Big tobacco has launched a forceful effort to stop a bill that would ask Colorado voters to approve a cigarette tax increase and a new nicotine tax, spending thousands of dollars on a social media campaign against it and hiring some of the most powerful lobbyists at the state Capitol to ensure the measure is […]
Angela Williams
Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government
Colorado Democrats postpone paid family leave effort until 2020, opt for study after mounting pressure against bill
Democrats at the Colorado Capitol won’t meet one of their prime goals this year, passing a paid family and parental leave bill, opting instead to study how to resolve differences surrounding the bill in hopes of pushing forward in the 2020 legislative session. The resolution comes after weeks of mounting pressure from business groups against […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government
After overhaul, Colorado Democrats advance their ambitious family leave effort
By Jim Anderson, The Associated Press A Colorado Senate committee on Tuesday advanced an ambitious paid family leave bill that was substantially amended by its sponsors in an attempt to alleviate the concerns of most of the state’s major business chambers. The Senate Finance Committee voted 4-3 Tuesday to send the bill to the Appropriations Committee. The […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News, Politics and Government
Colorado death penalty repeal effort is yanked, with Democratic votes in question
Colorado lawmakers on Tuesday nixed their effort to repeal the state’s death penalty after it appeared Democrats lacked the votes needed to push the measure through, emphasizing a split in the party that has been widening for weeks. Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat, tearfully asked that Senate Bill 182 be laid over until May […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Health, News, Politics and Government
Few Colorado workers get paid time off to care for a new baby or sick family member. Changing that is a key goal for Democrats.
When Christine Levi thinks about her “maternity leave” after having her baby girl, she starts to stress out all over again. Levi, who was working as a paralegal for a small, downtown Denver law firm, resumed work the same day she left the hospital. She had zero days of paid leave and thought that if […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, News, Politics and Government
Soured by Denver lemonade stand incident, Colorado could allow kid businesses to operate permit-free
Children’s lemonade stands in Colorado could soon be spared from being soured by local regulations. A bill inspired by three young Denver boys whose lemonade stand was shut down by police last summer for lacking a permit has been introduced in the Colorado Senate. It would allow anyone under the age of 18 to operate […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Colorado Senate Democrats, with their new majority, show early splits; statehouse Republicans search for a path forward
The new Democratic majorities at the state Capitol picked their leaders in elections Thursday that showed early divisions between the moderates and more liberal lawmakers. In the state Senate, where the party took control for the first time in four years, Pueblo Sen. Leroy Garcia unanimously won the job as the chamber’s president when it […]