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 […]
Hugh McKean
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Another potential delay to Colorado’s redistricting process? Counting prisoners.
Redrawing Colorado’s legislative and congressional boundaries was already going to be a race against the clock because of a monthslong delay in receiving data from the U.S. Census Bureau. But another factor could worsen the time crunch: counting prison inmates. Last year, Colorado lawmakers passed House Bill 1010, which requires that redistricting count the state’s […]
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 inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Nicolais: Principle and compromise – the time has come for Colorado Republicans
On my wall I have hung a framed copy of Time Magazine from June 19, 1964, the week the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed in the U.S. Senate. The man gracing the cover is Illinois Sen. Everett Dirksen in all his horn-rimmed-glassed, wild-white-mop-of-hair glory. Across the front right corner the picture is captioned, “The […]
Posted inElection 2020, News, Politics and Government
Where do Colorado Republicans go from here?
Four years ago, before Donald Trump was president, Colorado Republicans had a place at the table. They held one of Colorado’s U.S. Senate seats and three statewide offices: attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer. The GOP was even in power at the Colorado Capitol, where the state Senate was in the party’s hands, forcing […]
Posted inElection 2020, News, Politics and Government
Colorado Democrats debate need for diversity in selecting their statehouse leadership
Democrats in the state legislature debated over including women and people of color in their leadership Thursday, just two days after the party affirmed its majority at Colorado Capitol. Identity politics defined a four-way race for majority leader in the House, as lawmakers made the case for certain candidates based on race, gender and geography. […]
Posted inElection 2020, Politics and Government
Democrats hold their majorities at Colorado Capitol but GOP blunts a second blue wave
Democratic state lawmakers boosted their majority in the state Senate by one seat and maintained their strong numbers in the House after balloting ended Tuesday. But new House leadership, 16 new lawmakers, a continuing pandemic and the budget fallout from a voter-approved tax cut may make for challenging times in the 2021 General Assembly. Senate […]
Posted inCOVID, Health, Politics and Government
“It’s an 11 on the weird scale”: Colorado legislature makes an awkward return to the Capitol
The hallways were mostly empty. The lawmakers were mostly masked. The interactions were mostly awkward. The General Assembly’s return to the state Capitol after a two-month coronavirus pause looked anything but normal. Members of the House sat at desks divided by plexiglass or in the gallery above the chamber shouting down their votes on legislation. […]
Posted inEducation, Growth, Politics and Government
Colorado needs affordable housing. The state owns land. Can this combination work?
A block away from where state lawmakers try to solve intractable financial questions, like school funding and affordable housing, sit two dilapidated warehouses that could soon be put to work addressing both issues at once. Under an innovative plan hatched during the previous administration, the State Land Board has agreed to lease the publicly owned […]
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 […]