State

RMGO leaders, members to rally Tuesday morning against “assault weapons” ban

18Mar

By nadiaNo Comments

Rocky Mountain Voice, State

RMGO leaders, members to rally Tuesday morning against “assault weapons” ban

By BRIAN PORTER | The Rocky Mountain Voice Rocky Mountain Gun Owners will rally on the west steps of the state capitol at 8 a.m. Tuesday, March 19, in opposition to specific anti-gun legislation under consideration. House Bill 1292, by Democrat Reps. Elisabeth Epps and Tim Hernandez, to prohibit “assault weapons” will be heard by the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday at the Old State Library. The bill has a broad definition of “assault weapon”, which could make rifled barrel pistols and rifles illegal, along with pistol grip shotguns, and many other guns. Additionally, Senate Bill 131, known as the “sensitive spaces” gun bill, will be heard at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Old Supreme Court. Sensitive spaces are defined in the bill as a park or playg...

Ahead of Tuesday deadline, only three have sufficiently met signature threshold for a place on ballot for Congress

18Mar

By nadiaNo Comments

Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Ahead of Tuesday deadline, only three have sufficiently met signature threshold for a place on ballot for Congress

By BRIAN PORTER | The Rocky Mountain Voice Signatures needed to petition for a place on the primary ballot has been met by just three candidates for Congress to have pulled a petition, a report by the office of the Colorado secretary of state reads. Democrat Joe Neguse in the 2nd District, Republican Curtis McCrackin in the 3rd District and Republican Lauren Boebert in the 4th District have each met sufficient signatures needed to be placed on the ballot. The deadline for petitions to be filed with the secretary of state’s office is Tuesday, March 19, the online form reads. The form details a deadline, if the petition has been filed and petitions that have been deemed sufficient. In addition to Boebert, a petition for Republican Deborah Flora in the 4th District and for Jeff Cr...

Overbeck: Democrats in Colorado Legislature push bills endangering your children

18Mar

By Joy OverbeckNo Comments

Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Overbeck: Democrats in Colorado Legislature push bills endangering your children

By Joy Overbeck | Special to the Rocky Mountain Voice Most of us want to see the most vicious child predators and the monsters who use children for sex locked in the slammer for a good, long time. But, not the Democrats in the Colorado Legislature. They unanimously killed Rep. Brandi Bradley’s, R-Douglas County, House Bill 24-1092 that would increase sentences for criminals convicted of pimping a child for prostitution, keeping a place of child prostitution and similar crimes to sentences of at least four years in prison. The bill would also increase sentences for the worst predators using menacing or criminal intimidation – that is, violence or threats of violence – to induce a child to commit prostitution to at least eight years in jail. This seems reasonable. But, since the Bra...

Studies show Colorado property taxes are ‘extremely low.’ So why do they feel so high?

18Mar

By nadiaNo Comments

State, The Colorado Sun

Studies show Colorado property taxes are ‘extremely low.’ So why do they feel so high?

By Brian Eason | Colorado Sun Over the past year, property taxes have dominated Colorado’s state politics like rarely before. Public outcry over a 40% jump in homes’ taxable values spawned a multi-million dollar ballot fight, a special legislative session and a bipartisan commission to study tax relief for homeowners. And there’s more to come, with a number of property tax measures vying for voter approval on the November 2024 ballot. There’s just one detail that’s difficult to square with the political panic: Study after study from researchers across the political spectrum shows that Colorado’s property taxes aren’t all that high. In reality, they’re close to the lowest in the entire country. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN...

Fake identity documents being sold to illegals in Colorado desperate to find work, CBS News investigation finds

17Mar

By nadiaNo Comments

CBS Colorado, State

Fake identity documents being sold to illegals in Colorado desperate to find work, CBS News investigation finds

By Kati Weis | CBS News Colorado The Investigators with CBS News Colorado have uncovered a scheme that's taking advantage of migrants in Denver, and potentially causing innocent Americans to fall victim to identity theft, all while city, state, and federal government agencies miss out on income tax revenue. Criminals are printing and selling fake identification documents – like social security and permanent resident cards – to migrants who are desperate for documentation, so they are able to find work. Nearly 40,000 migrants from South and Central America have crossed rivers and jungles to come to Denver in recent months, seeking better lives. Many of those migrants told CBS News Colorado they felt they had no other choice but to buy the fake documents, because otherwise, t...

Legislators at odds on broadband right-of-way fees

17Mar

By nadiaNo Comments

coloradopolitics.com, State

Legislators at odds on broadband right-of-way fees

By Ed Sealover | Colorado Politics While state broadband officials ready their action plan to expand fiber to 99% of Colorado, a dispute over the amount of fees that telecommunications companies must pay to install lines along public rights of way has stalled dueling legislative efforts to define those fees. A bipartisan quartet of legislators introduced Senate Bill 91 just two weeks into the 2024 session on Jan. 24 at the behest of Colorado Counties Inc. and rural telecom companies. The bill lets the Colorado Department of Transportation impose a one-time permitting fee to lay broadband fiber along rights of way but prohibits it from charging annual fees — reversing a policy enacted in December by the Colorado Transportation Commission. Meanwhile, the Joint Technology Committee c...

Thanks to TABOR, $2B in refunds likely headed back Colorado taxpayers.

16Mar

By nadiaNo Comments

State, The Colorado Sun

Thanks to TABOR, $2B in refunds likely headed back Colorado taxpayers.

By Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun Colorado budget writers may be headed back to the drawing board. Slower population growth and rising fee revenue could trigger upwards of $300 million more state taxpayer refunds than expected in the current budget year, under economic forecasts presented to the Joint Budget Committee on Friday. The latest forecasts leave top lawmakers well short of what they expected to be able to spend in next year’s budget, with less than a week left to finalize the 2024-25 spending plan before it has to be submitted to the General Assembly for consideration. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN

Lost Canyon among ‘once-in-a-generation’ projects getting record funds by Great Outdoors Colorado

16Mar

By nadiaNo Comments

Colorado Springs Gazette, State

Lost Canyon among ‘once-in-a-generation’ projects getting record funds by Great Outdoors Colorado

By Seth Boster | Colorado Springs Gazette A curious, surprise canyon on the plains between Denver and Colorado Springs represents a "high-value, once-in-a-generation" opportunity for conservation and recreation. That's how Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) — the 32-year-old agency doling out lottery proceeds to lands, rivers and trails around the state — describes projects within its Centennial Program. In its largest ever wave of funding recently announced for several such projects, GOCO granted $3 million toward a collaboration aiming to put the long-sought, privately-held Lost Canyon in the public trust. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE

15Mar

By nadiaNo Comments

State, The Colorado Sun

Why is Ken Buck really resigning?

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun U.S. Rep. Ken Buck vehemently denied Thursday that his decision to resign from Congress before the end of his term was aimed at making it harder for Lauren Boebert to take over his 4th Congressional District seat as she and others have suggested. “It’s ridiculous,” Buck, a Windsor Republican, told The Colorado Sun. Boebert said in a written statement after Buck announced Tuesday that he would leave Congress on March 22 that the five-term congressman’s resignation was a “gift to the uniparty” and “a swampy backroom deal to try to rig an election.” Republicans aligned with Donald Trump often use the “uniparty” label to insult members of the party they think aren’t conservative enough or work too closely...

Colorado programs for older residents face major funding shortfalls

14Mar

By nadiaNo Comments

coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado programs for older residents face major funding shortfalls

By Thelma Grimes | Colorado Politics Funding for community-based programs to help Colorado’s older residents receive daily necessities, such as meals and transportation services, is dwindling, and the future looks bleak, advocates said. The Colorado Association of Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) provides services to more than 56,000 seniors over 60 annually. The federal Older Americans Act and the Colorado Department of Human Services State Unit on Aging support the program. Statewide, there is a growing waiting list of older residents in need of services with AAA, which estimated it needs an annual budget of about $29.5 million just to maintain current levels. The state’s AAA program operated using a $15 million homestead grant between 2019 and 202...