House Bill 1326 was one of the most contentious measures debated at the Colorado Capitol this year.
Alec Garnett
Posted inPolitics and Government
Republican stall tactics in Colorado House threaten fate of dozens of bills as 2022 lawmaking term nears Wednesday close
Stuck in a long queue are bills that would change Colorado’s unemployment system, increase penalties for fentanyl users and dealers, and spend millions of dollars in federal coronavirus aid. The School Finance Act is also stuck in the logjam.
Posted inBusiness, Economy, Housing, News, Politics and Government
Colorado Democrats aim to quickly pass property tax relief to head off ballot measure from business group, conservatives
The debate over how to tackle rising property taxes is poised to dominate the final days of Colorado’s 2022 legislative session, as Gov. Jared Polis, Democratic lawmakers and Colorado Concern, a deep-pocketed business organization, hastily negotiate a plan to provide relief that’s sufficient but that doesn’t also deny local governments billions in future funding. With […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
A Democrat wants Colorado voters to eliminate a Capitol delay tactic the GOP has used many times
Colorado Republicans don’t have enough votes to stop legislation at the state Capitol. They haven’t in almost four years. So when the GOP wants to try to prevent the Democratic majority from passing a bill, they really have only one tactic: delay. The main way Republicans have tried — sometimes successfully — to slow down […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
“You’re under threat”: Voting rights resolutions at Colorado statehouse become election-year pitch from Democrats
Speaker Alec Garnett looked into the camera live-broadcasting his remarks from the Colorado House chambers on Tuesday and made a pitch to Coloradans. “The choice is clear,” the Denver Democrat said during debate over a resolution seeking to reaffirm the 2020 presidential results and calling on Congress to pass Democrats’ stalled voting access bills. Garnett […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Littwin: Jared Polis just showed how to make an election-year State of the State speech
When Jared Polis gave his State of the State speech on Thursday, he left little to the imagination. He might as well have called it the Kickoff to My Re-election Campaign speech. All that was missing was the music — he did, uh, produce some of his own — and the bunting and balloons. The […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
“A fighting tone”: Colorado Republicans are heading into the 2022 legislative session on the offensive
Republicans in the Colorado legislature have been mostly playing defense over the past three years. But that posture is changing in 2022, an election year that will determine whether conservatives will remain relegated to the sidelines of Colorado politics. This year, Republicans are going on the offensive. Republicans see the 2022 legislative session that began […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
The Colorado legislature’s IOU to the state’s public pensions is growing as retiree benefits get cut
Twelve years ago, a Colorado retiree with a public pension could expect a 3.5% raise every year. It was a generous perk of public service, made possible by the stock market booms of the 1990s, and then sustained by public officials who overlooked warning signs. But the good times came to an end with the […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Despite partisan rhetoric at the Colorado Capitol, just 4.4% of bills this year passed along purely party lines
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 […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Lawsuit challenges constitutionality of Colorado law limiting the sale of medical marijuana concentrates
A 19-year-old medical marijuana patient has filed a lawsuit seeking to block a new Colorado law limiting how much marijuana concentrate medical cannabis patients can buy, alleging the measure violates the state constitution. House Bill 1317, which passed the legislature with unanimous support from the state Senate and with the objections of only eight of […]