Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Do you drink water out of the sink, out of
the tap or do you drink filtered water bottled water?
This was a burning topic on the show yesterday after
I got what Dragon called sinkwater and put it in
my bottle.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
What do you have against sinkwater? I don't have anything
against the Colorado guys. We have some of the best
sinkwater in America.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
See, this is what I've been saying too. Do you
call it sinkwater tapwater?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I mean, obviously I call it tapwater. I love saying
I might start calling it sinkwater.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Though, just makes me think of toilet water. All right.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
For those just joining the show, this is State Senator
Jeff Bridges. He's vice chair of the Joint Budget Committee,
was chair last year when the Senate had the chairmanship.
He's vice chair now while the House has the chairmanship.
And he's also a candidate for Treasurer and Gina. If
you would please restate your great question to Jeff.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
Curious about some of the other top issues we could
see with the legislative session. Obviously, fighting this budget deficit
is a big one. But I know the AI regulation bill,
the one that was signed by the governor. But now
President Trump is signed an executive order stopping regulations from.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
State to state.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
So does that plan to be back on the agenda
or other issues that look like they could be tackled
in the session.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
I think you know, the budget is and and not
just speaking as a member of the Budget Committee, where
obviously the budget is the most important thing we do.
The budget we do have to cut another billion dollars
again this year. I think that's going to be a
huge focus of not just the Budget Committee's time, but
the whole legislature's time and focus and probably a lot
of the coverage. The cuts that we're going to have
to make are going to be painful. People are going
(01:34):
to feel it, and we're going to do our best
to minimize that pain. But it's it's significant, and it
will be that kind of cut every year for the
foreseeable future because we're at that tabor limit, and just
what that means is that we're going to have to
figure out ways to cut services every year.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
So we can we can dig into that more. I
know your budget boy, but she has a budget question.
The AI the AI one.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Thank you ross definitely going to be part of that
conversation this next year.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Imagine a big piece.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
I think we've we've failed as a legislature if we're
not talking about affordability. That is the most important challenge
facing Colorado's right now, particularly housing. So I know that
we're going to have some bills on ways that we
can build more.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Housing that is more affordable for folks here in the state.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
I'm working on one specifically for teachers across Colorado in
our rural resort communities up in the mountains, just the
you can't if you are a teacher, you cannot find
housing that is affordable. It is a big part of
why we can't have teachers staying in classrooms in the
(02:42):
long term. You know, there's a lot of movement, in
a lot of churn in a lot of these positions.
It's bad for kids, it's bad for our economic future
here in the state.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
We've got to figure out a way to make housing affordable.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Teacher or ski patroller, and what we're seeing with tell
you rat right now, so many people that are just
fighting to stay in these resort towns and just can't
afford it.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Yeah, it's the missing middle, is what it's called. Right,
but especially in a resort communities. You're competing with millionaires
and billionaires for housing, and we have subsidized housing for
low income folks. But these people in the middle of
your nurses, teachers, firefighters, ski patrol folks, they just there's nothing.
There's literally no inventory there that they can afford. So
(03:24):
we've got to try and fix that problem.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Later in the show, we're going to have Christy Burton
Brown on to talk about House Bill twenty four to
ten thirty four Adult competency to stand Trial.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
I'm sure it's an issue that's been very much in
the news.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Where if somebody commits I'm going to oversimplify, if somebody
commits a crime and a psychologist says they're not competent
to stand trial, the charges are dropped in there, let
loose onto the streets. It's a huge problem. I think
most Democrats think it's a big problem. Some people wanted
a special session on it, which didn't happen.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
What do you think is going to happen with this issue?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
This is one where we actually have some federal lawsuits
on this too. We have to make sure that we
are providing folks with the mental health care that they need,
and we need to make sure that people who commit
crimes are being held accountable when they commit those and
if we don't have the beds that we need to
provide the care to get people to a place where
they can stand trial, then that's a place that we
(04:19):
need to invest because just letting folks back out who
have those behavioral and mental health issues, who are going
right back into a place where they're going to commit
some kind of crime. Again, it's dangerous for the people
of Colorado and a place that we have prioritized in
the past, and it's a place that we're going to
keep prioritizing.
Speaker 4 (04:39):
Do you see Democrats actually taking action and changing this law,
because obviously Republicans always point at Democrats saying this is
the reason why.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
But do we see it actually because.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
It was passed by Democrats in a way of hoping
that this would be the competency law, and now we're
seeing more and more people being back on the streets.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Is a new law going to be proposed.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
We already have a huge backlog, and this is a
conversation on the Budget Committee every year because we have
a legal obligation to ensure that we are providing these
folks with the care they need to stand trial, and
this is it's a huge cost as well. So we
were talking about long term care earlier and off air,
Ross and I were talking about what the cost is
(05:19):
to provide care for these folks.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
It's five billion dollars a year in total funds. Fifty
percent match from the Fed.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
So it's two and a half billion dollars from our
general fund, our sixteen point five billion dollar general funds.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
So it's a sizable portion just.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
To be sars. That's for the state. That's not for
a criminals needing companies, right.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Sorry, right, So this is for those folks, the long
term care that we were talking about earlier, folks with
montal developmental disabilities at home, not folks that are committed crimes.
These folks, it's one hundred thousand people, and it's five
billion dollars a year that we're spending. That's about I mean,
it sounds large, but it's about fifty thousand dollars per person.
(05:57):
That is far below what it costs revived competency care
for folks who have committed crimes and are unable to
stand trial. So the cost that we we bear as
a state in order to make sure these folks can
stand trial is enormous, and right now in the budget
we're balancing that against the fact that we don't have
(06:17):
the prison guards that we need. We have folks working
over time to the point where they are driving off
the road on their way home and dying because they've
just worked three shifts in a row. We are doing
our best to balance the budget in a way that
is keeping colorad and safe. We continue to invest more
in competency care and at the end of the day
(06:40):
or just these are tough trade offs and tough tough
balancing at first or just throughout.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Out of time here, Jeff, just quick follow up on
this though, And I know that the segments I know.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
And the time flies by, but so I speak at length.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Isn't isn't there something to do with some of these
criminals that at least on a temporary base some other
way institutionalizes them rather than just puts them back out
on the street after they've assaulted somebody. And if they're
not competent to stand trial, it probably makes them more
likely rather than less likely to assault somebody else.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Right, Yeah, that is that's the concern, Right, What is
the likelihood that they're going to go out there and
hurt someone else, and if that likelihood is high, then
we shouldn't be letting him out.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
State Senator Jeff Bridges represents Greenwood Village. He's vice chair
of the Joint Budget Committee. He is candidate for state treasurer.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Do you want to give a website Bridges for Colorado
dot com.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Bridges for Colorado Bridges dot com is a different guy,
great guy, but a different guy.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
Have you ever met him?
Speaker 3 (07:40):
I have not.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
I would love to at some point. He's a little
involved in democratic politics. So my hope is one day,
really Jeff Bridges for Jeff Bridges, the.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Dude for a dude. I think he'd love to meet
you too. I would love it.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Dude for the dude. That would be the campaign poster
of all time. Jeff, thanks for being up early, Thanks
for joining us in studio.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
You bet, Thank you all right, joh
Do you drink water out of the sink, out of
the tap or do you drink filtered water bottled water?
This was a burning topic on the show yesterday after
I got what Dragon called sinkwater and put it in
my bottle.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
What do you have against sinkwater? I don't have anything
against the Colorado guys. We have some of the best
sinkwater in America.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
See, this is what I've been saying too. Do you
call it sinkwater tapwater?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I mean, obviously I call it tapwater. I love saying
I might start calling it sinkwater.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Though, just makes me think of toilet water. All right.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
For those just joining the show, this is State Senator
Jeff Bridges. He's vice chair of the Joint Budget Committee,
was chair last year when the Senate had the chairmanship.
He's vice chair now while the House has the chairmanship.
And he's also a candidate for Treasurer and Gina. If
you would please restate your great question to Jeff.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
Curious about some of the other top issues we could
see with the legislative session. Obviously, fighting this budget deficit
is a big one. But I know the AI regulation bill,
the one that was signed by the governor. But now
President Trump is signed an executive order stopping regulations from.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
State to state.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
So does that plan to be back on the agenda
or other issues that look like they could be tackled
in the session.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
I think you know, the budget is and and not
just speaking as a member of the Budget Committee, where
obviously the budget is the most important thing we do.
The budget we do have to cut another billion dollars
again this year. I think that's going to be a
huge focus of not just the Budget Committee's time, but
the whole legislature's time and focus and probably a lot
of the coverage. The cuts that we're going to have
to make are going to be painful. People are going
(01:34):
to feel it, and we're going to do our best
to minimize that pain. But it's it's significant, and it
will be that kind of cut every year for the
foreseeable future because we're at that tabor limit, and just
what that means is that we're going to have to
figure out ways to cut services every year.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
So we can we can dig into that more. I
know your budget boy, but she has a budget question.
The AI the AI one.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Thank you ross definitely going to be part of that
conversation this next year.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Imagine a big piece.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
I think we've we've failed as a legislature if we're
not talking about affordability. That is the most important challenge
facing Colorado's right now, particularly housing. So I know that
we're going to have some bills on ways that we
can build more.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Housing that is more affordable for folks here in the state.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
I'm working on one specifically for teachers across Colorado in
our rural resort communities up in the mountains, just the
you can't if you are a teacher, you cannot find
housing that is affordable. It is a big part of
why we can't have teachers staying in classrooms in the
(02:42):
long term. You know, there's a lot of movement, in
a lot of churn in a lot of these positions.
It's bad for kids, it's bad for our economic future
here in the state.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
We've got to figure out a way to make housing affordable.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Teacher or ski patroller, and what we're seeing with tell
you rat right now, so many people that are just
fighting to stay in these resort towns and just can't
afford it.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Yeah, it's the missing middle, is what it's called. Right,
but especially in a resort communities. You're competing with millionaires
and billionaires for housing, and we have subsidized housing for
low income folks. But these people in the middle of
your nurses, teachers, firefighters, ski patrol folks, they just there's nothing.
There's literally no inventory there that they can afford. So
(03:24):
we've got to try and fix that problem.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Later in the show, we're going to have Christy Burton
Brown on to talk about House Bill twenty four to
ten thirty four Adult competency to stand Trial.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
I'm sure it's an issue that's been very much in
the news.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Where if somebody commits I'm going to oversimplify, if somebody
commits a crime and a psychologist says they're not competent
to stand trial, the charges are dropped in there, let
loose onto the streets. It's a huge problem. I think
most Democrats think it's a big problem. Some people wanted
a special session on it, which didn't happen.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
What do you think is going to happen with this issue?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
This is one where we actually have some federal lawsuits
on this too. We have to make sure that we
are providing folks with the mental health care that they need,
and we need to make sure that people who commit
crimes are being held accountable when they commit those and
if we don't have the beds that we need to
provide the care to get people to a place where
they can stand trial, then that's a place that we
(04:19):
need to invest because just letting folks back out who
have those behavioral and mental health issues, who are going
right back into a place where they're going to commit
some kind of crime. Again, it's dangerous for the people
of Colorado and a place that we have prioritized in
the past, and it's a place that we're going to
keep prioritizing.
Speaker 4 (04:39):
Do you see Democrats actually taking action and changing this law,
because obviously Republicans always point at Democrats saying this is
the reason why.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
But do we see it actually because.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
It was passed by Democrats in a way of hoping
that this would be the competency law, and now we're
seeing more and more people being back on the streets.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Is a new law going to be proposed.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
We already have a huge backlog, and this is a
conversation on the Budget Committee every year because we have
a legal obligation to ensure that we are providing these
folks with the care they need to stand trial, and
this is it's a huge cost as well. So we
were talking about long term care earlier and off air,
Ross and I were talking about what the cost is
(05:19):
to provide care for these folks.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
It's five billion dollars a year in total funds. Fifty
percent match from the Fed.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
So it's two and a half billion dollars from our
general fund, our sixteen point five billion dollar general funds.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
So it's a sizable portion just.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
To be sars. That's for the state. That's not for
a criminals needing companies, right.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Sorry, right, So this is for those folks, the long
term care that we were talking about earlier, folks with
montal developmental disabilities at home, not folks that are committed crimes.
These folks, it's one hundred thousand people, and it's five
billion dollars a year that we're spending. That's about I mean,
it sounds large, but it's about fifty thousand dollars per person.
(05:57):
That is far below what it costs revived competency care
for folks who have committed crimes and are unable to
stand trial. So the cost that we we bear as
a state in order to make sure these folks can
stand trial is enormous, and right now in the budget
we're balancing that against the fact that we don't have
(06:17):
the prison guards that we need. We have folks working
over time to the point where they are driving off
the road on their way home and dying because they've
just worked three shifts in a row. We are doing
our best to balance the budget in a way that
is keeping colorad and safe. We continue to invest more
in competency care and at the end of the day
(06:40):
or just these are tough trade offs and tough tough
balancing at first or just throughout.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Out of time here, Jeff, just quick follow up on
this though, And I know that the segments I know.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
And the time flies by, but so I speak at length.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Isn't isn't there something to do with some of these
criminals that at least on a temporary base some other
way institutionalizes them rather than just puts them back out
on the street after they've assaulted somebody. And if they're
not competent to stand trial, it probably makes them more
likely rather than less likely to assault somebody else.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Right, Yeah, that is that's the concern, Right, What is
the likelihood that they're going to go out there and
hurt someone else, and if that likelihood is high, then
we shouldn't be letting him out.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
State Senator Jeff Bridges represents Greenwood Village. He's vice chair
of the Joint Budget Committee. He is candidate for state treasurer.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Do you want to give a website Bridges for Colorado
dot com.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Bridges for Colorado Bridges dot com is a different guy,
great guy, but a different guy.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
Have you ever met him?
Speaker 3 (07:40):
I have not.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
I would love to at some point. He's a little
involved in democratic politics. So my hope is one day,
really Jeff Bridges for Jeff Bridges, the.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Dude for a dude. I think he'd love to meet
you too. I would love it.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Dude for the dude. That would be the campaign poster
of all time. Jeff, thanks for being up early, Thanks
for joining us in studio.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
You bet, Thank you all right, joh
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