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.
Daneya Esgar
Posted inNews
Colorado governor, lawmakers unveil plan to slash property taxes by $700M to head off business group’s ballot measure
Colorado property owners would get a $700 million break on their rising tax bills over the next two years under a plan unveiled Monday by Gov. Jared Polis and state lawmakers that’s aimed at preventing a business group from pursuing an even larger reduction in November. The legislature, in a deal reached in the final […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
As more and more Colorado lawmakers have babies, legislature moves to adopt its first parental leave policy
When state Sen. Brittany Pettersen gave birth to her son, Davis, during the 2020 lawmaking term, the only way the Lakewood Democrat could take time off and avoid being docked pay was to have her pregnancy deemed a “long-term illness.” That’s because the statutes governing the legislature dictate that a lawmaker who misses more than […]
Posted inColoradans, Education, News, Politics and Government
Higher education faculty in Colorado beg lawmakers to pass collective bargaining rights bill
Craig Svonkin relocated to Denver 15 years ago and while he’s been able to teach children’s literacy and poetry at Metropolitan State University of Denver exactly like he set out to do, it has come at a heavy cost: his financial stability. The associate professor of English took a huge pay cut to move from […]
Posted inHealth, News, Politics and Government
Democrats’ effort to affirm abortion access in Colorado won’t stop Republicans from trying to limit the procedure
Colorado Democrats are poised this year to pass a bill enshrining the state’s existing abortion-access guarantees in law. But even if the yet-to-be-introduced measure is signed by Gov. Jared Polis as expected, existing threats to abortion access in Colorado would remain mostly intact. Republicans would still have the ability to try to pass legislation or […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, Economy, Education, Health, News, Politics and Government
What will be debated at the Colorado Capitol when the legislature returns next week
Gov. Jared Polis wants Colorado to become one of the top 10 safest states in the U.S. within five years, he said Thursday night during a virtual Colorado Sun event ahead of the 2022 legislative session, which begins next week on Jan. 12. “It’ll take a lot of work to get there,” he said. Polis, […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
WATCH: We talk with Gov. Jared Polis, key state lawmakers about the upcoming legislative session
Join our lively discussion on the hot issues affecting Colorado this election year. Will there be a lot of action early on? Will the State Legislature accomplish more since it’s an election year? What legislation will lawmakers be teeing up when the session opens Jan. 12? Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun’s political reporter will be […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government, Transportation
Colorado is on track to take its most significant step toward a Front Range passenger train system
Colorado lawmakers on Friday introduced a bill that, if passed, would mark the most significant step the state has taken yet toward funding, building and eventually operating a Front Range passenger train system. The measure, Senate Bill 238, would draw a new special Front Range passenger rail district running from the New Mexico state line […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Economy, Health, Housing, News, Politics and Government, Transportation
Colorado lawmakers, governor unveil $700M state economic stimulus plan. Here’s where the money will go.
Top Democratic and Republican state lawmakers on Wednesday joined Gov. Jared Polis to unveil the broad strokes of a roughly $700 million state economic stimulus plan, most of which is set to go to “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects, including repairs to the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels and Interstate 70 bridges The shovel-ready projects will total $170 million, […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, News, Politics and Government
Colorado’s governor wants a big, fast coronavirus stimulus package. State lawmakers worry about the details.
As the Colorado legislature returns to work on Tuesday, the No. 1 priority for Gov. Jared Polis and Democratic lawmakers will be passing an economic stimulus package to help lift the state out of the effects of the coronavirus crisis. But the question of how big the package should be and how fast the General […]