Rocky Mountain Voice

Menu

Tag: Executive order

Cities sue Polis over housing mandate, cite threat to local control
No Comments
Approved, Local, State, The Colorado Sun

Cities sue Polis over housing mandate, cite threat to local control

By Bente Birkeland | Colorado Sun A lawsuit filed Monday argues the state is violating the right of local governments to shape how they grow and develop Six “home rule” cities in Colorado are suing the state, alleging it has unconstitutionally usurped their local authority over land use and zoning as it pushes communities to allow denser housing development.  The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of an executive order Gov. Jared Polis signed last week to withhold some state grants from local communities if they fail to implement a slate of recent housing laws. The cities say the order encroaches on the powers of both the General Assembly and the judiciary to say what the law is and is “beyond the governor’s authority.” The cities are also asking the courts to f...
Read More
Governor’s executive order threatening loss of funding draws fire for overriding local housing control
No Comments
Approved, CBS Colorado, Local, State

Governor’s executive order threatening loss of funding draws fire for overriding local housing control

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is putting local governments on notice: Either they comply with state housing laws, or they risk losing at least $100 million a year in state funding. The governor signed an executive order that takes the battle over local control to a new level. Over the last two years, he's signed bills regarding residential occupancy limits and accessory dwelling units, transit-oriented communities and manufactured homes, and even limits on staircases and parking spots. But not everyone is on board with the new laws. Some local governments have flat out refused to comply. So the governor is upping the ante. "What we are doing now is making sure we are putting our money where our mouth is," Gov. Polis told CBS Colorado.  Polis signed an ex...
Read More
School board in El Paso County moves to restrict transgender athletes, citing safety and fairness
No Comments
Approved, Local, The Colorado Sun

School board in El Paso County moves to restrict transgender athletes, citing safety and fairness

By Ann Schimke | Colorado Sun At an April school board meeting near Colorado Springs, debate raged over a proposed policy to ban transgender students from playing on school sports teams that match their gender identity. A high school student named Sadie, who spoke against the policy, asked why her district would need a blanket policy when a tiny percentage of student athletes are transgender. A 60-year-old man who supported the policy and described himself as stronger than any woman in the building claimed a transgender girl could slam a ball into a girl’s head hard enough to put her in the hospital. A father opposed to the policy said his son, a district student, has an extra X chromosome and suggested gender is more complicated than it seems. He said of the proposed policy...
Read More
Colorado law limits what voters can verify—and critics say that needs to change
No Comments
Approved, Local, National, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado law limits what voters can verify—and critics say that needs to change

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Mesa County’s Ballot Verifier tool has been praised for giving residents unprecedented access to redacted ballot images and cast vote records. But for some longtime election integrity advocates, it’s only part of the solution. “This is a great step forward,” said Ed Arnos, a Mesa County resident and former lottery systems designer. “But it doesn’t verify the most important part—how the ballots were actually read.” This article is Part 3 of a three-part series on the Ballot Verifier: Mesa’s launch, Ada County’s pilot and the debate over election transparency laws. A philosophical divide Mesa County residents Tom Keenan and Ed Arnos have supported election transparency efforts for years. But both say the current syste...
Read More
Colorado refuses to certify DEI removal order, risks $800M in school funds
No Comments
Approved, Chalkbeat Colorado, National, State

Colorado refuses to certify DEI removal order, risks $800M in school funds

By Melanie Asmar | Chalkbeat Colorado Colorado will refuse a demand from the Trump administration to certify that its schools have eliminated what the federal government says are illegal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, state Commissioner of Education Susana Córdova said Thursday. “I am not signing that,” Córdova said. “I am not asking our districts to sign that.” However, Córdova told the State Board of Education she will sign a new assurance that the state is in compliance with Title VI, which bans discrimination on the basis of race, “so that my name, in addition to the department’s previous commissioner who signed our previous assurance, is on file and on record to be able to indicate that we are fully enforcing Title VI.” The U.S. Department of Educatio...
Read More
Griswold sues against Trump’s executive order on elections but is a case study for it
No Comments
Approved, National, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Griswold sues against Trump’s executive order on elections but is a case study for it

By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board When Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced that she was joining a multi-state lawsuit to block President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) on election integrity, she declared the action a defense of democracy itself. “We will not wait on the sidelines while Donald Trump tries to legislate from the Oval Office and defies the Constitution,” Griswold said in an April 3 press release. But while Griswold accuses President Trump of federal overreach, her own record suggests a pattern of constitutional violations that have unfolded under the banner of election protection.  In fact, her treatment of Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters has become a case study in why federal oversight of elections—as President Trump’s EO proposes—may be more nec...
Read More
Trump order sparks backlash from Colorado election officials over proof of citizenship rule
No Comments
Approved, kdvr.com, State

Trump order sparks backlash from Colorado election officials over proof of citizenship rule

By Heather Willard | Fox31 News DENVER (KDVR) — President Donald Trump signed a new executive order Tuesday that would overhaul U.S. elections. The order includes requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, among other measures. Colorado elections officials called the order “unlawful.” Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold told FOX31 that her office is still reviewing the entire order in conjunction with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, but said the order would, in some states, “effectively become a poll tax.” The executive order is called “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” with a stated goal of cultivating free, fair and honest elections. The order requires proof of citizenship on national...
Read More
Trump’s education executive order faces congressional and legal hurdles
No Comments
Approved, National, Washington Examiner

Trump’s education executive order faces congressional and legal hurdles

By Mabinty Quarshie | Washington Examiner President Donald Trump‘s executive order to begin shutting down the Department of Education is all but guaranteed to face several challenges in court after multiple critics decried the action as unconstitutional. Legally, only Congress can shut down the Education Department. It is unclear if the president has the necessary votes. Still, Trump’s order calls for Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin the process of shutting it down, and prior efforts of layoffs or deferred resignations have already significantly reduced the workforce and severely limited its Office for Civil Rights. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Read More
Trump issues executive orders addressing lumber production, national security concerns
No Comments
Approved, Fox Business, National

Trump issues executive orders addressing lumber production, national security concerns

By Alexandra Koch , Bradford Betz  | Fox Business President Donald Trump on Saturday signed two executive orders that call for immediately expanding American lumber production and addressing lumber imports' threat to national security. The orders aim to update guidance on production, streamline permitting, and assess possible risks that imports pose to national security.  A White House official told Fox News the president identified a crisis in both supply and demand in an industry the U.S. should be entirely self-sufficient in. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX BUSINESS
Read More
Trump to make English the nation’s official language
No Comments
Approved, National, The Daily Caller

Trump to make English the nation’s official language

By Reagan Reese | Daily Caller President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order declaring English the official language of the United States, a White House official confirmed to the Daily Caller. The Wall Street Journal first reported Friday that though the nation has not had an official language Trump is planning to sign an executive order declaring one. A summary of the order, provided to the WSJ, writes that the move is in an effort to promote “unity, establish efficiency in the government and provide a pathway to civic engagement.”  The executive order is expected to rescind a federal mandate from former President Bill Clinton, which required agencies and other recipients of federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers, the WSJ reported. ...
Read More