour crisis hotline, walk-in crisis services, crisis stabilization units, mobile crisis services, and a public information campaign.
• HB13-1271 begins to make important reforms to our child welfare system by creating a hotline system for child abuse reporting.
• HB13-1295 Marketplace Fairness authorizes the State to collect sales tax from online retailers.  This bill puts local Colorado brick and mortar businesses on a level playing field with out-of-state, online retailers and is estimated to increase revenue by $73.6 million by 2015.
• HB13-1303 makes voting more accessible for all Coloradans and less expensive to administer. It also strengthens protections against voter fraud.
• Gun Safety Legislation: Several bills passed for community safety that reduced criminals’ access to deadly weapons while maintaining law-abiding citizens’ rights to own firearms.  Changes include background checks for firearms purchases, a limit on the size of magazines, and prohibiting perpetrators of domestic violence to access firearms.
• SB13-001 creates a permanent refundable Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit for low-income working families. The EITC credit only go into effect if one of the quarterly economic forecasts in the next three years predicts an increase of $100 million while the Child Tax Credit is triggered by the passage of the federal Marketplace Fairness Act.
• SB13-033 Colorado ASSET offers in-state college tuition rates to all Colorado high school graduates regardless of immigration status so that all Colorado kids have an opportunity to go to college and become leaders.
• SB13-252 increases the renewable energy standard for Colorado’s rural electric cooperative associations from 10 to 20% by 2020.  The maximum allowable customer cost increase would be 2%.

Sue co-chairs the Bipartisan Economic Vitality Caucus, a gathering of legislators from both parties and leaders in the business community that explores policy ideas for improving Colorado's economic environment. In the 2013 session, Sue served on the House Public Health Care & Human Services committee in addition to being named co-chair of the House Health, Insurance & Environment Committee. Click here for more information on Sue's experience.

Sue has earned support and accolades from groups as diverse as the Colorado Economic Development Council, the AFL-CIO, CO Conservation Voters, the CO Women's Bar Association, Jeffco Public Health, NARAL Pro-Choice, and One Colorado.  Click to see a full list of Sue's honors and endorsements.

Sue's Mission

Sue pledges to continue working on solutions to reduce unemployment and promote the creation of good-paying jobs. She believes strongly in the need to provide for a stable funding stream for K-12 and higher education to support learning at all ages and stages in life. She is committed to moving forward with initiatives like the Colorado Healthcare Benefit Exchange to ensure access to quality and affordable health care for all Coloradans. Seniors and elders in House District 24 have an advocate and champion with Sue's knowledge of seniors' needs.

Sue's Priorities as State Representative

• Creating good jobs to put Coloradans to work and strengthen the economy
• Improving the funding and quality of public education
• Increasing access to quality health care and preventative services
• Promoting the use of renewable energy and a multi-model transportation system
• Ensuring equal opportunity and civil rights for all people
• Promoting gun safety while respecting Second Amendment rights

Sue strives to address the everyday issues impacting her constituents. In order to better serve House District 24, she welcomes your feedback. Contact Sue at sue@sueschafer.com or call 303-866-5522.