First Regular Session
Sixty-first General Assembly
LLS NO. R97@0761.01 DFH
STATE OF COLORADO
BY REPRESENTATIVE Pankey;
also SENATOR Wham.
HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT, WELFARE
AND INSTITUTIONS
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 97-1034
WHEREAS, The onset of the Great Depression in 1930
created an acute need for public assistance for the elderly and
for others, as individuals lost homes, livelihoods, and savings;
and
WHEREAS, The first old age public assistance program
in Colorado was created in 1930; and
WHEREAS, Proponents of the Townsend Plan, a popular
national movement in the 1930's to offer persons 60 years of age
and older a pension of $200 per month, believed that genuine security
for elderly citizens could be guaranteed only through a program
written into the state constitution; and
WHEREAS, The Colorado Constitution was amended in
1937 to create the old age pension program based on such proposal;
and
WHEREAS, The General Assembly, in preparing for the
21st century, has analyzed the rapid growth of the elderly population
and its potential implications for the old age pension program;
and
WHEREAS, The General Assembly authorized and funded
an independent study of the old age pension program during fiscal
year 199697; and
WHEREAS, A concurrent resolution, HCR 97 ____,
has been introduced to refer to the voters amendments to the Colorado
Constitution based on the recommendations of that study; and
WHEREAS, At the time of the creation of the old age
pension program, the eligibility age was set at 60 to be commensurate
with life expectancies at the beginning of the 20th century; and
WHEREAS, Life expectancy has increased dramatically
since then, the average retirement age in this country is now
65, and the federal government plans to increase the average retirement
age for social security to age 67; and
WHEREAS, The study concludes that the current age
of eligibility for the old age pension is no longer appropriate
due to increased life expectancies; and
WHEREAS, Because the proposal to amend the constitutional
provisions governing the old age pension program, if adopted,
may affect eligibility of future lowincome retirees, a preretirement
public education program that coincides with the constitutional
changes would allow such persons to more appropriately plan for
their retirement needs; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives
of the Sixtyfirst General Assembly of the State of Colorado,
the Senate concurring herein:
That the General Assembly directs the Department
of Human Services to design and implement a preretirement public
education program for lowincome persons who might be affected
by the proposed changes in the old age pension program, and that
such education program should begin if HCR 97___ is enacted
and referred to the voters and should continue if the voters adopt
the recommended changes to the Colorado Constitution governing
the old age pension program.