Tag: Common Sense Institute
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Local governments’ participation is crucial to goals of $300 million ballot measure, analysis says
The buy-in of local governments is key to successfully implementing the goals of Proposition 123, which, if approved by voters this November, would direct $300 million per year in TABOR refund revenues into affordable housing programs, according to an analysis from a Colorado think tank. Indeed, the proposal will only be as successful as the…
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Report: Education budget increases did not translate to higher teacher pay
The salaries of Colorado teachers are not increasing at the same rate as the budgets for school districts, according to a report released Wednesday. The annual Dollars and Data Report from the Common Sense Institute found that, over the last 14 years, Colorado’s funding per student has increased by 47% while the average teacher salary…
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New statewide building code could cost homeowners $68 billion
A new law that a Colorado think tank says paves the way for converting all homes in the state to electricity for cooking, space and water heating and EV charging could cost Colorado homeowners between $59 and $68 billion by 2031, and would exacerbate Colorado’s already acute housing shortage. In its analysis of House Bill…
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House judiciary panel tackles sweeping legislative response to fentanyl crisis
Editor’s note: The House Judiciary Committee this afternoon heard testimony on a sweeping legislation aimed at confronting Colorado’s fentanyl crisis. This story has been updated multiple times. Here’s the latest. Herod can’t attend fentanyl hearing as Joint Budget Committee meets at the same time Rep. Leslie Herod, who was temporarily appointed to the House…
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Advocates for stricter penalties for fentanyl press their case
A coalition of business leaders and law enforcement officials made the case Monday for making simple possession of fentanyl a felony, one day ahead of a House panel hearing a sweeping bill that seeks to confront Colorado’s opioid crisis. JJ Ament, president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, thanked Speaker of the…
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COVER STORY | Is Colorado’s government expansion sustainable?
Proponents of Colorado’s TABOR designed the constitutional amendment to curb government’s voracious appetite for more spending. But Colorado’s most recognizable tax law, which turns 30 this year, hasn’t stopped the state government from growing. Not even close. Consider this: lawmakers propose to spend $36.4 billion in the next fiscal year, an amount that funds 63,349…
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WATCH: Colorado Conversations panel discusses solutions to state’s affordable housing problem
Solutions to Colorado’s lack of affordable housing problem will have to come from myriad angles, including regionalizing and streamlining permitting, increasing the skilled labor workforce and curing “NIMBYism,” industry experts said Thursday during a “Colorado Conversations” panel discussion. The event, hosted by The Denver Gazette and Colorado Politics, focused on the causes of extremely low…
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Law enforcement groups withhold support for Polis’ public safety pitch
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Three of the state’s largest law enforcement groups told Gov. Jared Polis in a letter Thursday that proposals pushed by Democrats in the legislature — which he has signed into law — have contributed to soaring criminality…
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Colorado Politics, Denver Gazette, 9NEWS host legislative leaders in Zoom town hall
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Colorado legislative leaders and Gov. Jared Polis will lay out the stakes, likelihoods and possibilities for another truncated legislative session online Friday, Feb. 12. The town hall, to be conducted on Zoom teleconferencing software, begins…
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Can Colorado emerge from COVID into a new Roaring Twenties? | Vince Bzdek
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save In 2019, U.S. News ranked Colorado‘s economy No. 1 in the nation, driven by 2.3% job growth compared to a 1.2% national average, a 2.5% unemployment rate, and 4.87% growth in personal income per person. Ah, those were the days. The upheaval brought on by…