Issues

	Download Hasan’s State Treasury Plan			Download JJ Ament’s Memo on Bypassing The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR)

I am proud to run as a Republican for State Treasurer here in Colorado and I firmly make my promises below.

My entire plan, including a description of the State Treasury, as well as my personal goals, are all included in the linked PDF above. Please consider downloading HASAN’S STATE TREASURY PLAN – a plan to Divest from Washington Losers and Invest in Colorado Winners!!!

In addition, my opponent, JJ Ament, has a strong history of working to undermine the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. A book that JJ Ament wrote, regarding his proposals for bypassing the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, is linked above.

SUMMARY OF CAMPAIGN PROMISES -

Empower The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights

I am a strong believer in the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. As State Treasurer, I will use the bully pulpit of the Treasurer’s office to strengthen the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.

As of now, the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights requires proposed tax increases to be voted upon by statewide ballot, concerning obligations after 1992. Unfortunately, tax increases for obligations before 1992 do not have to go to statewide vote. In addition, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights can be amended or repealed with a 2/3 vote in the State House and State Senate, followed by Governor’s approval.

With that said, I promise to endorse any legislation that seeks to enforce statewide votes on proposed tax increases concerning obligations before 1992, as well as any legislation that makes the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights more permanent, in requiring a 3/3 vote in the State House and Senate, followed by Governor’s approval, should legislators be seeking an abolishment or amending of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. I will always use the bully pulpit of the State Treasurer’s office to further empower the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, and any legislator who shares such principle will always have the support of the State Treasurer, as long as I serve.

Of note, I am the only Republican running statewide, as of March 10th of 2010, that openly endorses Amendments 60, 61, and Proposition 101, all three initiatives that will greatly strengthen the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.

Invest in Colorado Winners, Divest From Washington Losers

The most important job of the State Treasurer is the management of five investment portfolios – the Treasury Pool Fund, the Public School Permanent Fund, the State Education Fund, the Major Medical Insurance Fund, and the Unclaimed Property Tourism Promotion Fund. The State Treasurer is entrusted with the authority to invest the capital within these portfolios, selecting which bonds and securities to invest in. The goal is to realize the highest investment yields possible, with all investments carrying minimal risks.

The investment portfolios under the State Treasury total to around $6.3 billion in value. According to my estimations, more than half the monies in the investment portfolios, as of the September 2009 report, were invested in companies that have either received or requested a bailout from the Federal Government. In total, around $3.4 billion, of the $6.3 billion, is invested with bailout companies, including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Chase banks, CitiGroup, Wachovia, Daimler Chrysler and others. In particular, around $2.5 billion of that money is also invested with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Again, I encourage all to download Hasan’s State Treasury Plan above, where you will find the entire State Investment portfolio of Colorado, as of the Fall of 2009. In addition, Hasan’s State Treasury Plan also includes pages of Colorado bonds that will not only offer us great returns, but also create local jobs.

The attached pages of Colorado bonds, within Hasan’s State Treasury Plan, list entities like “El Paso County School District” and the “Jefferson County Colorado School District” both local bonds, both offering above a 5% return. The El Paso County School District bonds, for example, will likely go to new school construction projects in Colorado Springs, creating many local jobs.

Now, compare these bonds with our investments in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which will not create jobs in Colorado and only return around 4% on our money, thus begging the question – why are we invested in Washington losers like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, that create no jobs and give us only a 4% return, when we can invest in Colorado winners like El Paso County School District, which is creating jobs in Colorado, is AA3 rated, and returning over 5% on our money?

I, Ali Hasan, am the only State Treasurer candidate who has pledged to divest from Washington losers and invest in Colorado winners – and this is my biggest promise and goal as State Treasurer. And again, the Hasan’s State Treasury Plan outlines in greater detail how we will accomplish this good goal.

Creating Jobs In Colorado & New Investments

In terms of divesting from Washington Losers, I do not want to lose major income or capital. In turn, I plan to systematically divest from the securities and bonds of bailout companies, by offering them for sale before maturity date and selling if the sale price is strong or opting to realize maturity date without renewal. By practicing such policy, I would hope that we be divested from all bailout companies within a few years, without major capital and income losses.

The State Treasury can play a role in creating jobs in Colorado. Attached in Hasan’s State Treasury Plan (available for download on this website) are Colorado-based bonds that meet our investment requirements and are creating jobs.

In addition, many publicly traded companies in Colorado, like the Delta Petroleum Corporation, the Dish Network Corporation, and Vail Resorts have offered bonds in the past, demonstrating that Colorado companies welcome bond issuance programs. Of note, the above mentioned companies did not offer bonds that met our portfolio requirements, but a pro-business State Treasurer, like myself, could help these companies into offering bonds that would qualify.

Fortunately, Colorado municipal bonds already qualify as solid investments for our State. Thus, investing in the bonds of Colorado-based entities with satisfied credit ratings, as specified by the Treasury Investment Policies, would not only fulfill my goal of avoiding bailout companies, it would also give capital to entities that are actively creating jobs in Colorado, while giving us strong yields that are guaranteed – a most attractive investment. Again, examples of these Colorado bonds are attached in the Hasan’s State Treasury Plan, linked above.

From there, I would likely consider major investment in Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS). The yielded coupon on TIPS is negotiated at the time of purchase, but more importantly, the overall yield of TIPS also increases with inflation, thus, the more inflation increases, the higher the security will go.

Unfortunately, with all the new money our Federal Treasury has printed in bailing out so many companies, American inflation is one of the best minimal-risk security to invest within, according to my current speculations. However, you’ll notice that the State Treasury was given around $50,000 in contract services during the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. If such funding remains available, I would like to retain Bill Gross of PIMCO as an advisor, as he boasts one of the strongest records in determining the best conservative bonds to invest within.

My full analysis of the entire investment portfolio can be found in Hasan’s State Treasury Plan, available for download on this website. You will see a list of bonds and securities that our State is invested within, along with my penned notes identifying the bailout companies that I would hope to systematically divest from, with rationale and data provided for some. The entire portfolio is over 35 pages long.

- Ali Hasan, Candidate for Colorado State Treasurer, January 2010 and updated in March & April 2010

Important notes for Conservatives -

• Ali Hasan supports school choice and charter school empowerment.
• Ali Hasan strongly supports the Second Amendment and will not support legislation that undermines or hurts the Second Amendment.
• Ali Hasan supports school prayer and community faith based initiatives.
• Ali Hasan strongly supports our US Armed Forces.
• Ali Hasan is highly supportive of civil liberties and free speech.