Jared Polis isn’t worried about the political consequences of vetoing Senate Bill 5

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Gov. Jared Polis said he’s not worried about the consequences for his future political ambitions of bucking the Colorado labor movement when he vetoes Senate Bill 5, which would have abolished a requirement in the Colorado Labor Peace Act that 75% of workers at a company sign off before unions can negotiate with businesses over union security.

Union security is the term for when workers are forced to pay fees for collective bargaining representation — whether or not they are members of their workplace’s union.

“It would be political suicide if I were to sign the bill,” Polis told The Colorado Sun. “Because obviously I said we were going to veto it. Labor knew when they introduced it where we were. My governorship would be over if I were to sign it. I’m sure they understand that.”

The governor made the statement Thursday night at The Sun’s post-legislative session event held at the University of Denver. You can watch a recording of the event here.

Here are some other highlights from what he told us:

• “I think we have a great relationship,” Polis said when asked about how he plans to repair his relationship with the legislature to achieve his policy agenda in his final year as governor after lawmakers bucked him on a long list of issues in 2025. He repeatedly brushed off the notion that he and other Democrats at the Capitol were unusually at odds.
• On Colorado’s first-in-the-national artificial intelligence law, Polis seemed to rule out a special session to deal specifically with tweaking that policy. If the legislature were to return to the Capitol in the interim for another reason — such as to address federal Medicaid cuts — changing the AI law would be tagged on. Polis also left open the possibility that the legislature could take up the issue when it returns next on Jan. 14 and before the law goes into effect on Feb. 1. “(Lawmakers) would have to be clear that that’s what they wanted to do in the industry, and others would have to know that,” Polis said.
• Polis said if Republicans in Congress cut Colorado’s Medicaid funding, the state wouldn’t be able to make up the difference. “We can’t do that,” he said. “We don’t have the ability to backfill. Our levers here would either be partially reducing the size of Medicaid expansion, meaning people lose coverage, and/or reducing the benefits that people have.” He said it’s “going to be gut wrenching to have to make those decisions.”
• The governor said voters have clearly and repeatedly rejected proposals to eliminate the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights cap on government growth and spending, and so he wouldn’t support any attempt to try that again. Polis said he favors masking a “discrete ask” to voters to increase the cap for specific purposes, such as education, housing and health care. “If I was designing something to win, I would say, ‘Why don’t we do $100 million for teacher salaries?’” he said.
• “I love Colorado. Our kids are 10 and 13. I really don’t have any plans to leave our state,” Polis said when asked about his interest in running for president or taking a cabinet position in a future presidential administration.

LEGISLATIVE LEADERS

Senate President James Coleman, D-Denver, and House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, joined us after Polis’ interview to talk about veto overrides, the effort to overhaul the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights and how they navigated a lawmaking session against the backdrop of an increasingly combative federal government.

McCluskie said her caucus began talking about ways to protect Coloradans from federal policy changes under the Trump administration shortly after the election. And the possibility that Colorado could face political retribution for legislative efforts to expand protections for immigrants or the LGBTQ community was not top of mind, she said.

“The idea that we shouldn’t be fighting for a person’s civil rights is really painful on a lot of fronts,” she said. “I don’t know that folks in the chamber were thinking about legislation in terms of what will this mean in federal dollars or revenge.”

Coleman agreed. “It’s always the right time to do the right thing,” he said, brushing off concerns of retaliation.

“When we think about what policies we pass, we’re not thinking about ‘we’re concerned what’s going to happen through the federal administration,’” Coleman said. “And it’s crazy that we’re living in a time where we’re concerned about doing what we need to as a state, and whether or not we’re going to do it based off of cuts because somebody who’s not in our state wants to take away funding and rights.”

Here’s a few other tidbits from the wide-ranging discussion:

• McCluskie didn’t answer directly when asked why Democratic leaders didn’t allow a floor vote on a resolution challenging TABOR in court. But later she noted that whatever Democrats try to do to solve the state’s budget crisis should ultimately be a “public decision” for Colorado as a whole — not one made by the legislature alone. “One of the comments I heard from members when the TABOR resolution was moving through the system is ‘TABOR was enshrined by the public through a vote, those are the people who should have a vote on any changes that come next.’”
• Coleman said that to take on TABOR, Democrats must do a better job explaining to voters why the state needs the money. “There is a true affordability crisis. So when we start talking to people about, ‘hey, we need more money,’ they’re like, ‘we need that money, too,’ ” Coleman said. “We have to communicate, do a better awareness campaign and figure out a way to make sure that the working class people who are lower income are able to have more affordability — and figure out ways for us to also get more dollars at the state to help people who need it the most.”
• McCluskie said the legislature has always had conflicts with the governor — but acknowledged that this year’s might have been more “visible” than in years past. “I think members of the House certainly have grown to understand his perspective, which is a very clear point of view on certain topics. And so, you know, we (are) finding, in our maturity, maybe finding our voice and better articulating what we want.”
• They deferred to the Joint Budget Committee when asked how the state would afford a potential special session — after the legislature eliminated the money set aside for them to balance the budget. But, McCluskie joked, they might’ve guaranteed a special session gets called by doing so. “Murphy’s Law means we will need those dollars for a special session,” she said.

WHAT TO WATCH IN THE WEEK AHEAD

• Join us TODAY at the University of Denver for Colorado SunFest 2025. Our featured speaker is Mark McKinnon, creator of “The Circus” on Showtime and a longtime national political consultant and commentator. He’ll be speaking at 2:30 p.m. Find details here.
• The governor is continuing to travel across the state as part of his annual bill-signing tour. He has until June 6 to sign or veto bills passed during the 2025 legislative session. He can also let bills become law without his signature.

YOU HEARD IT HERE

Ament was referencing Gov. Jared Polis as he addressed hundreds of business leaders this week at the chamber’s annual State of the State event recapping the legislative session.

Here are some other notable Polis-related quotes from Ament:

• “While the governor and I don’t agree on every issue, I’m so grateful for his understanding about how businesses of all sizes actually run, how risk is managed, investments are made and how essential a strong and innovative economy is to being a strong state. Thank you, governor, for providing that informed leadership on business issues this session on everything from AI to building decarbonization.”
• On Senate Bill 5, which would have abolished a requirement in the Colorado Labor Peace Act that 75% of workers at a company sign off before unions can negotiate with businesses over union security. Polis says he will veto the legislation. “The proponents introduced a bill as a litmus test for Democrat legislators,” he said. “A loyalty and allegiance standard, quite frankly, has no place in balanced policy making. It’s no more appropriate on this issue than when we hear of similar loyalty tests from the other party.”
• Ament also said this of Polis and Senate Bill 5: “Without his leadership, frankly, and insistence on good faith negotiations, this bill may have passed in the first month.”

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

The labor movement held a rally this week in the park near the governor’s mansion to implore Polis to sign Senate Bill 5 and to kick off its signature-gathering movement for a “just cause” ballot measure.

Initiative 43, which would be on the 2026 ballot if its backers collect enough voter signatures, would prohibit companies with more than eight employees from firing or suspending a worker without just cause, which is defined in the measure as substandard performance, material neglect, repeated policy violation and gross insubordination. Conviction of a crime of “moral turpitude” — like murder, kidnapping and sexual assault — and an employer’s financial instability would also constitute just cause under the initiative.

CHAMBER MOVES

Rachel Beck has been named the next executive director of the Colorado Chamber Foundation. She has been serving as the executive director of the Colorado Competitive Council.

“The Colorado Chamber Foundation has quickly become the leading organization focused on a strategic vision and blueprint for our state, and I’m honored to step into this role to help shape a stronger, more competitive future for Colorado,” Beck said in a written statement. “The Foundation is making a real impact to improve our economic climate through research, data-backed solutions and key initiatives — I’m excited to be part of its growth and look forward to working with the Chamber team to foster a healthier business climate in Colorado.”

THE POLITICAL TICKER

ELECTION 2026

Democrat David Seligman, the progressive consumer advocate attorney who leads the nonprofit Towards Justice, kicked off his campaign for attorney general this week and reported a hot fundraising start.

Seligman’s campaign said it raised $250,000 in its first 24 hours.

ELECTION 2026

Val Nosler Beck, a Democratic strategist and campaign consultant, is running in 2026 to represent House District 23 at the Capitol.

This district is currently represented by House Majority Leader Monica Duran, a Wheat Ridge Democrat who is term-limited.

“I survived stage three rectal cancer but went broke navigating our health system,” Nosler Beck wrote in her campaign announcement. “We need leaders at the Capitol who understand the urgency of reform and who won’t stop fighting until we deliver for hardworking Coloradans.”

Already in the Democratic primary was Alexis Hoffkling, a family medicine doctor.

4TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Democrat Eileen Laubacher, who retired from the Navy as a rear admiral, announced this week that she will try to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District.

“Service to my country is in my blood. I first raised my hand and swore to protect the United States when I was just 17 years old, and I’ve lived by those values ever since. But what we’re seeing in Washington today runs completely counter to the values I hold so dear,” Laubacher said in a written statement.

She is at least the fourth candidate to jump into the Democratic primary for a chance to unseat Boebert. Also in the race are Trisha Calvarese and John Padora.

THANK YOU

We want to give a big thank you to Chas Sisk, who has been instrumental in getting the Colorado Capitol News Alliance off the ground. Chas joined KUNC at the start of the year to lead the initiative that includes The Colorado Sun, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS and a collection of public radio stations in small communities across the state.

Chas is heading home to his family in Nashville now that the session is over — he was working on a contract to get the alliance started — and will be sorely missed. His permanent replacement will be named soon.

Thanks for being such a great colleague and friend, Chas.

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THE NARRATIVE

Colorado will continue covering GLP-1 medications for state employees already using the drug for weight loss

Colorado has decided to continue covering the cost of GLP-1 medications for state employees who are already using the class of drug for weight loss — with an asterisk.

Starting July 1, their copay will increase to $120 from $30.

The state won’t cover new GLP-1, or Glucagon-like peptide-1, prescriptions for weight loss starting in July as part of a cost-cutting measure.

Originally, the state planned to stop covering GLP-1 medications for weight loss altogether starting in July. But after an outcry from state lawmakers and the state employees union, the Department of Personnel and Administration changed course.

GLP-1 coverage for diabetes treatment was always, and will continue to be, exempted from the policy change.

DPA said the cost of providing the GLP-1 benefit has grown exponentially. From July 2023 through December 2023, the cost was $1.5 million. That jumped to $4 million in the six months that followed, and then to $7 million from July through December 2024.

GLP-1 medications decrease the appetite of people who take them and slow their digestion. However, those who stop taking the drugs often see the benefits reverse.

Since 2017, Ozempic and Rybelsus have been approved for diabetes treatment. In June 2021, Wegovy was approved for weight loss. All three drugs have become wildly popular and are produced by the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk.

DPA said the total number of state employees who have a GLP-1 prescription only for obesity was 854 as of July 2024. The average state-cost per prescription was just under $1,300.

“The sustainability and affordability of the state’s benefits program is, and has always been, a key consideration when making budget decisions,” a DPA spokesman said in a written statement.

Colorado is not the first state to grapple with the cost of covering GLP-1 medications.

The state employee health insurance plans in West Virginia and North Carolina, two places with high obesity rates, covered the drugs before reversing course because of the financial burden.

Illinois began covering the cost of GLP-1 treatment for state employees in July at an estimated first-year cost of $210 million.

The legislature this year passed Senate Bill 48, which would require all large-group health insurance plans in Colorado to offer consumers a plan that covers GLP-1 drugs. The measure, if signed by the governor, would take effect in 2027.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

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• How Republicans can pass Trump’s fiscal agenda with no Democratic support
  — The New York Times  🔑
• Dems aren’t shying away from talking about 2028 presidential bids
  — Politico
• GOP’s scaled-back Medicaid plan still threatens coverage for millions
  — The Washington Post 🔑

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Corrections & Clarifications

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Type of Story: News

Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.