Last month, The New Falcon Herald featured county commissioner Amy Lathen, who is running for another term representing District 2, and information on Amendment 64 and county term limits. This month, we feature Amy Stephens, up for re-election as the state representative for District 19, and Karyna Lemus, who is opposing Lathen in her run for county commissioner.Colorado House Majority Leader Rep. Amy Stephens is up for re-election this Tuesday, running for her fourth term.Jobs are the No. 1 issue in Colorado, Amy Stephens said. ìIt must be our top priority,î she added. ìColorado ranks third in the nation in attracting technology companies, and thatís good, but we want to continue to bring in more high-tech business. Membership in the Colorado Tech Association is increasing. We have repealed some online taxes, and thatís beneficial to tech business growth.îStephens added there is more work to do on tax reform for businesses.She cited Texas, Utah and California as the biggest competitors for high-tech businesses.On the topic of energy, Stephens said Colorado is ìpoised to be an energy epicenter.îìThe production of oil and gas will provide thousands of jobs in our state,î she said. ìNew technology, such as horizontal drilling, has proven to have low impact on the environment.îEPA regulations have been an obstacle to domestic energy production, Stephens said. ìWe continue to ask the question, ëWhy arenít we drilling?íîIn 2011, Stephens sponsored Senate Bill 200, the Colorado Health Care Benefits Exchange, which established a health insurance exchange required by the Affordable Care Act. She said the bill is still in the planning phase.ìThe technological pieces are being put into place, but we are ahead of other states,î Stephens said. ìThis will be a Travelocity model (Internet travel service), allowing citizens to choose from a list of options for coverage and prices, based on age, health and income. The exchange will provide choice and competition among individual and small group plans.îStephens said it will be a ìconsumer driven program,î similar to purchasing a car or home insurance. Consumers will also be able to find out if they are eligible for Medicaid or federal subsidies for insurance. The availability of health care in rural areas is a challenge, Stephens said.ìWe are looking to employ Skype models, especially in rural areas; and possibly roving trucks to provide better and easy accessibility to doctors,î she said.The exchange has bipartisan support, she said. But long-term funding after the federal grant ends needs to be addressed.ìColorado can do a better job with our own health care than the federal government,î Stephens said.Because of redistricting, Stephensí district is much larger now. ìThe number of schools in the district is double now,î she said. ìWe are planning several town hall meetings throughout the area.îStephens also talked about education in Colorado. ìI am especially excited about the choices in education brought on by new technology, which will benefit all schools, but especially schools in the rural areas.îColorado is one of five states involved in a pilot program initiated by Wireless Generation, an Internet company owned by News Corp, which has invested $180 million through its Amplify Education program, Stephens said. The latest project is a partnership with AT&T to develop programs on math and science. The program was explained in a Sept. 24 article in the Huffington Post.ìAmplify and AT&T will fund a pilot project that will put tablet computers in students’ hands in the coming school year. None of the schools selected to participate will have to pay for the program; profits will come down the road. Students will use the tablets at school and home, and the system will track their progress and tailor lessons to each student’s level. The National Venture Capital Association says investment in education technology companies nationwide shot up to $429 million in 2011 from $146 million in 2002.îStephens has always been a proponent of school choice. ìWhether that choice is public school, private school, home school or charter school; it should be up to the parents to decide what is best for their children,î she said.Transparency in government is also a priority. ìAt the state level, we have put the budget online to provide more transparency,î Stephens said. ìChannel 64 is providing live streaming of committee hearings ñ citizens can hear the actual debates.îStephens is strongly opposed to Amendment 64 to legalize marijuana. ìI think it would be a major health risk to children (being) around adults who are using marijuana,î she said.Another of her concerns is student loan debt. ìIt is the next bubble we will see in our economy … similar to the housing bubble, and we cannot ignore its potential effects,î Stephens said.She addressed the ìwelfare to workî debate. ìI believe there should be work requirements for those receiving welfare, but we have to create more jobs and get the economy going to make it work,î Stephens said.Editorís note: Opposing Stephens is the Libertarian Party candidate, Alan Bassett; and the American Constitution Party candidate, Timothy Biolchini. Neither returned phone calls from the NFH.
