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Tag: 74th Legislature

School districts grappling with new state law to honor students’ chosen names
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gazette.com, State

School districts grappling with new state law to honor students’ chosen names

By ERIC YOUNG | The Gazette As more school districts adopt policies to adhere to a new state law regarding students’ chosen names, it’s been far from a simple decision for some in the Pikes Peak region. With the passage of House Bill 1039 into law last April, all public schools must now implement a written policy outlining how staff will honor a student’s request to use a name different than their legal name. All school personnel must address students and refer to them by these names during school and extracurricular activities. The new law intends to protect LGBTQ+ students whose chosen names differ from their legal names given at birth and reflect their gender identity. Refusing to do so now constitutes discrimination, and students subjected to it can file a school rep...
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In less than two weeks, new law banning hand-held phone use while driving goes into effect
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Fox21, State

In less than two weeks, new law banning hand-held phone use while driving goes into effect

By Sarah Ferguson | Fox 21 News Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, a new hands-free law will go into effect in Colorado, banning the use of hand-held phones while driving. The new law expands upon the state’s distracted driving law beyond just texting, and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) wants to ensure drivers understand the consequences. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 21 NEWS
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Colorado Democratic candidate spends campaign money on hair, clothes, makeup
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado Democratic candidate spends campaign money on hair, clothes, makeup

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Is Democratic candidate Vivian Smotherman, who's running for one of Colorado's hottest state senate seats, violating Colorado's campaign finance laws and regulations? Smotherman has used more than $1,000 of campaign contributions to pay for clothes, hair styling and a consultant (who's also the hairstylist) on her appearance. The state's campaign finance manual doesn't specifically prohibit a candidate from spending campaign contributions on hair and clothes. Still, it states candidates "may not use contributions for personal purposes not reasonably related to the election of the candidate." The manual's only specified language on permissible use of campaign contributions for personal use is for child or dependent care. READ THE FULL STO...
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Report on hospital facility fees could stir new health-care regulatory efforts
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State, The Sum & Substance

Report on hospital facility fees could stir new health-care regulatory efforts

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance A legislatively mandated report on hospital-system facility fees that was released Tuesday appears likely to spark a new round of debate on whether the state should limit the fees that opponents call costly and unclear and that hospitals say are vital to offsite operations. The Hospital Facility Fee Report concluded that the fees, added for services in nonacute-care settings, drive up health-care costs by more than $50 million annually, are opaque and confusing and incentivize independent physicians to affiliate with larger hospital systems. However, the report also notes that a reduction in fee revenue could drastically cut the federal matching money that’s been used to expand Medicaid eligibility, and it noted several times that the task for...
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Hundreds of bills are proposed each session, but these are the most accessed by the public
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kdvr.com, State

Hundreds of bills are proposed each session, but these are the most accessed by the public

By Maddie Rhodes | Fox 31 News Colorado bills are constantly being introduced and revised in order to potentially become laws, but some are of higher interest than others. While several laws go into effect every year, many proposed bills won’t make it past being introduced. However, certain bills have captured the public’s attention. The Colorado General Assembly’s website provides a list of the state’s “most accessed bills.” READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
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Who is in charge? Colorado lawmakers press wildlife officials about wolves
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Who is in charge? Colorado lawmakers press wildlife officials about wolves

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Colorado's lawmakers on Wednesday pressed wildlife officials about the state's wolf reintroduction production, including pointed questions from a legislator about who exactly is making decisions and to what extent the governor's office is influencing actions.  More specifically, Sen. Dylan Robert, D-Eagle, asked who's running the show at Colorado Parks and Wildlife — the agency or the governor. "Can the public trust that (decisions) are being managed exclusively by the experts, biologists, scientists and you as appointed head of the department?" Roberts asked. "Can the public trust you have the ultimate decision-making authority, or are there other people weighing in here?"  READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Deadline looms for packaging producers to register for new state-mandated recycling program
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State, The Sum & Substance

Deadline looms for packaging producers to register for new state-mandated recycling program

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance In just two weeks, any substantially sized company that produces packaging sold within Colorado — from plastic to glass to wood — must be registered with a new industry-led organization that will soon begin charging fees to fund a statewide recycling system. The deadline comes more than two years after the Legislature approved the first-of-its-kind makeup for the funding and administration of the programs, and the deadline has been moved up nine months from what that law originally anticipated. And while the Circular Action Alliance is still working to determine how many companies will be affected by the fee, the watchdog Colorado Consumer Coalition estimates the total could be about 1,500. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE SUM & SUB...
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‘We only work for the people’: Dems at capitol cry foul on ballot-measure leverage act
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State, The Colorado Sun

‘We only work for the people’: Dems at capitol cry foul on ballot-measure leverage act

By Jesse Paul and Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun Want to get state lawmakers’ attention? All you need is a few million dollars and an idea big enough to shake up Colorado’s policy landscape.  The special legislative session on property taxes that ended Thursday was the product of two wealthy groups that shelled out large sums to collect enough voter signatures to get a pair of measures on the statewide ballot. Initiative 108 would have cut property taxes by an estimated $2.4 billion starting in the 2025 tax year, while Initiative 50 would have amended the state constitution to impose a 4% cap on future property tax revenue. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Special session on property taxes has ended. What did legislators pass?
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kdvr.com, State

Special session on property taxes has ended. What did legislators pass?

By Heather Willard | Fox 31 News The Colorado Legislature’s 2024 special session ended Thursday after a whirlwind four days, with lawmakers approving a bipartisan bill to reduce the assessment rate for residential properties. The bill passed the Colorado House on Wednesday, but not without some pushback. The measure had been serving as negotiations between state lawmakers and supporters of the statewide ballot initiatives 50 and 108. The pre-negotiated measure was designed to slow property tax increases. The measure passed with a vote of 45-18 in the House, with 15 Democrats and three Republicans voting no. Two representatives were excused. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
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Some counties did not lower levies as assessments increased, gouging taxpayers, Rep. Taggart says
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Some counties did not lower levies as assessments increased, gouging taxpayers, Rep. Taggart says

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice The reason lawmakers in the 74th General Assembly are back in session boils down to one reason, Republican Rep. Rick Taggart says. Some county governments did not adjust their mill levies while property owners received assessment increases in a double-whammy. "I understand they are concerned, but they had a windfall and could have helped our taxpayers by adjusting their mill levies," Taggart said. "Quite honestly, had they done that we probably wouldn't be here today. [Amendment] 50 and [Prop.] 108 probably wouldn't exist. That's the reason why we are here." He used two counties as examples of the gouging taxpayers have faced. "Adams County had additional revenues of $288 million. That's an increase of 23.3%," Taggart said. "In my caree...
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