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Dylan Roberts
[edit]Dylan Roberts | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Colorado House of Representatives from the 26th district | |
| Assumed office November 13, 2017 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 17, 1989 |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence(s) | Avon, Colorado |
| Alma mater | Boston College & University of Colorado at Boulder Law School |
| Profession | State Legislator, Deputy District Attorney |
| Website | https://www.dylanroberts.org/ |
Dylan Roberts is an American politician and a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from the 26th District, which encompasses Eagle and Routt Counties, Colorado.[1] A member of the Democratic Party, he has represented the state's 26th house district since 2017.[2]
Early Life
[edit]Roberts was born on July 17, 1989 in Denver, Colorado to parents Stu and Lulu Roberts. In 4th grade Roberts and his family moved to Steamboat, Colorado. Roberts attended Soda Creek Elementary School, Steamboat Springs Middle School, and Steamboat Mountain School.[2]
Biography
[edit]Roberts attended Boston College. In 2008, Roberts took a semester off college to return to his hometown of Steamboat Springs in Routt County, Colorado to work for the presidential campaign of then-Senator Barack Obama. Roberts opened and ran the Steamboat Springs office -- the first ever presidential field office in the region. Roberts returned to Boston College where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in 2011 in Political Science and Environmental Studies. After receiving his degree, he returned to Colorado to serve as the deputy state field director for President Obama's re-election in 2012. That year, Roberts led over thirty staff members in sixteen offices across twenty-two Colorado counties.[2]
Roberts later graduated law school from The University of Colorado at Boulder. During his time at The University of Colorado, Roberts worked for State Representative Mike Foote as a legislative policy analyst, for the state's attorney general, and as a student attorney representing indigent citizens who were charged with crimes and could not afford an attorney.[2]
Following law school, Roberts moved to Eagle County and now works as Deputy District Attorney for Eagle County. His work includes prosecuting felony and misdemeanor cases including domestic violence, drugs, theft, DUI's, and many other crimes. Roberts prosecutes cases across the entire Fifth Judicial District, encompassing Eagle, Summit, Lake, and Clear Creek Counties.[2]
Legislative Career
[edit]Roberts was sworn in as a Colorado State Representative on November 13, 2017. During Roberts first year in the legislature, he was the primary sponsor of twelve bills, six of which were successfully passed and sent to the Governor.[3]
During his second year, Roberts was the primary sponsor of thirteen bills, five of which were successfully passed and sent to the Governor.[3]
Currently Roberts sits as the chair of the House Rural Affairs & Agriculture committee, Vice Chair of the Capital Development Committee, and is a member of the House Judiciary Committee.[3]
Important Bills Passed
[edit]Throughout Roberts’s legislative career he has been the prime sponsor of 45 bills that have been signed into law. Some of the most notable bills amongst those include: HB19-1216, HB19-1004, HB19-1207, HB19-1077, and HB18-1286.[3]
HB19-1216, Reduce Insulin Prices
[edit]HB19-1216 was passed in 2019 led by Representative Roberts with bipartisan sponsorship from Senator Kerry Donovan (D-Vail) and Senator Kevin Priola (R-Adams)[4]. Representative Roberts' passion for this bill was sparked by his late brother Murphy; Murphy was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes so Representative Roberts saw first hand the impact of high insulin prices[5]. The bill caps insulin prices at $100 co-pays each month becoming the first state in the United States to cap insulin prices. Prior to the passing of this bill, it was said 1 in 4 diabetics were rationing their insulin due to rising drug prices. Roberts said in a statement, “In a first world country, we shouldn’t have people rationing insulin just because they can’t afford it”(1). The bill was passed and signed into law by Governor Jared Polis and was enacted January 1, 2020. Many state legislators have now followed suit in the passing of bills similar to this one. For example, Illions passed a similar bill and lawmakers in other states have put similar bills on their agendas including California, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania.[6]
HB19-1004, Proposal For Affordable Health Coverage Option
[edit]HB19-1004 directed state insurance regulators to draft a proposal for a state option insurance plan that was then outlined as the Colorado Affordable Health Care Option in a new bill, HB20-1349, during the 2020 legislative session. Representative Roberts and the other bipartisan bill sponsors of HB19-1004 paved the way for legislators to hold vital stakeholder meetings across the state and conduct deep research into how to best construct a public option plan that will be successful in Colorado’s healthcare landscape. Colorado stands apart from the rest of the nation with a plan to implement a public option plan at the state level. To reach that goal, lawmakers began with the passing of HB19-1004 in 2019, which set forth to provide a proposal for an affordable health care option to Colorado residents. Colorado stands out across the nation as one of the states with the highest hospital costs. On the national scale Colorado hospitals are 14% higher than the rest of the nation. A study released by the Colorado Business Group on Health, showed that Denver-area hospitals collectively made more than $2 billion in profits in 2018.(2) Because of this action taken in 2019, it has now created traction for another public option bill set to be introduced in the 2020 legislative session.[7]
This bill, in turn, led to the HB20-1349, the Colorado Affordable Health Care Option which was introduced on March 5th, 2020, and passed its first committee hearing in the House Committee on Health & Insurance with a 7-4 vote. Due to the current recess in Colorado’s 2020 legislative session, this bill’s progress is currently on hold.[7]
HB19-1207, Winter Conditions And Traction Control Requirements
[edit]During the 2019 legislative session, Representative Roberts led an effort with bipartisan sponsorship from Senator Kerry Donovan (D-Vail) and Senator Bob Rankin (R-Carbondale) to pass HB19-1207 which requires Colorado motorists to prepare their vehicles for snowy conditions. This bill set a minimum standard for tires as well as requiring transaction equipment to be carried on I-70 between milepoint 133 and milepoint 256. In the past, multi-vehicle crashes have closed down roads near the Eisenhower Tunnel after heavy snowfall. This protects drivers in some places with snow projected up to 18 inches. This bill has paved the way to reduce accidents caused by unprepared drives as well as minimizes traffic due to accidents.[8]
HB19-1077, Pharmacist Dispense Drug Without Prescription In Emergency
[edit]Representative Roberts worked alongside Senator Jack Tate (R-Arapahoe) and Senator Brittany Pettersen (D-Jefferson) to pass HB19-1077, which allows a pharmacist to dispense medication without a prescription in an emergency situation. The law, also known as Kevin’s Law, is named after Kevin Houdeshell, an Ohio man who died in 2014 after a pharmacy wouldn't refill his past prescription for insulin while his doctor was off for the holidays. Roberts stated, “Sometimes you forget that your prescription is about to run out, or you realize your prescription is about to run out and you start rationing your medicine which are both really not good outcomes for your long-term health”.[9]
HB18-1286, School Nurse Give Medical Marijuana At School
[edit]Representative Roberts worked across the aisle with Senator Irene Aguilar (D-Denver) and Senator Vicki Marble (R-Broomfield) to pass HB18-1286, which allows school nurses to give a student with a medical marijuana registry card their medical marijuana prescription.[10] The bill is also cited as Quintin’s Amendments after Quintin Lovato, a 4th grader who used medical marijuana to treat his seizures and Tourettes. Quintin needed his medication 3 times a day, one of those when he was at school. This bill gave light to many students who use medical marijuana as a treatment for their conditions to be able to obtain their prescription while at school.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ "Dylan Roberts | Colorado General Assembly". leg.colorado.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ a b c d e "Meet Dylan". Dylan Roberts for Colorado. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ a b c d "Dylan Roberts | Colorado General Assembly". leg.colorado.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ "Reduce Insulin Prices | Colorado General Assembly". leg.colorado.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ "Murphy". Dylan Roberts for Colorado. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ Donovan-SmithEmailEmailBioBioFollowFollow, Orion Donovan-Smith closeOrion. "The price of insulin is surging. This state is the first to make insurance companies eat the cost". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ a b "Proposal For Affordable Health Coverage Option | Colorado General Assembly". leg.colorado.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ "Winter Conditions And Traction Control Requirements | Colorado General Assembly". leg.colorado.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ "Law allows patients to get medications without a prescription in emergency cases". KUSA.com. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ "School Nurse Give Medical Marijuana At School | Colorado General Assembly". leg.colorado.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ Wyrick, Randy. "Eagle County school board becomes one of the first to greenlight medical marijuana policy". www.aspentimes.com. Retrieved 2020-05-21.