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Colorado Democrats say property tax relief is coming. There’s no money in the state budget to pay for it.
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State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado Democrats say property tax relief is coming. There’s no money in the state budget to pay for it.

By Brian Eason | Colorado Sun With just a month left in the state’s legislative session, top Colorado lawmakers still haven’t come out with a plan to deliver promised property tax relief — but they insist one is coming. “This is still a very high priority,” Sen. Chris Hansen, a Denver Democrat who is leading the legislature’s tax discussions, said Tuesday. “I expect to pass a large property tax bill this session.” There’s just one problem. Unlike this time last year, there’s no money set aside in the budget to pay for it. That has left lawmakers with limited options — and difficult trade-offs — as they look to overhaul Colorado’s property tax code in the face of public outcry over rising tax bills. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN...
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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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Colorado Republicans: Bill banning lawmakers’ guns from Capitol is unconstitutional
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado Republicans: Bill banning lawmakers’ guns from Capitol is unconstitutional

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Senate Republicans on Tuesday charged that legislation seeking to effectively ban lawmakers from bringing firearms into the state Capitol is unconstitutional. Senate Bill 131, as introduced, would have banned firearms, including concealed weapons, from 19 identified "sensitive spaces," including schools, colleges, parks, recreation centers, protests and rallies, and local government buildings. The bill's Democratic sponsors, Sens. Sonja Jaquez Lewis of Longmont and Chris Kolker of Centennial, narrowed its scope in a Senate Judiciary Committee last week. The panel not only changed the bill's title — a fairly unusual move — but also added the state Capitol to the list of "sensitive spaces," while removing more than a dozen others. READ THE...
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Daniel: Unleash responsible energy production in Colorado, kill Senate Bill 24-159
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Commentary, Western Slope

Daniel: Unleash responsible energy production in Colorado, kill Senate Bill 24-159

By BOBBIE DANIEL | Guest Columnist Recently, our Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution declaring Mesa County’s opposition to Senate Bill 24-159, which prohibits new oil and gas production in Colorado. At first glance, the Front Range sponsors of this bill aim to give us less pollution, better health outcomes, reasonable care of finite mineral resources and more responsible property rights. We all want these things, and while the aspiration for reduced pollution and enhanced health and environmental stewardship is universal, the approach of SB 24-159 is concerning. It is a widely-known achievement of the 19th century that the greatest standard of living has been achieved by respecting private property rights of the individual, versus the road of collective...
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Lawmakers advance bill to livestream, allow remote comment to state and local boards
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Colorado Freedom of Information, State

Lawmakers advance bill to livestream, allow remote comment to state and local boards

By Jeffrey A. Roberts | Colorado Freedom of Information State and local boards, councils and commissions would be required to livestream many of their public meetings and offer remote public testimony under a bill, endorsed Wednesday by a Colorado legislative committee, that is designed to improve access to government for people with disabilities. “This bill affirms the right to participate in our democracy,” said Rep. Meg Froelich, a Greenwood Village Democrat who is sponsoring House Bill 24-1168 with Rep. Manny Rutinel, D-Commerce City. “And by allowing remote public testimony, this legislation breaks down barriers that have historically silenced voices dues to geographical or physical limitations,” Rutinel added. “It ensures that every citizen has an equal opportunity...
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Hillman: Progressive gun control bills defy common sense
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Commentary, Mark Hillman, State

Hillman: Progressive gun control bills defy common sense

By Mark Hillman | MarkHillman.com Although I am less optimistic, I still hold out hope that Colorado isn’t irretrievably doomed to follow California, Oregon and Washington into the hopeless abyss of Progressivism. A few key indicators will soon reveal if we have passed the point of no return, including whether enough common-sense Democrats remain to stand with Republicans against the Far Left’s relentless assault on our 2nd Amendment rights. Senate Bill 131 would prohibit licensed concealed-carry permit holders from carrying their guns in “sensitive spaces,” which sponsors Sen. Sonya Jaquez-Lewis (D-Boulder) and Chris Kolker (D-Centennial) defined as most places outside your home. The bill would ban legal possession in these gun-free zones by licensed permit-holders.  It would,...
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Colorado House approves $40.6 billion budget with just one Republican vote
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado House approves $40.6 billion budget with just one Republican vote

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The Colorado House on Monday approved the state's $40.6 billion budget for the next fiscal year on a more or less party-line vote.  The 48-16 vote reflected just one "yes" from Republicans — from the GOP caucus' Joint Budget Committee member, Rep. Rick Taggart of Grand Junction. Taggart helped to draft the next spending plan contained in House Bill 1430.   Another Republican representative was absent.  Taggart joined the Joint Budget Committee this year, replacing Rep. Rod Bockenfeld of Watkins, who is undergoing cancer treatment. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Minority whip’s report details long bill, ‘good and bad’ bill hearings on tap in House this week
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Minority whip’s report details long bill, ‘good and bad’ bill hearings on tap in House this week

By BRIAN PORTER | The Rocky Mountain Voice Final approval was looming Monday for the "Long Appropriations Bill" in the Colorado House, and Minority Whip Richard Holtorf said Saturday he would be in opposition to the proposal to increase spending by more than $2 billion. Republicans were able to pass a few amendments "aligning with pressing needs of our constituents" to improve the spending bill, a statement in the weekend "Mighty 19 Minute" newsletter reads. The adopted Republican amendments included $2 million for a ninth-grade success grant by Rep. Rose Pugliese, $6.1 million for senior services by Rep. Mary Bradfield, $434,783 for the Colorado Access to Justice Cash Fund by Rep. Matt Soper, $1.0 million for the Veterans Service-to-Career Program by Rep. Anthony Hartsook and Hol...
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House Bill 1363: Does it make charter schools more transparent, or is it a ‘blatant attack’?
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State, The Colorado Sun

House Bill 1363: Does it make charter schools more transparent, or is it a ‘blatant attack’?

By Erica Breunlin | Colorado Sun A bill from a group of liberal Colorado Democrats aimed at increasing transparency and accountability at  charter schools has sparked major opposition, including from Gov. Jared Polis, bipartisan education groups and parents and students. The lawmakers who introduced House Bill 1363 this month say they value charter schools and simply aim to hold them to the same level of scrutiny that public schools face. “School choice is rooted in informed decision-making,” said Rep. Lorena Garcia, a bill sponsor and a Democrat from unincorporated Adams County. “If charter schools are not willing to be open and transparent and support informed decision-making within the parent population, then it begs the question of, what are they actually trying to h...
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Modified Colorado bill bans firearms in state Capitol, including for lawmakers
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Modified Colorado bill bans firearms in state Capitol, including for lawmakers

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Colorado lawmakers substantially modified a proposal that originally listed nearly 20 places where a person would be prohibited to carry a firearm — even with a concealed weapons permit — to only a handful of areas, notably including higher education institutions. In narrowing down that list, the legislators added a new place where guns would be banned — the state Capitol. And, under the modified bill, that ban would apply to legislators.   The amendments allowed Senate Bill 131 to secure the support of Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Summit County, and ultimately the approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 3-2 party-line vote.  READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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