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Appointees to Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission draws critics ahead of hearing
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Appointees to Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission draws critics ahead of hearing

By Marianne Goodland  | Colorado Politics A coalition of more than 20 agriculture, outdoor recreation and sports groups are advocating for the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee to reject three appointees to the state's parks and wildlife commission. The committee's makeup indicates the appointees may have a tough time at today's hearing, and the hearing comes at a time when the Polis administration is already under fire from ranchers and others over bungled communications tied to the release of wolves in Grand County in December. That included a contentious hearing in January in the same committee.  The appointees, the coalition wrote in a letter obtained by Colorado Politics, are not qualified and have been appointed based on their biases against the very pe...
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Colorado lawmakers discuss funding AI software to detect guns in schools
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Colorado lawmakers discuss funding AI software to detect guns in schools

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A proposal seeks to prevent shootings by providing schools with funding to acquire, install and operate AI-driven software that — the company behind the technology claims — can detect guns and alert law enforcement within seconds of the weapon's detection. The Colorado House Education Committee discussed the measure without voting on Wednesday.  Sponsored by Rep. Brandi Bradley, R-Roxborough Park, House Bill 1123 would provide additional financing to the state's School Safety Disbursement Fund. The exact amount has not been determined.   READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Colorado lawmakers seek to penalize ‘fake electors’ under perjury laws
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Colorado lawmakers seek to penalize ‘fake electors’ under perjury laws

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A panel of Colorado legislators on Monday advanced a bill to penalize "fake electors." As introduced, the legislation would have penalized creating a "false" slate of electors, serving as an elector in that false slate, and conspiring to create or serve in that slate. Colorado's current statutes do not explicitly outline penalties for such acts.  As amended, House Bill 1150 defined these specific actions as perjury and forgery, punishable by a fine of no greater than $10,000. The amendment also removed the possibility of jail time for an individual convicted of the offense relating to false electors. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Colorado lawmakers review bill on refusing DUI-related blood tests, motor vehicle offenses
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Colorado lawmakers review bill on refusing DUI-related blood tests, motor vehicle offenses

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics A sweeping measure that would deal with a host of motor vehicle offenses, including refusal to submit to a blood test for drunk driving, is awaiting a vote from the House Judiciary Committee. The main provisions in House Bill 1135 actually deal with motor vehicle offenses committed by commercial drivers. But the bill's broad title, on offenses related to operating a motor vehicle, gave the sponsors latitude to include other issues. Reps. Marc Snyder, D-Manitou Springs, and Matt Soper, R-Delta, attempted to address several roadway problems with the measure, which a committee reviewed — but took no action — on Tuesday. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Colorado bill proposes library committees to consider whether to ban books, other content
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Colorado bill proposes library committees to consider whether to ban books, other content

BY Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A panel of Colorado legislators tackled — but decided against voting for now — a measure that would create an official process for parents, students and the public to object to materials in a school or public library, diving squarely into an issue that has divided communities and at times pitted parents against each other across America.     The sponsors agreed that Senate Bill 049 needs changes to address points raised by both sides of the issue.  As introduced, SB 049 would create the Committee for School Libraries, which would be composed of individuals appointed by school districts to consider requests and complaints. A separate committee would be created at local levels for public libraries. Members of the...
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Are laws cracking down on car theft responsible for downward trend in Colorado?
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Are laws cracking down on car theft responsible for downward trend in Colorado?

By Thelma Grimes | Colorado Politics Colorado found itself atop most lists of states with the highest car thefts and associated crimes in the last several years — record-breaking numbers that had been accumulating since 2020 and which put pressure on the governor and legislators to respond. Notably, lawmakers, upon the urging of the governor, passed a law that made all car thefts a felony, decoupling the severity of the crime from the value of the car and tying it instead to behavior so that the penalty becomes more severe with repeat offenders.      But lawmakers haven't introduced a lot of bills devoted to auto theft this year. Is that because the laws enacted are working? READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Gov. Jared Polis seeks 49 ‘actions’ to curb greenhouse emissions to ‘net zero’ by 2050
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Gov. Jared Polis seeks 49 ‘actions’ to curb greenhouse emissions to ‘net zero’ by 2050

By Luige Del Puerto | Colorado Politics The Polis administration on Monday released the latest iteration of its sweeping plan to sharply curb greenhouse gas pollution in Colorado, whose ultimate goal is to reach "net zero" by 2050.  The updated version of the "Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap" outlines short-term "actions" that the administration intends to push over the next three years, notably in the areas of electrifying large buildings and encouraging land use policies to "support strategic growth."  The list of 49 "near-term actions" include legislation to support "climate friendly" strategic growth; policies to reach "100% clean electricity generation" by 2040; and regulations to reduce emissions from oil and gas operations, landfills and coal mines. READ ...
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Final votes on gender identity bills delayed as Colorado House members continue debate
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Final votes on gender identity bills delayed as Colorado House members continue debate

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Two bills to allow individuals, including minors, to choose their names conforming to their gender identity are on hold after an intense debate in the House on Monday delayed voting on the measures.  Under current law, a person convicted of a felony who wants to change their name must show "good cause." House Bill 1071 would add gender identity to the list of "good causes" a person could cite for a name change. The bill has drawn fierce opposition from House Republicans, which got underway on Monday with an amendment from sponsor Rep. Lorena Garcia, D-Adams County, to name the bill after a transgender woman, Tiara Latrice Kelley, a drag queen and performer at Club Q. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Oil, gas industry to fight stricter environmental bills in Colorado legislature
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Oil, gas industry to fight stricter environmental bills in Colorado legislature

By Joe Mueller | Colorado Politics Business leaders joined leaders of Colorado’s petroleum and natural gas industries in denouncing a wave of legislation creating higher environmental standards and phasing out drilling. “These concepts range from banning any development for any industry that requires an air permit in up to 50% of the state to tracking and limiting how much you can drive your car,” Kait Schwartz, director of the American Petroleum Institute Colorado, said during a press conference on Thursday. “Ideas like this are harmful to the Colorado economy and many of of them are bad for the environment.” Two Senate bills, 24-165 and 24-166 introduced Thursday, would tighten emission rules along with new enforcement of air quality standards and penalties. If ...
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Name change for felons, preferred names for students spark fierce debate in Colorado
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Name change for felons, preferred names for students spark fierce debate in Colorado

By Marissa Ventrelli  | Colorado Politics Republicans and Democrats clashed over two proposals dealing with names and gender identity in a prolonged debated on Friday that also prompted an intense discussion into a host of social issues, notably the rights of parents and the wishes of transgender students.    The first bill, House Bill 1071, would include gender identity as a "good cause" reason that the courts could consider when individuals convicted of a felony request to legally change their names. The second measure, House Bill 24-1039, would require public and charter schools beginning in July next year to use a student's preferred name, regardless of whether it is the legal name, for school documents, such as rosters, yearbooks and identification ca...
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