Common Sense Unfiltered

As cities, states, the United States, and the international community consider ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the latest episode of the Common Sense Digest focuses on initiatives instituted or under consideration in our own backyard. 
Recently, the state launched its “Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap.” The roadmap outlines potential state actions which would help to comply emission reduction targets set in 2019 legislation, HB19-1261. The overall targets are a 26% reduction by 2025, a 50% reduction by the year 2030 and 90% reduction by 2050, all relative to emission levels in 2005. Currently, state GhG emissions are somewhere between 10% and 15% below 2005 levels, and the latest projections, inclusive of recent policy changes indicate more policy changes will be required to achieve the state’s targets.
Our built environment, including commercial, residential and industrial buildings is now squarely in the sights of regulators and policy makers.To unpack the multitude of initiatives pertaining to the built environment, their costs, the high hurdles that exist to achieve the goals, and more, we have invited Kathie Barstnar, the Executive Director of Colorado Chapter of NAIOP, and Dave Davia, EVP and CEO of the Rocky Mountain MCA. The issue is complex and multifaceted, but as always, thanks to the input of our experts, we hope this episode gives the issue clarity, and provides a dose of common sense. 
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As Colorado once again considers a public option for healthcare coverage, the Common Sense Digest considers and discusses in depth the likely impacts a public option for healthcare coverage would have on our system, our state budget, and our quality and access to healthcare services.
Joining our Host and Chairman Earl Wright are Chris Brown, Director of Policy and Research with the Common Sense Institute, and Sally Pipes, President and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute, whose mission is to champion freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility for all individuals by advancing free-market policy solutions. Ms. Pipes addresses national and international audiences on health care. In April 2018, she received an honorary Ph.D from Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy for her work on health care reform. She has written a multitude of books, written for a vast number of publications, and is an internationally recognized expert on healthcare policy.
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Homelessness is a complex, contentious, and multifaceted issue with multiple causes, and advocates on all sides of the issue advocating for different solutions and approaches. On this edition of the Common Sense Digest, we discuss the homelessness issue in-depth with two people working on it from two very different angles.
Kate Barton is the Senior Vice President, Executive Office and Special Projects for the Downtown Denver Partnership, a fast-moving, forward thinking, non-profit business organization with the foundational belief that every day is our chance to make the city a little better. They also founded The Business Coalition on Homelessness, which was founded in 2019 by the Downtown Denver Partnership and business leaders to bring the resources, leadership, and voice of business together to collectively work with public and private sector partners, stakeholders, and the City to find and deliver solutions to homelessness.
 
Mike Coffman is the Mayor of Aurora, and last month completed a week of living on the street in shelters and in encampments to better understand the issue of homelessness. He shared his experience with CBS Denver and discusses what he learned, the criticism he received, and how he plans to integrate his learnings into addressing homelessness in Aurora on this week’s program. 
 
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had an outsize impact on women in the workforce, resulting in what has been dubbed a “She-cession.” On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Heidi Ganahl, Founder of Camp Bow Wow and SheFactor.She is also a fellow board member of CSI, and a CU regent, as well as Nicole Riehl, President and CEO of Executives Partnering to Invest in Children (EPIC). EPIC is the business community’s nonpartisan voice for early childhood care and education, and has recently launched a new initiative that aims to help solve the child care issue.
 
The two join Earl Wright, our Host and Chairman to discuss entrepreneurship, the rate of women leaving the workforce, early childhood education, motherhood and much more. A robust economy and a full workforce does not happen without vigorous participation from women, and this episode provides insights into what has led us here, and offers recommendations on how we rectify the situation.
 
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A global pandemic and corresponding economic crisis have brought about a time of severe disruption. Business and our way of life have been transformed. While we are faced with unprecedented challenges, we have also been presented with unique opportunities to shape our future with purpose.
 
The Colorado Business Roundtable and Common Sense Institute have provided a forum to formulate and influence public policy through collaboration and research in response to the pandemic’s economic realities called The Colorado Road to Recovery Initiative.
 
On this edition of Common Sense Digest, Chairman and Host Earl Wright welcomes Debbie Brown, President and CEO of the Colorado Business Roundtable, Dave Davia the Executive Vice President & CEO at Rocky Mountain MCA, and Liz Peetz, the Vice President of Government Affairs at Colorado Association of REALTORS®. They discuss some of the recommendations of the Road to Recovery Initiative and provide their thoughts on the health of Colorado’s economy heading into 2021. 
 
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Common Sense Institute wants to ensure you are equipped with as much knowledge as possible as 2020 gratefully comes to a close and we look ahead to 2021. On this week’s episode of the Common Sense Digest, Speaker of the House KC Becker and President & CEO of Colorado Concern join Chairman of CSI Earl Wright to discuss the 2020 Special Session providing analysis on what went well and where opportunities still exist. They then discuss the uniqueness of finding compromise in Colorado in an increasingly polarized world and discuss what the 2021 Legislative Session could look like. 
 
KC Becker is the 39th and current Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives. She is a Democrat representing Colorado’s 13th House District, which includes parts of Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Grand, and Jackson counties. She has represented the district since 2013. Mike Kopp is the President and CEO of Colorado Concern, an alliance of top business executives with a mission of enhancing the Centennial State’s business climate. Mike won a highly competitive race for a Colorado state senate seat and was re-elected to a second term. During his tenure he was chosen by his peers to serve as Caucus Chairman and Senate Minority Leader. 
 
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In the aftermath of Colorado Senate Bill 181, passed in 2019, the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission has undertaken a bounty of rulemakings. Among them is a reconsideration of setbacks from both buildings and wildlife areas.
On this episode of Common Sense Digest, Chairman Earl Wright is joined by Chris Brown, our Director of Policy and Research, who has led many reports on a range of policy and economic issues facing the state of Colorado including measuring the economic and fiscal impacts of Proposition 112, the 2,500-ft setback for new oil and gas drilling that appeared on the ballot in 2018. Also joining is Lynn Granger, Executive Director of API-Colorado, a statewide organization focusing on energy priorities in the state, including hydraulic fracturing and energy infrastructure. They discuss the process of the new rulemakings as well as their potential impacts.
 
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