A record 504 bills introduced in the Colorado legislature became law this year, and 94% of them had at least one Republican vote. And half of the 39 Republicans in the state House and Senate voted for 58% of those bills, according to a Colorado Sun analysis. That’s despite a third year of Democratic rule […]
2021 legislative session
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News
Colorado’s teacher shortage may worsen coming out of the pandemic. Could $13M stop the trend?
Karen Gonzalez Rivas shows up to school each day to teach in some of the same classrooms where her fifth grade self learned how to master words and numbers. In a way, she’s returned to where some of the seeds of her nascent career in education were first planted. Gonzalez Rivas, who was brought to […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Effort to force Colorado to cut greenhouse emissions faster exposes exasperation with Polis administration
For more than a year, frustrated Colorado lawmakers and environmental groups have struggled to push the Polis administration to move faster to meet mandated cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. Now they are advancing a bill to set emission caps and deadlines — over the objections of the governor. The Senate Transportation and Energy Committee moved […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News
Colorado wants to help kids move past coronavirus learning challenges. But funding is a big hurdle.
Many Colorado students will end the school year academically behind, set back by pandemic-related disruptions. Lawmakers are hoping to help them regain ground with state-supported intensive tutoring. A bipartisan bill, House Bill 1234, proposes creating a program that would grant funds to districts to develop “high-impact” tutoring programs to help catch students up on their […]
Posted inHealth, News, Politics and Government
Colorado already allows prescription drug imports from Canada. Lawmakers want to open it up to more countries.
By Patty Niebert, The Associated Press/Report for America Colorado lawmakers are considering a bill to add more countries to a state program that imports prescription drugs from Canada. The state House Health and Insurance committee passed a bill Wednesday that would expand the program if the federal program is also increased. In 2020, under former […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, News, Politics and Government
Millions more for Colorado K-12 schools? Lawmakers seek court opinion first.
Democratic lawmakers are asking the Colorado Supreme Court to decide whether a proposed tax change that could generate millions for K-12 education is constitutional. Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights typically requires voter approval for tax increases. This proposal would gradually increase local school district property taxes without a vote under the premise that voters a […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Republicans battle for 10 hours against effort to require Coloradans to store guns in safes, with trigger locks
By Patty Niebert, The Associated Press/Report for America Colorado Republicans voiced adamant opposition during a House debate about a proposed bill that would require firearms not in use to be stored securely in order to prevent children and teens from accessing the weapons. Republican House members spent roughly 10 hours opposing the bill and argued […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
The first of 3 gun-safety bills moves ahead in Colorado statehouse debate
By Patty Nieberg, Associated Press/Report for America Colorado lawmakers heard from Second Amendment advocates and gun violence activists on a bill that would require firearms to be safely stored when they are not in use to keep them away from children and others who shouldn’t have access. Supporters of the bill asked a House committee […]
Posted inBig Idea, News, Politics and Government
Big idea: Colorado governor calls his billion-dollar coronavirus stimulus plan a “one-time opportunity”
Colorado has a “once-in-a-generation opportunity,” Gov. Jared Polis said, and it lies within his billion-dollar economic stimulus proposal to help the state rebound from coronavirus. “This billion dollars will really, I think, reflect on this legislature, on me, on the state, on all of us. It’s a one-time opportunity that no recent legislature has had,” […]
Posted inNews
WATCH LIVE: Gov. Jared Polis, state lawmakers join Colorado Sun ahead of 2021 legislative session
Gov. Jared Polis and four state lawmakers joined The Colorado Sun on Thursday night for a virtual event previewing the upcoming 2021 legislative session.The free event, sponsored by Aponte & Busam, was hosted by Colorado Sun political reporter Jesse Paul and Professor Seth Masket, who leads the University of Denver’s Center on American Politics. The […]