Senator Hansen Wins National Ideas Challenge
STATE AND LOCAL LEADERS RECOGNIZED FOR BEST IDEAS TO EXPAND OPPORTUNITY AND MAKE GOVERNMENT WORK BETTER
WASHINGTON, DC – At the organization’s eleventh annual Leaders Conference today, NewDEAL (Developing Exceptional American Leaders) released the winners of its 2021 Ideas Challenge – a competition among rising and innovative state and local policymakers to propose the most effective solutions on an array of issues. Among the winners was Senator Chris Hansen (D-Denver), whose Secure Tokens for State Financial Offerings won in the “Rebuilding Jobs and the Economy” category.
“I’m honored to have been named a winner of NewDEAL’s 2021 Ideas Challenge,” said Senator Chris Hansen (D-Denver). “Building back stronger from the pandemic means we’re not leaving anyone behind, and by creating a digital process of capital financing, we can reduce costs to the state, lower barriers of entry to investing and provide equal opportunities for all to invest in Colorado. This new process would not only be a win for businesses and organizations, but a win for Colorado’s economy. I look forward to further exploring how this approach can help advance equitable investment opportunities in Colorado.”
The “Rebuilding Jobs and the Economy” category included ideas that help communities rebound from the lows of the pandemic, get Americans working for pay that allows for a better quality of life, and address inequities. Senator Hansen’s idea revolves around finding a new way for people to partake in capital financing by digitizing the origination process and building a transparent system that allows for a broader range of investors.
The traditional method of securing state debts limits the number of businesses and organizations that can invest in the state and assist in financing capital projects. Hansen’s plan would reduce dependence on commercial banks, institutional investors, mutual funds, and pension funds. Certificates of Participation (COPs) could be funded by millions of individual investors through the use of secure tokens. The introduction of a policy that sets up a plan for secure tokens to be used to finance COPs would greatly expand the number of potential investors and decrease the interest rate that the state would owe on its principal loan as a result of direct purchases by retail investors.
Policy experts voted for the proposals that would best improve Americans’ economic well-being and overall quality of life as well as make government work more effectively to meet communities’ needs. Of more than fifty solutions submitted, an esteemed and diverse panel of judges selected five winners in their respective categories. A full list of finalists and their ideas can be found here.