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Tag: Anthony Hartsook

Black belt, Army career prepared Rep. Hartsook for the fight under the Golden Dome
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Black belt, Army career prepared Rep. Hartsook for the fight under the Golden Dome

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice He holds a black belt in judo and has a knack for spotting nonsense. Douglas County Republican Rep. Anthony Hartsook has the background of an Army veteran and the ability to take on "fees" — what Republicans call taxes — with calm precision, and sometimes a grin. You could say he stands out in the capitol's chaos. A sixth-degree black belt since his teens, he’s built for focus. “I’ve been doing judo since I was a teenager,” he says. That’s years of flipping foes and dodging blows. Now he’s sidestepping political traps.  Sometimes he cracks a smile about it.  “I’ve commented that we should put boxing gloves on down in the well [the speaking podium on the floor]. And just go, ‘Last guy standing, bill passes,’”...
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HB 1005, a $34M tax break for Sunset Film Festival, advances despite Rep. DeGraaf’s concern it is ‘disincentive’ to existing taxpayers
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State

HB 1005, a $34M tax break for Sunset Film Festival, advances despite Rep. DeGraaf’s concern it is ‘disincentive’ to existing taxpayers

'This is not my hometown. I'm seeing my constituents' money going to a tax incentive that benefits your hometown, while Boulder is taxing itself out of viability.' — Rep. Ken DeGraaf By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice The appropriateness of a tax-credit incentive offered by the state, benefiting a single community and in recruitment of an external entity while ignoring struggling tax-paying entities in that community and other areas of the state, was the discussion of a Colorado House committee Thursday. House Bill 25-1005, by Democrat Reps. Brianna Titone and Julie McCluskie and sponsored by Democrat Sen. Judy Amabile and Republican Sen. Mark Baisley, incentivizing the Sundance Film Festival to relocate to Boulder, was advanced on a 7-6 largely party-line vote, with all commi...
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Hartsook: Colorado Option is a costly failed experiment
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coloradopolitics.com, Commentary

Hartsook: Colorado Option is a costly failed experiment

By Anthony Hartsook | Commentary, Colorado Politics Winter is here, and the dualistic beautiful and brutal nature of this season can result in a lot of unexpected trips for medical care. From accidents on icy roads to collisions on crowded slopes, people need to know they can count on their health insurance to cover the care they need. Accessible health care is often an incredibly serious matter — it is not something to experiment with. Yet, that’s precisely what the state government-controlled Colorado Option does: it treats Coloradans’ access to high-quality health care as a socio-economic laboratory experiment, rather than building on tried-and-true policies. Democratic legislators hastily pushed through the Colorado Option in 2021 with promises of greater consumer choice and lowe...
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Rep. Anthony Hartsook’s massage trafficking bill advances in House committee hearing
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Rep. Anthony Hartsook’s massage trafficking bill advances in House committee hearing

By Rocky Mountain Voice Staff A bill by Rep. Anthony Hartsook, R-Parker, which would add certain mandatory criminal background investigation requirements of massage facilities in an effort to curb human trafficking, advanced Tuesday in the Colorado House. Colorado has seen numerous arrests in the past few years related to human trafficking at massage parlors, including in Denver in 2022 and in Jefferson County in 2023, Hartsook wrote in a press release. House Bill 24-1371 would advance discretionary local regulatory authority of massage establishments to a requirement. “This bill will establish a mandatory national fingerprint background check of all employees and owners for these types of facilities,” Hartsook said. “It will deter bad actors from trying to move to Colorado and...
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Hartsook: Record-setting session dominated by ‘extreme Progressive’ wing of Democrat party
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Hartsook: Record-setting session dominated by ‘extreme Progressive’ wing of Democrat party

By BRIAN PORTER | The Rocky Mountain Voice The speed with which legislation is flowing in the Colorado Legislature is unprecedented, Rep. Anthony Hartsook told constituents Wednesday in a newsletter. Hartsook serves Douglas County residents in House District 44. “The legislature is well on its way to a record or near-record year for the volume of legislation,” he wrote. “I continue to fight for tax relief, parental rights, public safety, veterans and small business.” In an address Saturday to Weld County residents, Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer predicted bill count could reach 1,000. The bill total presently sits at 470. Hartsook sponsored House Bill 1156, which would allow issuance of a special event permit to a chamber of commerce and its members related to events where alcohol m...
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