As a state senator, I have dedicated my career to making life better for my state and my community. As part of that work, one of my main focuses has been on improving our state’s health care system, and I’ve worked hard to help ensure more of our neighbors can access the care they need […]
Sen. Faith Winter
Posted inEnvironment, News, Politics and Government
Colorado lawmakers are once again trying to pay landowners for rejected conservation easements
Persistent state legislators are once again hoping to compensate Colorado landowners whose conservation easement tax credits were rejected and clawed back years ago, this time with a bill whose price tag to the treasury would be about $155 million. The effort by Sens. Faith Winter, a Westminster Democrat, and Cleave Simpson, an Alamosa Republican, revives […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Colorado governor releases final plan to reduce emissions by 90%. It’s still too vague, environmentalists say.
The state released its final version of the highly touted “Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap” Thursday, claiming it lays down the path and the timing of specific rules and legislation to achieve massive emissions reductions. But environmental advocates said it still is too vague to guarantee real change. The report by Gov. Jared Polis and […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Voices of Colorado youth, amplified by activism and opportunity, find receptive ears with lawmakers
As a high school sophomore, Margot Swetich followed state Sen. Faith Winter to a building across the street from the State Capitol and into a meeting room, where an assortment of lobbyists peppered the Westminster Democrat with questions and objections to the contentious family leave bill she championed. Margot, then just 15, reeled from the […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, Health, Politics and Government, Transportation
Is Colorado leading or lagging on climate policy? It depends on which states you’re comparing us to.
States from coast to coast – faced with President Donald Trump’s insistence that climate change is “a hoax” – are taking the lead in creating climate policy and programs, and in this multifaceted exercise Colorado is either a leader or a laggard. On the one hand, the state has adopted some of the most ambitious […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics and Government
There’s a push to increase fines for Colorado polluters and directly help impacted communities
The Western Sugar Cooperative sugar beet processing plant in Fort Morgan was ordered to pay a $2 million fine to Colorado’s Department of Public Health and Environment in May 2018 for egregious water and air quality violations. Like most penalties collected from CDPHE, the money was funneled primarily into the state’s general fund, which pays […]