Station:   KNUS, 710 AM

Show:      Dan Caplis Show

Guests:    Sonnenberg

Link:        http://dancaplis.podbean.com/?source=pb

Date:       January 19, 2015

Topics:   Marijuana,

Click Here for Audio

[The following represents notes and transcribed portions from this interview.  All portions, except where identified as transcribed sections, are paraphrased from the questions and responses between the host and the guest.]

GUEST HOST MICHAEL SCHAUSS:

• National GOP — landslide election, majorities in both houses and we’re talking about gas tax?

COLORADO STATE SENATOR JERRY SONNENBERG:

• Rs need to figure out that Americans are tired of DC squandering their money
• Also in CO
• They’ll lose their position if they’re not careful

SCHAUSS:

• State of CO — where are we now, where are we going.  TABOR — every couple of years it comes up, and average COans love it.

SONNENBERG:

• Goes back to the spending
• We’re lucky with TABOR
  • We won’t end up like CA
  • It’s functioning as intended
  • Refunds: people want to keep it… spend it….
• I view myself as someone who wants to help restoring money in education, but I’m also in favor of cutting back those new programs
  • Expansion of Medicaid
  • I’m still looking for ways we can scale back some of the agreements we’ve already made
    • Sp our budget doesn’t get outlandish and we can afford the projects we’re supposed to do
    • Infrastructure and highways
    • Water projects

SCHAUSS:

• PERA as another example

SONNENBERG:

• Challenge is to figure out what that median is in the long run….
• Many of us want to see growth in PRIVATE sector, not the public sector
• So many dominoes that must fall into place

SCHAUSS:

• Interests of rural areas are not represented at the legislature

SONNENBERG:

• Correct
• Aurora has more legislators than I have counties … One senator for 11 counties
• It’s a daunting task
• It will be run by the populace
• I need to educate around how urban laws impact rural regions
  • Rural areas are home to 2 largest industries
    • Energy development
    • Agricultural
• When you slap rural CO, you impact the economy that eventually funds highway projects, even in urban areas

SCHAUSS:

• Our economy is doing all right now, but a lot of companies are skipping over Colorado.  A lot of what we depend on comes from rural areas…. Yet we’re Denver- centric

SONNENBERG:

• There are a number of issues that are weighing in when it comes to attracting new industry
  • Tax structure… other states around us are creating more lucrative incentives
    • I’m not one to hand out money to businesses
    • But often we have to keep up with neighboring states
    • Our legalization of Marijuana and an inability of companies to find workers that can pass a drug test.
      • O&G industry want employees…
      • Yet people would rather be able to smoke a joint occasionally than work for a living
• Those things make it challenging

SCHAUSS:

• It’s an image thing…. There’s a stigma with CO — everyone wants to know about legal pot.  It’s an image problem.

SONNENBERG:

• No question
• And same here.  People want to know about marijuana
  • How it impacts state
  • They poke fun at us
  • It’s an image I don’t like
  • But the voters wanted it, so we have to deal with it

SCHAUSS:

• Colorado voters are pretty independently minded.  We know from mj and guns … Republican Senate in Colorado can help

SONNENBERG:

• We won’t be able to change much
• Cuz Dems have the House
• We will stop a lot of the garbage that would have been run through had the Dems held the senate.
  • Like rural renewable energy mandates

SCHAUSS:

• SOTU by Obama

SONNENBERG:

• I’m curious
• Not much credence
  • He hasn’t done what he said he was going to do
  • He behaves like my kids
    • Throws a tantrum
    • And then does it his own way

SCHAUSS:

• Obamacare — Colorado is a cool case study… they’re spinning it as a success story.  Premium costs are completely unpredictable… and the cost for the website is runaway right now

SONNENBERG:

• I served on the Exchange audit committee
• A limited audit showed the Exchange is HORRENDOUS
  • They spent their money on Lobbyists, which is illegal
  • They spent on giveaways like chapstick — silly things
  • Yet, no system to determine who is eligible, and who isn’t
• I’m running a bill to run a more extensive audit — expanding the audit from last year
  • Passed the House 64 to one
  • And then the lobbyists came in — to kill the bill in the Senate committee
  • We’re running it again
  • I asked the policy folks,  will you be supportive?
  • It’s a nightmare, it’s a mess
  • Hard to quantify the numbers
• It’s a challenge – huge issues

SCHAUSS:

• IRS doesn’t even know how they’re supposed to be enforcing the Obamacare taxes
• It’s all playing out as we feared

SONNENBERG:

• Perhaps if they’d spent more time to figure out the law as it is
• Instead of targeting conservative groups
• Maybe they’d be more prepared
• I better just shut up… or they’ll be targeting me

SCHAUSS:

• It will be interesting… hope we get the whole audit..  Lends itself to a level of cronyism, inefficiency, and waste.  — not what we want in healthcare

SONNENBERG:

• Exactly — and that’s across party lines
• Granted:  we needed to fix some things
• But we can’t repeal it now,  no going back
• Why is it that everyone wants to come3 to America for healthcare if our system is so bad
• Cuba and Canada suck