Efforts to address climate change are among the most lobbied measures at the Capitol this year as a host of businesses and nonprofits seek to pass, block or amend them. Five of the top 10 lobbied bills this year at the General Assembly address greenhouse gas emissions, according to a Colorado Sun analysis of lobbying […]
Americans for prosperity
Posted inEnvironment, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government
As Colorado readies wolf-reintroduction plan, other states may step up kills
By Matthew Brown and Iris Samuels, The Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. — Payments for dead wolves. Unlimited hunting of the animals. Shooting wolves from the air. Wolf hunting policies in some states are taking an aggressive turn, as Republican lawmakers and conservative hunting groups push to curb their numbers and propose tactics shunned by many […]
Posted inPolitics and Government, Transportation
Colorado lawmakers inch forward on transportation deal as gas tax hike becomes political touch point
Behind the scenes at the Capitol, in private meetings and hushed conversations, Colorado lawmakers are talking about how to find a legislative unicorn: a bipartisan deal to find more money for transportation. The negotiations started at an impasse, only adding to the frustration felt by the advocates behind three failed prior election campaigns, but began […]
Posted inEducation, Politics and Government, Transportation
$10 million poured into 2019 election, but big money couldn’t push Proposition CC to passage
Advocates for Proposition CC outspent the opposition by more than double but still lost in the statewide November election. The two campaign committees behind the ballot question — Coloradans for Prosperity and Great Education Colorado — spent a combined $4.5 million on the failed effort, according to final campaign finance reports filed late last week. […]
Posted inEducation, Politics and Government, Transportation
Meet the million-dollar man behind Proposition CC on Colorado’s 2019 ballot
Dan Ritchie made a prophetic declaration four and a half years ago. In a conference room filled with Colorado policy leaders, the former University of Denver chancellor moderated a discussion with experts who lamented the state’s dismal rankings for spending on education, colleges and transportation. But no one had an easy solution. Out of nowhere, […]
Posted inEducation, Growth, Politics and Government, Transportation
Proposition CC campaign is door-to-door combat as both sides turnout supporters ahead of 2019 election
Kane Randolph presses the doorbell at the home of a voter in Denver and readies his pitch. In the next few seconds — which is all the time he expects to get — he needs to explain Proposition CC, a 60-word question on the 2019 statewide ballot that is mired in baggage. When the door […]
Posted inBusiness, Education, Politics and Government
Dark money and big donors fuel the ballot battle over Proposition CC in Colorado
Big money is pouring into the Proposition CC campaign – and Colorado voters may never find out where much of it is coming from. That’s because dark-money nonprofits are contributing heavily to supporters and opponents of the 2019 ballot question to end TABOR revenue limits. That dark money — totaling nearly $3 million — is […]
Posted inPolitics and Government
The political stakes for Proposition CC are huge. It’s a test case for a major fiscal overhaul in Colorado.
This November, Proposition CC will ask Colorado voters to permanently lift the spending limits in the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, but the political stakes embedded in the question are even more consequential. The ballot question represents the most significant overhaul to TABOR since voters approved the constitutional provision in 1992, and serves as a test […]
Posted inEducation, Growth, Politics and Government, Transportation
Now we know how much money is at stake on the 2019 ballot with Proposition CC and TABOR refunds in Colorado
On the November ballot, Colorado voters will decide a question potentially worth as much as $1.7 billion. Proposition CC asks voters for permission to end the cap on state tax revenue outlined in the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. If the answer is yes, the state plans to spend the money on schools, higher education and […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: In the age of Trump, Cory Gardner can’t decide who to be
This month, Americans for Prosperity Action backed Republican Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner in his 2020 re-election push. AFP is the massive super PAC funded by libertarian billionaires Charles and David Koch. They, along with Colorado GOP Chair Ken Buck, are wasting no time initiating what will no doubt be a brutally lengthy campaign season here […]