THE ISSUES AT HAND
Election Reform
Emily is a champion of campaign finance reform -- she rejects corporate PAC money and has testified at the Colorado capitol for stronger campaign finance laws. Her first bill to pass as an elected Representative was HB19-1007, Contribution Limits for County Offices - which places reasonable limits on county elections which previously had no limits at all. The other major success of the 2019 session was Emily's sponsoring of the National Popular Vote Compact (SB19-042) - an interstate agreement to award electoral college votes for the Presidency to the winner of the national popular vote. Emily will continue to push for a stronger, more vibrant democracy, and fight against the corrupting influence of money in our elections.
Health Care
Emily is a strong supporter of creating a single-payer Medicare-for-All system in Colorado. That's why she introduced HB19-1176 - the Heath Care Cost Savings Act of 2019, which commissions a task force to determine how much Colorado pays for care and how much Colorado could save by transitioning to health care for all systems. Emily has worked on healthcare at the state and federal levels -- and her expertise will continue to be invaluable in crafting legislation that significantly expands healthcare coverage for all Coloradans.
Worker Rights
Emily is fighting for new laws giving workers paid sick and family leave and to crack down on wage theft. She also supports legislation that is designed to strengthen the collective bargaining rights of public and private sector workers, and that will prevent persecution against workers who form unions. Because of her pro-worker agenda, Emily has been endorsed by the Colorado AFL-CIO, the Communications Workers of America, SEIU Local 105, the Pipefitters Local 208 and the Colorado State Association of Letter Carriers.
Education
Emily has a long record of advocacy for public education. She champions initiatives to make education more affordable and equitable, and that focus resources on our neighborhood schools. These include measures to make free pre-K a reality. Emily also supports the goal of free tuition for in-state students at public colleges and universities, as well as increased funding for the Colorado K-12 education system. Emily also introduced HB19-1249, a bill to ensure that schools contracting with professional services are following safe contracting rules, and that barring contractors with a history of unfair labor practices.
Gun Safety
As a legislator, Emily will fight for new laws that ban gun sales to people on the no-fly list as well as to violent felons -- including people convicted on domestic violence charges. She will also fight for laws that mandate universal background checks and prohibit bump stocks and large capacity ammunition magazines. And she will work to stop efforts by the NRA and Colorado Republicans to rollback our existing gun safety laws.
Environment
As the consequences of climate change continue to affect Colorado's weather, air quality, public health, and economic growth, Representative Sirota understands why we need to take action to preserve our environment and our Colorado way of life. So far, she is sponsoring HB19-1188 to give legislators the tools they need to evaluate greenhouse gas pollution for all bills that pass through the legislature. Emily is also a strong believer in local control, and she will fight for new laws that will empower local Colorado communities to more stringently regulate oil and gas development within their midst.
