Rep. Amy Stephens, R-Colorado Springs, and Sen. Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, present the Republican response to Gov. Bill Ritter's State of the State address. Watch or listen to the response here, with a transcript below the fold.

Transcript: Republican response to 2009 State of the State

Hello, I am Representative Amy Stephens from Colorado Springs, Republican caucus chair in Colorado’s House of Representatives.

The 67th General Assembly is convening at a time of economic turmoil and uncertainty, the likes of which few Coloradans have seen before. It is a time when too many of our state’s families are facing the loss of their job or their home. That is why our legislature opened this week on a note of urgency.

We must move fast to do what we can to help our state through these trying times. We must act quickly and deliberately to embrace realistic, practical solutions to the myriad of challenges facing our state. As Republicans, we look forward to working with the governor and the legislative leadership to stimulate our economy and create jobs.

It is critical that we set aside partisan differences and work together.

At the same time, it is equally critical that we avoid imposing policies that will do more harm than good to our state’s already-ailing economy.

In part, that means we must not enact even more regulatory barriers in those areas of our economy that have the greatest potential to lift us out of these difficult times.

For example, Colorado has been blessed with natural resources that not only serve our nation’s energy and security needs but that also have stoked our own state’s economy. Energy exploration is currently one of the few sectors of our economy that are still creating jobs. Yet, new regulations being imposed by the governor include provisions that overreach and will stifle exploration and production of clean, efficient energy like natural gas – killing jobs and making America less energy independent. We urge our colleagues in both parties to review and revisit such regulations to ensure that our state’s most promising and dynamic industries can thrive.

Doing no further harm to our economy also means avoiding the temptation to impose burdensome new taxes and fees.

Yes, our state government’s budget is facing a massive shortfall, that will require tough choices. But many Colorado households are making tough choices of their own, and we are fooling ourselves if we think that we can kick start our struggling economy by balancing government’s budget on the balance sheets of small businesses and the checkbooks of Colorado’s working families.

In other words, a recession like this not the time for the state to impose new burdens on the public. So what kinds of policies should we embrace to get Colorado moving again? Here’s my fellow Republican and counterpart in the state Senate, Mike Kopp.

I am Senator Mike Kopp, from Littleton, Republican caucus chair in the Colorado Senate. There are some important steps the legislature should take to help our state get through these tough economic times—and emerge even stronger than before.

First and foremost, we must address an urgent and dangerous backlog of basic upgrades to our state’s transportation network. The Transportation Department has identified more than 120 bridges in Colorado that must be repaired—now—to ensure the safety of motorists. That could cost hundreds of millions of dollars. And it will cost much more to undertake a broader expansion of our bottlenecked transportation grid to allow our economy to grow as it should. But the first step in solving this problem is to attend to the most pressing problems on our highways: fixing our unsafe bridges.

To accomplish that, Republicans are proposing to put the state’s considerable assets to work—rather than resorting to sweeping tax-and-fee hikes. By leveraging a fraction of the billions of dollars in unused equity Colorado has in its state buildings, the state can quickly and effectively raise the funds needed to fix unsafe bridges. That not only will help grow commerce in our state, but the road construction itself will also put more than a half a billion dollars into the economy employing thousands of Coloradans.

Repairing our roads is not an option; it is a duty of our state government. The state must act and act now. Meanwhile, we also can act to stimulate job growth by lifting some of the burdens on the employers who create our jobs. Republicans are proposing the long-overdue phase-out of the job-killing business personal property tax. We also want to eliminate an outdated surcharge on the state’s businesses. These are among the levies on our state’s employers that discourage them from expanding operations, especially in these economic times when so many small businesses are operating on a margin as it is. These taxes also scare off new business that otherwise might start up in—or relocate to—Colorado.

To be sure, our state and local government budgets are strapped, and it is tough to give up sources of revenue like these taxes. Yet, taxing away jobs seems penny-wise and pound-foolish.

There is another thing we must do to invest in our economy for the longer term: to continue to press the cause of reform—especially standards and choice—in our schools. If our children are unprepared to compete in our changing economy, we won’t have anyone to fill the jobs we must create.

You can rest assured, Republicans at Colorado’s State Capitol will be standing in the corner of the people who create our jobs, who pay our bills and who elect us to office—you, the public. Find out more about our efforts on your behalf at www.coloradohousegop.com and www.coloradosenatenews.com.