Governor Jared Polis

The COvid Chronicles April 16–30: From tattletales to tyranny in just 14 days

If the first two weeks of April 2020 made it clear to Coloradans their state was forever changed and would not be going back to the way it was any time soon, the later part of the month crystalized just how difficult earning back any God-given constitutional rights and freedoms would prove to be.

Much of that had to do with the heavy-handedness of Gov. Jared Polis, elected officials and unelected bureaucrats who weren’t keen on relinquishing their newfound regal powers over the people. 

More concerning was the increasing dogma from Coloradan to Coloradan, neighbor to neighbor, family member to family member. As Colorado’s COVID reopening quandary deepened, our sense of community was crushed.

The COvid Chronicles April 16–30: From tattletales to tyranny in just 14 days Read More »

Colorado braces for special session over bloated Medicaid spending amid federal pressure

There are now only seven days left in Colorado’s legislative session. But lawmakers and other state officials have for weeks been bracing for the possibility of coming back to the Capitol later this year to deal with potential federal cuts to Medicaid likely to be included in Congressional Republicans’ still-being-written budget proposal.

“There certainly are a lot of indicators that would suggest that we might end up having to come back in the event that there’s a dramatic cut to Medicaid,” state Sen. Judy Amabile, a Boulder Democrat and member of the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee, said last month, as first reported in The Colorado Sun’s politics newsletter, The Unaffiliated.

Colorado braces for special session over bloated Medicaid spending amid federal pressure Read More »

Clock runs out on social media bill: lawmakers shield themselves and Polis from historic override

Without casting a single “no” vote, Colorado lawmakers on April 28 killed a bipartisan attempt to override Governor Jared Polis’ veto of a social media regulation bill. Just days earlier, the Senate had voted 29–6 to override the veto of Senate Bill 25-086, marking the state’s first successful chamber override of a policy bill in more than a decade. 

Clock runs out on social media bill: lawmakers shield themselves and Polis from historic override Read More »

Ganahl: From Superior Elementary to sex camps — Colorado parental rights under attack

In 2018, as a mom of four with three of my children in first and third grade at Superior Elementary, I was shocked to learn that our young students were being exposed to confusing gender identity discussions without parental knowledge. 

This was done through a program called Queer Endeavor at CU Boulder, which trained thousands of teachers in the metro area to integrate “queering the curriculum” around “problematic parents.”

Ganahl: From Superior Elementary to sex camps — Colorado parental rights under attack Read More »

Free speech or safer feeds? Colorado reacts after Senate overrides veto of social media bill

Several groups on Friday lauded the Colorado state Senate’s veto override of a bill that seeks to impose certain regulations on social media platforms in the hopes they would crack down on users who violate their rules, while critics called the bill censorious and argued it would give tech companies “too much power” to “de-platform” people.

The Senate voted to override the governor’s veto on a 29-6 vote. The state House is expected to hold its override vote next week.

Free speech or safer feeds? Colorado reacts after Senate overrides veto of social media bill Read More »

Colorado Senate overrides Gov. Jared Polis veto of social media bill

The state Senate voted 29-6 on Friday morning to override Gov. Jared Polis’s veto of a social media bill. The 29-6 vote was five above the two-thirds majority required for an override.

It’s the first override of a Polis gubernatorial veto of a bill-or any bill from his three predecessors-since the administration of Gov. Roy Romer in 1988.

There have been other veto overrides—in 2007 and 2011—but those were directions from the General Assembly to state agencies as part of the budget process. In at least three decades, no governor has vetoed a budget bill or even a line item in a budget bill, although they do veto those legislative directions occasionally.

Colorado Senate overrides Gov. Jared Polis veto of social media bill Read More »

Montana governor urges gunmakers to ditch Colorado after new weapons ban

FIRST ON FOX: GOP Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte is launching a video campaign to remind gun manufacturers in Colorado that if they move just a few hundred miles to the north, they can be free of one of the nation’s most restrictive gun control bills signed into law earlier this month in their state.

Montana governor urges gunmakers to ditch Colorado after new weapons ban Read More »

Polis faces pressure as veto showdown looms on sweeping social media bill

She and her husband had invited friends over for a backyard party at their home in Old Snowmass. They were building a bonfire when a car from the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Department pulled up. 

“The policeman came and found us there and let us know that our son Miles had died in Boulder and his body had been discovered that morning,” she recently recalled to CPR News.

Polis faces pressure as veto showdown looms on sweeping social media bill Read More »