There will be at least 21 members of the Colorado General Assembly this year who at some point were appointed to the House or Senate by or through a vacancy committee, according to a Colorado Sun analysis.
That includes 12 state representatives and nine senators. All but three are Democrats.
The number is down from last year, when 29 members of the legislature had at some point landed a job in the General Assembly thanks to a vacancy committee.
The decrease isn’t too surprising given that it’s the first year of the 75th General Assembly. It probably won’t last. The number is likely to grow in the second year and as the 2026 election nears. (Each General Assembly is counted in two-year increments.)
Another factor that may be playing a role is the increased scrutiny of Colorado’s vacancy appointment process. The scrutiny began in 2018 when The Sun started tracking the number of vacancy-appointed members of the legislature. So far, most efforts to reform the way legislative vacancies are filled have failed.
That doesn’t mean people don’t want change.
All seven Democrats who were seeking the vacancy appointment Tuesday night in Senate District 31 said during a candidate forum before the vote that they don’t support the process as it currently stands.
“I’d like to make changes to it,” said Denver Director of Policy Matt Ball, who ended up winning the vacancy appointment.
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THE LIST
Here are the House members who were appointed directly into the chamber by vacancy committee or appointed to the ballot by vacancy committee:
Here are the Senate members who were at one point appointed to a legislative seat by a vacancy committee:
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THE NARRATIVE
Bipartisan agreement on fees? Not quite.
After a 2024 election campaign dominated by the state’s high cost of living, Democrats and Republicans each kicked off the legislative session Wednesday with pledges to crack down on fees.
But it’s not the bipartisan kumbaya moment it may appear.
Republicans are going after government fees, like Colorado’s 10-cent bag fee and 29-cent delivery surcharge — laying blame for the state’s cost of living challenges squarely at the feet of the Democratic majority.
“We as a legislature have to acknowledge the role that we have played in making Colorado unaffordable,” House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, a Colorado Springs Republican, said Wednesday in her opening remarks. “I think it is incredibly important that we have a conversation about fees.”
Pugliese is a lead sponsor of a measure, House Bill 1051, to repeal Colorado’s fee on paper carryout bags provided by retailers.
Democrats, meanwhile, want to limit the fees that businesses like child care centers and landlords can charge for services.
Senate Bill 4 would limit child care waitlist and application fees to $25, while House Bill 1011, would limit waitlist fees for state-funded child care centers owned by private equity. Another Democratic bill, House Bill 1010, would impose new restrictions on price gouging, while other proposals are in the works prohibiting certain hidden fees, commonly referred to by critics as “junk fees.”
It’s unlikely any of these measures will garner much support from Republicans, who tend to oppose government mandates on what businesses can charge.
And, far from signing on to early Republican efforts to repeal government fees, Democrats have already proposed a measure to allow for more. House Bill 1044 would allow local governments to raise vehicle registration fees to pay for projects that improve road safety for
“vulnerable users.”
But there is at least some political middle ground. Gov. Jared Polis and lawmakers in both parties on the Joint Budget Committee want to cut a variety of government fees this year, including some vehicle registration charges.
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THE POLITICAL TICKER
POLITICS NONPROFITS
Christina Soliz has been named the executive director of New Era Colorado, the liberal-leaning political nonprofit that seeks to boost the involvement of young people in politics.
Soliz came to Colorado in 2019 as the program director at America Votes and then became the political director at Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights.
“The next few years are critical for Colorado: We can flip local elections and make real change at the city and county level, push our state’s Democratic trifecta to pass bold, progressive policy, and elect youth agenda champions as governor, attorney general, and secretary of state in 2026,” Soliz said in a written statement. “New Era has the opportunity to alter the political landscape in the state and nationally and prove that young people’s vision for the world is possible.”
THE LOBBY
Denver-based Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, one of the nation’s largest lobbying and law firms, is opening an office in Tampa, Florida.
The office will be run by Melissa Kuipers Blake, who has been a fixture at the Colorado Capitol in recent years.
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THIS WEEK’S PODCAST: The Colorado legislature’s 2025 lawmaking term begins
YOU HEARD IT HERE
Coleman’s remarks seemed aimed at the controversy surrounding state Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, D-Longmont. The line drew sustained applause from Democrats in the chamber.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
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Corrections & Clarifications
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