Front: Gov. John Hickenlooper. Back (left to right): Frances Draper, Tanya Kelly-Bowry, Dr. Kim Hunter Reed, Kachina Weaver, Heather Retzko. (Photo by Casey A. Cass/University of Colorado Boulder)
State higher education performance and funding are at the core of Colorado Senate bill 297 (SB17-297), which Gov. John Hickenlooper signed today on campus.
The University of Colorado was involved in the stakeholder process of the bill, working with the bill's sponsors, the state's Joint Budget Committee, Department of Higher Education and other higher education institutions, to "make sure the bill worked for everyone," says Jia Meeks, CU Boulder legislative liaison.
The bill, known as "Revising Higher Education Performance Requirements," repeals prior statutes on performance-based funding and contracts for Colorado's higher education institutions. It also realigns the performance goals of Colorado's higher education institutions more efficiently with current funding formula objectives.
Left to right: Rep. KC Becker, Tanya Kelly-Bowry, Frances Draper, Kachina Weaver, Rep. Mike Foote, Rep. Jovan Melton, Rep. Edie Hooton, Jia Meeks, Sen. Steve Fenberg, Dr. Kim Hunter Reed, Heather Retzko. (Photo by Casey A. Cass/University of Colorado Boulder)
The goal of the bill is to help ensure the Commission of Higher Education, in collaboration with CU and the state's other higher education institutions, can effectively implement and achieve the statewide master plan goals.
At the ceremony, Hickenlooper also signed Senate bill 305 (SB17-305), House bill 1266 (HB17-1266) and House bill 1354 (HB17-1354). The last time Hickenlooper signed legislation on the CU Boulder campus was in 2014—a bill funding an energy "collaboratory."
CU Boulder's Office of Government Relations is a full-time resource on campus, helping build partnerships between the university and external stakeholders. The office can assist campus community members with inviting state or federal officials to campus, meeting with legislators, fulfilling requests from elected officials, preparing for legislative testimonies and more.
Contact Meeks at jia.meeks@colorado.edu or at 303-492-5526.
