Gov. Jared Polis on Friday signed Colorado’s sweeping police accountability bill, passed in the wake of George Floyd’s death, into law, calling it a necessary and positive step toward healing the state’s pain and hearing the public’s concerns. Senate Bill 217 was introduced and passed in a matter of two weeks after being introduced in […]
Colorado laws
Posted inEducation, News
Colorado wants to ensure teachers know how to teach reading. But some say proposed rules lack teeth and transparency.
Colorado passed a law last year intended to ensure that every teacher who works with early elementary children has training on the best ways to teach reading. But as the State Board of Education considers what types of training qualify, some advocates fear the rules are too vague and don’t spell out how reading courses […]
Posted inColoradans, Education, Health, News, Politics and Government
A Snapchat video of a 13-year-old boy’s suicide roiled a Colorado town — and left police chasing social media ghosts
DACONO — On a May night just after the end of the school year, 13-year-old Von Mercado opened a Snapchat video call and set his cellphone on the ground in his backyard. Then he climbed a ladder next to a tree and stepped off. The girl he had a crush on, the one who had […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Justice comes in many forms. Here’s how wrongs can be turned into good policy and laws.
It’s hard to consume the news these days without seeing stories about terrible things happening. But sometimes, new legal rights come from very horrible wrongs. That’s because we believe that no one is above the law, and all people, organizations and governments should be held accountable when their behavior recklessly harms others. In Colorado, there […]
Posted inHealth, News, Politics and Government
Centura Health sets off national challenge to aid-in-dying laws after firing a Colorado doctor
By JoNel Aleccia, Kaiser Health News A Christian-run health system in Colorado has fired a veteran doctor who went to court to fight for the right of her patient to use the state’s medical aid-in-dying law, citing religious doctrine that describes “assisted suicide” as “intrinsically evil.” Centura Health Corp. this week abruptly terminated Dr. Barbara […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, News, Politics and Government
The good, the bad and the complicated: How Colorado’s electric vehicle laws changed this session
Rivian, the buzzy automaker promising an electric pick-up truck by late 2020, had state lawmakers’ attention during the legislative session — if only for a few minutes. In those moments during a House committee hearing last month, a representative from the Michigan company shared that Colorado has a special place in the company’s future. “In […]
Posted inGrowth, News, Politics and Government, Transportation
Colorado lawmakers want to eliminate spending caps. Here’s how the TABOR overhaul would work.
House Speaker KC Becker on Wednesday debuted a measure that could reshape state spending in Colorado, permanently eliminating taxpayer refunds and allowing lawmakers to ignore some of the most restrictive public spending limits in the nation. If the state legislature approves the bill – and Colorado voters pass the measure in November — it would […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News, Politics and Government
Colorado lawmakers aim to close loophole that led appeals court to overturn foster parent’s child sex assault conviction
The following story contains graphic details from a child sexual assault case that could be objectionable to some readers. When Senon Louis Ramirez’s conviction for sexually assaulting one of his foster children was overturned last year because of a loophole in Colorado law, there was outrage over how such a gap could exist. But the […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government, Technology
Another push for Colorado blockchain law has more than token support
Update March 6, 2019: Gov. Jared Polis signed SB19-023 into law. Read the final law here. In one of the more dramatic endings during the last legislative session, a bill aimed at putting Colorado at the forefront of blockchain policy passed by a single vote. But, moments later, it failed after some lawmakers changed their […]
Posted inBusiness, Culture, News
Colorado grocery, convenience stores are now selling full-strength beer
There are more places to buy regular beer in the New Year in Colorado. Grocery and convenience stores are now able to sell full-strength beer under a state law that took effect Tuesday. Previously, they had only been allowed to stock beer that was 3.2 percent alcohol by weight. MORE: The end of 3.2 beer in […]