Watch CBS News

Colorado's New Lieutenant Governor Takes Oath Of Office

DENVER (CBS4/AP) — A new Colorado lieutenant governor who took the oath of office Thursday says that efficiency will be her top job.

Democrat Donna Lynne is replacing former Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia, who left office to run a higher-education group.

Lynne is a former health care executive who was tapped by Gov. John Hickenlooper. Her plans for the next couple of years are to try to make state government more efficient.

swearing in Donna Lynne
Colorado Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne is sworn in. (credit: CBS)

"My job is going to be to make sure that the agencies are delivering on the promises and the services that they ought to be delivering on," Lynne told The Associated Press.

For example, Lynne has talked to lawmakers about writing a state budget every other year, rather than every year. Lynne said that is more similar to how a private corporation projects spending. The proposal has been made before, but not adopted by lawmakers, who would have to make the change in law.

"It's a good business practice," Lynne said. "It gives you a sense of the direction of the spending, the dynamics."

But the proposal from Lynne and Hickenlooper met with tepid support in the Legislature.

Many lawmakers said the idea should be considered, but they were quick to add that budget-writers already project taxes and spending years in advance, calling a reduction in formal budgets more of a public-relations gimmick.

Some lawmakers on the budget-writing committee were more blunt.

Donna Lynne
Colorado Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne (credit: CBS)

"They have no idea what they're talking about," said Sen. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs. "Look at Texas. They have a biannual budget, and spend the intervening year trying to fix it. So what they need to have is multiyear planning."

Lynne has said she has no plans to run for the governor's office herself after Hickenlooper leaves office in 2019.

By Kristen Wyatt, AP Writer

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.