Noel Ginsburg

TABOR 2.0
It has now been 25 years since Colorado voters passed TABOR, and Colorado is a much different place (we are seeing 100,000 new transplants to Colorado each year). While TABOR may have made sense for the Colorado of 1992, today its funding formulas are outdated.

Since 1992, because of TABOR, the State has been required to return small checks, in amounts of about $10 to $15 per person, to the taxpayers. This has slowly added up to over $2 billion we could have invested in making Colorado stronger for everyone. Funding that could have gone toward supporting our schools, repairing our roads, and modernizing our infrastructure. Currently, again thanks to outdated policies like TABOR, over 50 percent of our school districts—primarily in rural communities—operate for only four days a week. This is in Colorado. In the United States of America. In the 21st Century. This is not who we are.

That’s why I’m proposing TABOR 2.0. Within the first two years of my administration I will ask the voters to remove the outdated spending formulas from TABOR, while keeping in place citizens’ right to vote on any new taxes. As I travel around our state, people tell me they are ready to have an honest conversation about the challenges we face. I know we can make commonsense fixes here. If we show the public we want to be accountable, and that we can have reasonable reforms that make sense for a modern Colorado, we can do it.

Public Education
Education is the foundation on which a strong democracy lies. Democrats and Coloradan’s overwhelmingly support investing in education, but today, the realities of our education system do not reflect that value. We rank 41st in the nation for K-12 education funding,1 and 47th in the nation in funding our higher education institutions2 - we are not providing our children the resources they need to succeed. Colorado is the best place in the nation to live and work, but our children cannot succeed without our support.

As your next Governor, improving Colorado’s public education system will be my top priority. Learn exactly how I will make the changes Colorado's education system needs in my plan: Revitalizing Education through Action and Leadership, a REAL Plan for Colorado.

Today, Colorado is at a crossroads. I believe that every child has the right to a first-class education; regardless of their zip code, ethnicity, or income level. We face great challenges, Colorado’s education system is getting overstretched, and we are feeling the effects.

More than half of Colorado’s schools have resorted to 4-day school weeks3, some out of financial necessity, the state’s schools need an estimated $640 million4 to fix-up crumbling school infrastructure Funding for higher education institutions like CU and CSU is projected to completely run dry within two years, and we are amidst a massive teacher shortage. Colorado will need roughly 3,000 new teachers to fill all of our classrooms.5 The decision the next Governor makes will define what our state looks like for the next 40 years.

Colorado must have a K-12 and higher education plan to support our youth, and ensure we have an education system that trains, and prepares our students to thrive in the 21st century global economy. Ensuring Colorado makes impactful change will require strong and honest leadership, and a fierce dedication to education. I’ve spent my life fighting for these values in Colorado; as governor, I want to make the greatest impacts for kids all across our state.

We must, make improvements across the board - increase teacher wages, help provide teachers the professional resources they need, fight to increase school funding for our kids, reform standardized testing and teacher evaluation methods, and utilize the highly innovative youth apprenticeship system I founded to provide kids on the job work experience, greater access to post-secondary education, and the support they need to dive straight into the middle class and beyond - whether they received an industry credential or a PhD. As a Colorado citizen, business owner, and civic leader, I have been fighting for decades to improve our public education system. These improvements are not empty words - they come with my plan, and my promise to see them through. Learn exactly how I will accomplish this through my plan: Revitalizing Education through Action and Leadership, a REAL Plan for Colorado.

My experience fighting for Colorado’s Education system:

Founder; CareerWise Colorado, a renowned statewide apprenticeship program for high school students. Co-Founder; the Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation Chair of the Denver Public Schools College and Career Pathways Council Past - President of the Denver Public Schools Foundation Member of the US Youth Employment Action Network at the Clinton Global Initiative Volunteer teacher at Montbello High School (2012 - 2014) Appointed by previous Colorado Governor Roy Romer to the National Governors Association School to Work program

Renewable Energy
Colorado is home to the largest number of national research labs in the United States, some of the best research universities, an abundance of wind, water, and sunshine, and an exceedingly skilled workforce.

We have a unique opportunity to lead the nation in clean energy development so all Coloradans can enjoy cleaner air, cheaper electricity, and access to thousands of new clean technology, middle-class jobs - we need a Governor to act on it.

My policies focus on spurring investment in renewable energy development and will expand our innovative green energy economy, protect our state’s natural beauty, and set an example for the nation on how to progress responsibly. It is good economics, good for healthy living, and the right thing to do for current AND future generations of Coloradans. Guided by my goal of reaching 45% renewable energy statewide by 2026 - one of the most aggressive goals in the nation - Colorado will be on a strong trajectory to reach 100% renewable energy.

Doubling Renewables Within 8 Years By the end of my tenure as Governor, it will be my goal for our state to have more than doubled the amount of energy we generate from renewable resources - Colorado averages 22% statewide today - my policy sets a standard of 45% statewide by 2026. This policy, informed by Colorado’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), academics from CU, and environmental experts throughout the state is one of the most aggressive in the nation and will set us on a strong trajectory to achieve a 100% renewable energy future.

On Day 1 as Governor, I will appoint a clean energy industry expert-led “Colorado Commission on Future Electric Development” to develop a statewide energy blueprint that will begin a transition from heavy polluting fossil fuels to clean energy generation, and establish a timeline to reach 100% renewable energy by utilizing solar, wind, geothermal, and storage technologies.

As Governor, I will also appoint Public Utility Commissioners who are renewable energy oriented, with the goal being that any new power plants approved or built in Colorado are based on renewable resources only and that we do not extend the planned lives of current fossil-fuel based electric generation plants. Moreover, Colorado’s electric providers can utilize the savings from cost-efficient renewable resources to accelerate the retirement of expensive, inefficient, and polluting electricity generating sources.

Standing Up to Trump on Energy and the Environment My administration will fight back against the Trump Administration and Republicans in Washington’s attempts to chip away at our environmental protections, by adhering to the principles of the Paris Climate Accord and always standing up for science. Leading the energy transformation from fossil fuels to renewable energy requires fierce leadership and accountability.

My clean energy plan aggressively pursues increased adoption of renewable energy technologies that utilize our natural solar, wind, and geothermal resources to create sustainable energy without raising energy prices for our people. This transition will bring sustainable, high paying jobs to Colorado, revitalize communities where wind and sunshine are abundant, protect the natural resources that make our state so special, and combat the impacts of climate change, to ensure a healthy future for our people and our state.

A Modern Grid Colorado’s electric grid (the poles and wires you see outside) is nearly 100 years old. As Governor, I will push to modernize our grid with innovative 21st century technology so it ’s smarter, more efficient, more reliable, and can handle more renewable resources. Grid upgrades will also attract more high-tech clean energy companies to Colorado, that will generate new clean tech jobs across the state.

Opening Up Our Electricity Market, for More Competition, Consumer Choice, and Lower Prices Colorado is a pioneer state. We are founded on forging new ground, and creating the future that we want to see. The way Coloradans are offered electricity is not consistent with that pioneer mindset. Many of us are offered one provider (the utility), and the electricity we buy is sourced from whatever coal, natural gas, or renewable resources were generating electricity that day. Today, markets across the country have transformed, and it is time for Colorado to at the very least assess what impacts that change would bring to Colorado.

For example, imagine a Colorado where you can decide where your electricity comes from instead of having a choice between two big utilities or no choice at all. Imagine getting solar power from Pueblo, wind energy from the Eastern Plains, and/or continued service from your current utility. This is the reality in 18 states. We can do it in Colorado too.

In addition to studying what impact an electric choice marketplace might have, my administration will work to remove the barriers that block or slow down renewable resource development and adoption, by opening up markets to renewable developers. When Colorado removes barriers to renewable energy development, we can truly spur an economic transformation, driving our economy to be a renewable energy powerhouse, while actively fighting climate change and reducing harmful emissions from our electric sector. Competition among our energy providers will drive down the price of electricity for folks across Colorado, but more importantly, it will give the power of choice back to the consumer, as households and businesses will have broader options for how to purchase and use renewable energy.

Fostering Research Into New Green Technologies I will empower our state research universities to identify and develop scalable, 21st Century technologies, including battery storage, smart grid technology, energy efficiency technology, and renewable resource development technology, to allow for the broad adoption of non-polluting electricity generating sources throughout our state. In addition, I will collaborate with our research institutions to promote and develop high-benefit electricity storage facilities (which store energy when the sun isn't shining and the wind blowing).

Green Job Training and Retraining As Governor, I will link my clean energy plan with a statewide job training and apprenticeship program, to train the next generation of young people in the skills needed to work in wind, solar, and other renewable industries, and to re-train and provide career growth and economic development programs to workers whose jobs and local economies are impacted by the transition to clean energy.

For while energy has been a major economic driver in Colorado in the past, we can keep that tradition going only if we train our people in these new, renewable energy jobs of tomorrow. And these jobs will pay middle-class wages, cannot be outsourced, and will help increase the nation’s security by decreasing our dependence on foreign energy sources.

Universal Healthcare
My vision for a healthier Colorado is driven by one basic principle -- that there is a fundamental right for all Coloradans to have quality health care. Care must be affordable for all individuals, and fiscally feasible for the state. Colorado is experiencing rising healthcare premiums, especially in rural areas where many communities have only one provider. Families receive bills that are thousands of dollars more expensive because a parent drove their child to “the out of network” hospital or the Free Standing Emergency Department (FSED) in their time of need. There is an opioid addiction crisis that has quietly spread across our state, and has become an epidemic that is deeply connected to our lack of treatment for those with mental health disorders (many of which are treatable).

Interstate Compact for Universal Healthcare Colorado faces healthcare challenges across the board, and our existing healthcare system has yet to find a solution that effectively addresses universal coverage or cost. Transparency is an intermediate measure that will help contain costs, but a universal healthcare market shows great promise as a strong long-term fix. I do not believe creating a universal healthcare market at the state level is financially efficient enough, Colorado may end up doing more harm than good for its people if we try to walk that path alone.

That is why I have been working with Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) to create an interstate health care compact between Colorado, California, and other western progressive states to ensure that all our citizens can have affordable, high-quality health care. By expanding the patient pool across multiple states, our public health care system will have more power to lower costs, expand coverage, and improve care for all.

Driving Down Costs of Pharmaceuticals When Colorado partners with other western states to create a regional healthcare marketplace, we will have a share of the healthcare market that is larger than anywhere else in the United States. This will give Colorado and our other state partners negotiating power that exceeds other markets. We will not tolerate medical costs that are unjustifiably high -- we will stand strong in fighting for Coloradans against the criminally high pharmaceutical prices that many residents face, and will begin to cut the cost curve here, where we know there are improvements to be made.

Controlling Costs Colorado’s state health care spending has risen significantly in the recent past. As of 2013, personal health care costs in Colorado had more than quadrupled over the previous two decades. More than 33¢ of every $1 spent in our state goes to healthcare, but our healthcare system does not serve all our constituents well enough. At the current pace, we will bankrupt the state trying to provide care for everyone. Our policy should not focus on putting more money into a broken system, we need to make improvements, and expand coverage to all Coloradans under a system that serves everyone better.

As governor, all policies I support will work towards lowering healthcare costs, and expanding coverage. We must be more efficient with our healthcare dollars, and as Governor, I will utilize new transparency measures to identify major cost drivers, and pursue effective policy that curbs costs while fighting to expand coverage to every single Coloradan.

Increasing Transparency in Colorado’s Healthcare System One common factor among many of our healthcare challenges is a lack of transparency. The majority of us don’t understand why prices for care vary so greatly, what the true cost of care is, or simply, if we are getting a good deal on our health coverage.

This lack of transparency prevents competition between health networks, and enables healthcare corporations to function behind closed doors -- without accountability from the market, or the people -- two pillars of our functioning democracy. When you buy a car, you can compare price, quality, safety record, and more. Coloradans should have the same opportunity to compare relevant information about knee replacements or hip replacements so they can make informed decisions that best meet their needs. Increased price transparency will help our people make informed decisions, will induce competition among health networks (driving down prices), and will give our government a stronger hold on what the main causes of our increasing healthcare costs are, and what policies we can implement to contain those costs.

As Governor, I will push for policy that ensures hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and insurance companies increase transparency around pricing of services and estimated out-of-pocket cost to the patient, so Coloradans can make informed healthcare choices. With initiatives to increase transparency we can create real competition between healthcare networks, drive down costs, improve quality, and expand coverage to more Coloradans.

Opioid Addiction Crisis and Treatment The opioid epidemic has spread throughout Colorado communities like wildfire, someone dies from an overdose approximately every 36 hours. Reversing this epidemic will require thoughtful policy that looks at the whole picture. My first step as Governor will be to create a cabinet level position entrusted with building the coalition across our state to make a difference.

This cabinet will be primarily tasked with finding ways to expand treatment to areas that lack it. Every county with high rates of opioid abuse must have a facility that offers Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT). Second, this cabinet will be tasked with creating a database of treatment options, and nearby facilities that those suffering from addiction can access. Today’s treatment programs largely fail to coordinate with one another. After someone undergoes detox and an initial rehabilitation program, they may be released to a halfway house, or pushed straight back into society. Full recovery requires coordinated treatment plans, recovery does not occur overnight. Colorado could play a vital role in helping those addicted, and their families in understanding treatment options, and in creating a database for those seeking treatment to find options that will help them fully recover from their addiction. Third, this cabinet will be tasked with identifying pilot programs that have proven to be successful in tackling the opioid epidemic. For example, in Routt County doctors reduced opioid usage by 40%, by reducing the number of opioids they were prescribing. This was as simple as giving patients alternative pain management options prior to prescribing opioids. We should explore the expansion of pilot programs like these to make the greatest impact. Finally, Colorado should work with doctors to expand the use of our Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP). This database records prescriptions and helps doctors identify patients who might be doctor hopping to obtain several opioid prescriptions. Current legislation has not worked well enough with doctors to create a system that helps doctors efficiently use the database, and treat patients. I will expect this cabinet to work with Colorado health community to find a collaborative system that ensures this system is used without unduly burdening Colorado’s medical professionals. Mental Health As a state, we must also recognize the importance of mental health care – more than 85% of people suffering from mental health issues can be helped if treated. We need to improve access to and reduce the stigma of seeking help. The impacts of not treating people with mental-health issues fall on families, businesses, schools, first responders, and the criminal justice system. There are several policies I want to pursue as Governor. I believe that mental healthcare and physical healthcare should receive equal coverage. Many of our rural areas struggle to attract enough mental health providers and as Governor, I will look to create incentives that drive mental health providers towards areas of high need. Finally, we must make reforms to our justice system so those with mental health issues get treated, not punished. This will relieve a heavy burden from the taxpayers, and more importantly is the right thing to do.

Improving Care for our Veterans Though the governor of Colorado does not directly control health benefits for our veterans, from urban to rural communities, I continue to hear about veterans struggles to secure high-quality health care. As governor, I will work with our congressional delegation to ensure that Colorado’s leaders in Washington are actively fighting for our veterans returning from combat.

Investing in Infrastructure
Colorado’s infrastructure is crumbling - Noel knows it because he sees it - and so do the people of Colorado. A modern Colorado demands modern infrastructure. Our state’s roads, highways, and bridges are dangerously below safety code and are in dire need of repair. And we are drastically underinvesting in infrastructure. Our state spends $160 million on infrastructure every year. Utah has half the number of roads we do, but they spend $650 million on infrastructure annually. Almost ½ of Colorado’s major roads are in poor condition, making it increasingly difficult to attract new business, get across town efficiently, or avoid car damages. Our underinvestment costs Colorado’s drivers pay an estimated $6.8 billion annually for wasted time, fuel, and car damages that could be avoided with an adequate roadway system, and if we keep ignoring the problem, it will end up costing us even more in the long run.

For too many years, we have vastly underfunded the infrastructure that we all depend on. Our broken infrastructure system has been a burden for both urban and rural Colorado, a problem we will no longer tolerate. Colorado’s population and economy are growing. This growth creates new opportunities and challenges for the next governor, but with Noel’s exceptional leadership, you can be sure that your taxpayer dollars will go to work by helping rebuild Colorado.

As Governor, Noel will ensure the state expands its infrastructure funding to tackle these issues - not only because we need it, but because it will generate economic development and strong job growth across our state. Noel’s plan to invest in Colorado infrastructure will be based on CDOT studies of our infrastructure needs, the state’s revenue generation, and the recommendations of the Statewide Development Board (explained below). With this information, Noel will go to the taxpayer to present the findings, and if necessary, make the case for an investment from the taxpayers in our infrastructure. He will utilize financial tools, and our strong economy to bond projects when appropriate, and in doing so, extend the use of state dollars where possible.

Create thousands of Middle-Class Jobs by hiring Coloradans - Too often, Colorado imports skilled workers to complete our major infrastructure projects. As Governor, Noel will prioritize giving contracts for major infrastructure projects to companies that hire local Coloradans.

Create a Statewide Planning and Development board with members from our transportation, housing, economic development, water, energy, and infrastructure offices, along with leadership from rural Colorado will ensure our infrastructure projects are coordinated across departments and are focused on creating the largest impact for communities across our state. For example, this board can unlock the benefits of affordable housing and economic development by creating mass transit systems that connect residents in affordable housing units to areas of high economic development. As our mass transit systems develop, Colorado can unlock opportunities like this not only within communities but between communities.

Did you know that county transit departments do not have a platform on which to coordinate mass transit or infrastructure projects with one another? Communities like Denver, Highlands Ranch, and Colorado Springs do not have established pathways to coordinate major infrastructure or transit projects. That is why a new statewide development board will help communities unlock new benefit’s for all Coloradans by opening new pathways for collaboration and partnership that will ensure all projects have the greatest impact for Colorado. Make high-speed Internet a reality for every Coloradan in every city and every rural community. It is unacceptable that in 2018, more than half a million Coloradans — many in rural communities — lack access to broadband. Giving them the ability to get online will make it easier to start a grow a business, get a world-class education, farm sustainably and efficiently, and unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in economic potential.

Work to generate new investment in multi-modal mass transit development, and not just in Denver. We must focus on connecting people and commerce to our smaller towns and communities too. For example, building passenger rail from Fort Collins to Trinidad would be an enormous driver of economic development in Colorado. Folks living in Pueblo could still work in Denver, or vice versa.

Improve our clean water infrastructure to ensure every Coloradan has access to reliable, clean drinking water. We can achieve this by following the solutions outlined in the Colorado Water Plan, and by utilizing the Statewide Planning and Development board that Noel is proposing to forge new partnerships between state agencies, communities, water boards, and water utilities to create financial plans that fund the water improvement projects that Colorado needs.

By rebuilding and modernizing our infrastructure and transportation systems, we can solve multiple challenges: creating thousands of middle-class jobs, saving state funding long term, reducing traffic congestion, improving safety, and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. As Colorado’s economy and revenue grow, we will need a governor who creates common-sense policies that generate results - Noel has a history of doing that for education and economic development, he is the best candidate to generate those results for our infrastructure.

Gender Equality
Closing the Pay Gap Colorado has a long way to go in addressing gender inequality. Across occupation, industries, race, and education level, women with full - time year - round jobs make less than men.

Based on median income, women in Colorado make 87 cents for every dollar that men make, which adds up to an annual wage gap of $9,938. The wage gap widens for women of color, with

African - American women paid 64 cents, Latinas 54 cents, and Asian women paid 70 cents for every dollar paid to white men. With this disparity, the women of Colorado lose a combined annual total of $ 14.5 billion a year. To put this in perspective, the average annual wage gap is equal to the full cost of tuition and fees at a two year community college, or about 1 year and three months of food for a family. Since mothers are the primary financial providers for about half of families in the U.S. (81% in the case of African-American mothers), here in Colorado

this is a loss not only for women, but also many thousands of families. If this wage gap were closed, women could afford a higher quality of life, and better provide for their families.

My administration will fight for equality and equal pay for women. Without immediate action, women and men may not reach pay equity until 2059. Colorado cannot wait that long.

Enforcing Equal Pay Legislation There are measures we can take to better enforce pay gap legislation, and make a substantive difference towards closing the gender wage gap. By limiting the legal claims employers can use to justify paying female employees less than their male counterparts, we can close the gender pay gap and ensure that pay differences can only be justified by similar differences in a workers skills, effort, and responsibility. New provisions that would help Colorado enforce equal pay legislation would include:

legally requiring equal pay for employees who perform substantially similar work, eliminating the requirement that employees being compared work at the same establishment, explicitly stating that retaliation against employees who seek to enforce the law is illegal, and making it more difficult for employers to satisfy the bona fide factor other than sex. Protecting Reproductive Rights In addition to addressing the wage gap, it is essential that we protect women’s rights to affordable and accessible birth control/contraceptive care. Not only should women have autonomy over their bodies, but they and their partners should be empowered to enter parenthood responsibly.

Water Conservation
Among the greatest challenges that Colorado faces, is the impending need to use water more efficiently. Our state's population is projected to grow by roughly 4 million people in the next 20-25 years, and the decisions we make today will have impacts spanning generations. Colorado's next Governor must have the leadership, foresight, and ability to turn great plans into action to secure Colorado's water future - I believe I am that Governor.

In 2015 Governor Hickenlooper created the Colorado Water Plan, an extremely thorough plan that outlines what steps Colorado must take to ensure we have the water necessary to sustain life in urban and rural Colorado for decades to come.

The Colorado Water Plan was an “Everything including the Kitchen Sink” type of document that includes plans to secure water for Colorado over the next 30 years. Unfortunately, it did not include a way for us to pay for the sink. Some of the projects and policies that I would support as Governor will require funding from the state, and while our state budget is tight today, we dedicate only a fraction of a percent to water projects. I believe the state can play a larger role in helping water utilities and individual communities finance large-scale water projects (storage, repairing large water infrastructure projects in disrepair, etc.) but perhaps more significant are the projects that the state can help implement within communities and on a statewide level. There are five primary policies that will unlock enormous water savings for Colorado - many of these recommendations are directly from the Colorado Water Plan.

Colorado should invest in water storage infrastructure to ensure in years of heavy precipitation, we can preserve water for years of drought.

In Colorado, we lack a statewide vision that assesses how to strategically balance growth and development across our state to better utilize our resources. Among the most important of these resources is water. Colorado needs a statewide vision that helps communities plan their infrastructure, economic development, transportation systems, land development, and water use to ensure that growth and conservation are not mutually exclusive. Today, we don’t have a holistic statewide plan for development, and I don’t believe that is acceptable. Rather than let growth roll over our state, I believe the state should help communities actively define how their growth will interact with the surrounding environment and natural resources through strategic planning and thoughtful decision-making.

One of the Colorado Water Plan’s primary recommendations was the use of Alternative Transfer Methods, or methods other than diversion projects to get more water from the western slope to the front range. Many of these methods are as simple as creating water banks, or alternative programs that facilitate water leases that could allow water rights owners to lease their water to urban areas without having to forfeit their water rights. As Governor, I will push the state to expand these programs by creating awareness, building a statewide online platform for buyers and sellers of water to do business, and to continue utilizing new alternative transfer methods that allow water rights owners, and our urban centers to partner, and create a solution that works for everyone.

We must utilize innovative technology to use water more efficiently in our urban centers. For example, Cloud-based irrigation systems track live weather patterns, humidity, rainfall, etc.. so our homes can use less water, and enjoy the same results. Technologies like these can reduce water usage by 30%. As our urban centers grow, Colorado can develop policies that ensure new developments, and existing homes have increased opportunities to adopt these technologies. As governor, my policy and tone in the capital will be supportive of these changes.

Colorado must do more to explore the potential for water reuse. Water used in our homes may not be suitable to drink, but in many cases, it can be suitable for agricultural use. I believe the state can do more to work with our farming communities and local water utilities to maximize the life of water while it is in our state.

Supporting Rural Colorado
I believe all voices count, that if our state leaves any community behind, we are not truly moving forward.

We need jobs and economic development not just on the Front Range, but from the Northern to the Southern Mountains, and the Western Slope to the Eastern Plains. Our small and rural communities need to have just as much of a say in our future as any of our cities.

I will be a Governor who seeks ideas from every corner of our state, and I will work strategically with communities statewide to ensure sustainable economic development opportunities that will benefit each unique community.

Legal Marijuana
Since Colorado voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use, our state has been at the forefront of this critical movement and industry. As a candidate for Governor in 2018, I recognize the immense contributions the Marijuana industry has made to our state since 2012 – from job creation, to the strengthening of our real-estate market, to the contributions of tax-dollars to fund our schools and drug abuse prevention efforts. As the Marijuana industry continues to expand in our state, I will work to ensure it is supported by smart regulations that allow the industry to grow, mature, and evolve, while also protecting our citizens. I will partner with other state executives and lead the fight to modernize our federal laws. It is vital that we allow the industry to bank legally and work to remove the crippling financial burdens caused by outdated federal tax-codes.

As the industry continues to expand, I will work to ensure it is supported by smart and safe regulations, that allow the industry to grow and evolve, while also protecting our citizens. It is vital that we allow the industry to bank legally and work to remove the crippling financial burdens caused by outdated federal tax-codes. I will also partner with other Governors to lead the fight to modernize our federal laws, and push back on Jeff Sessions’ attempts to criminalize law-abiding citizens.

Blockchain Technology
Blockchain technology holds potential to modernize our state's operations, revolutionize the way we secure data, improve privacy, and empower government agencies to operate and collaborate far more efficiently than ever before. This technology could become an entirely new industry akin to the internet in the mid 1990s. In partnership with private sector leaders, as governor, I will develop policies that foster blockchain technology development in Colorado to unlock the benefits it offers, and provide the people of Colorado enhanced government services, stronger cybersecurity and reduced cost to the taxpayers. As governor, I will assemble a committee comprised of tech, community, and government leaders to provide guidance on how to most efficiently and effectively deploy blockchain technology in Colorado.^[5]