The Senate's new Republican leader called on his colleagues today to move fast in adopting a plan touted by Republicans to leverage state government assets so they can shore up the state's ailing transportation network.

Senate GOP chief Josh Penry, of Grand Junction, in remarks to senators on the 67th General Assembly's opening day, also called on peers in both parties to undertake a thorough review of "onerous and overreaching" new regulations on energy exploration that he said will kill jobs and undercut production.

In his first address to the Senate as Republican caucus chief, Penry urged lawmakers to put partisan differences aside and focus their efforts on fixing the state's roads and bridges.  Penry said transportation funding should be the legislature's "first order of business." 

A day earlier, Penry had joined House GOP leader Mike May, of Parker, in announcing a proposal to fund Colorado's critical transportation infrastructure needs without new taxes or onerous fees.  The plan would make use of existing equity in government assests, such as buildings, to borrow the much-needed cash to repair and maintain Colorado's roads and bridges.  Penry and May pointed to many other state and local governments who used the same to fund large capital construction projects.

"Under the arcane rules of our budget, our roads and bridges receive the last dollar of General Fund when times are good, and they are the first funding victim when times turn bad," Penry said. "Let’s not use a bad economy as an excuse for continuing to treat our roads and bridges as a second-class budget priority."

After outlining the Republicans' transportation plan in front of the full Senate, Penry stressed that he and his fellow lawmakers should strive to avoid the partisan bickering that has cripppled the legislative process in the past.  He said concerns about Colorado's roads and bridges are simply too urgent to neglect another year. 

"We believe strongly in the approach I have just outlined, but we know that Governor Ritter, Senator Gibbs and Senator Romer, and Representative Rice and Representative McFadyen and many others have ideas of their own.  And we welcome those and the opportunity to work together in good faith," Penry said. "But let’s not wait for January to become February to become the waning hours of the session before we forge a transportation agreement."

"Let’s do it now, in the opening hours of these 120 days," Penry added.  "Let’s show that government can make positive change – and quickly."

Penry also urged the senators to take a bipartisan approach when reviewing the Ritter administration's new natural-gas regulations.  He said that the General Assembly shoud focus its energy and efforts on creating jobs and that the energy sector provides too much employment in Colorado to be alienated. 

"Some of these new rules are warranted, but a handful of onerous and overreaching provisions are not – they will conspire with broader economic forces to kill jobs and reduce energy production at a time when Colorado – and America – need a lot more of both," Penry said.

He also cautioned against looking to massive fee and tax hikes.  Penry pointed to the budget crisis in New York, where Democratic Gov. David Patterson proposed 137 new taxes and fees, introduced on everything from iPods to Coca Cola.

"I’m not here to say we are going to vote against every fee that comes along no matter what; there are many government services where a user-pays fee-based system is appropriate and fair," Penry said. "But as the first Senate Republican leader to own an iPod, and as a dad who needs an occasional Mountain Dew  because his daughter kept him up all night, count me as a NO vote on both the iPod fee and a fat tax."

 "And you can also count Republicans as a NO against the budget if it relies on new taxes and big fees to spare government from making the tough choices it needs to balances its budget," Penry said.