Dear Colorado Progressive Coalition Members and Friends:
Thanks for your continued support and work to advance economic justice in Colorado! We wanted to share with you some quick updates regarding legislation to stop predatory lending with payday loans and to restore the State Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for low-income working families. The only way we can win on these issues is to build our power!
The Payday Lending Reform bill, HB 1310, which would cap the interest rate and fees charged by payday lenders to stop predatory lending, barely passed through the state House by only two votes!!! We need to hold our state Senators accountable to this issue to make sure that HB 1310 becomes law!
Please call the state Senators listed below and tell them to support HB1310. These senators haven't yet committed to support the bill, and we need to put pressure on them! Payday lenders must stop exploiting low-income working people in their most vulnerable times!
Senator Paula Sandoval 303-866-4862
Senator Lois Tochtrop 303-866-4863
Senator Steve Johnson 303-866-2586
Senator Gail Schwartz 303-866-4871
After months of grassroots actions to restore the state EITC, Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff has decided to include it in his economic development package to be introduced later this month. We need to continue to put grassroots pressure on our legislators to ensure that it passes into law!
Here are some upcoming actions that you can get involved with to help restore the state EITC:
1. Walk-A-Mile March. Monday, March 17th at 10:30am. First Unitarian Church at the corner of 14th and Lafayette in central Denver. This is your chance to walk in solidarity with other community who believe that it is time for state officials to support working families. We will be marching to the State Capitol while carrying signs and hearing the voices of former and current EITC recipients. Please join us and stand with working families.
2. EITC March Activist Training. Saturday, March 22nd from 10am to 3:30pm. Rights for All People (RAP) office, 3131 14th Ave, Denver, CO or the intersection of 14th Ave and Federal. Please join us for a fun filled day of interactive workshops and information sharing. We will be going cover basic media and lobbying skills that you can use to make a difference in our campaign! Also, this will serve as a great opportunity to learn more about the state EITC and how it will directly impact families. Meals and childcare will be provided. ASL and Spanish interpretation is available upon request. Please RSVP with Claudia Ahwireng at 303-866-0908, or claudia.ahwireng@gmail.com.
3. "EITC Wednesdays." Phonebanking every Wednesday in the month of March. March 5th, March 12th, March 19th, and March 26th from 6pm to 8pm. Come and phonebank with us at the CPC office, which is located at 1600 Downing St, Suite 210, Denver, CO. This is a great way to contact local community members and urge them to get them involved with the campaign to restore restore the EITC. We will provide you with an easy-to-follow script as well as dinner. Also, you can use this as an opportunity to meet more Colorado activists. Please RSVP with Claudia Ahwireng at 303-866-0908, or claudia.ahwireng@gmail.com.
If you want to know more about any of these events or if you can assist the campaign in other ways, please contact us at 303-866-0908. We look forward to seeing you at these exciting community events and will keep you posted with campaign updates!
Sincerely,
Jessie Ulibarri Claudia Ahwireng Corey Baker
Colorado Progressive Coalition Economic Justice Team |
