Tag: Politics
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Immigration resolution ignites hours of debate in Colorado House
A joint resolution affirming lawmakers’ “commitment to Coloradans navigating the complex United States immigration system” sparked more than three hours of debate on the House Floor on Tuesday morning, reflecting the tension rising between Colorado and the Trump administration, which has traded barbs and lawsuits, underpinned by the former’s campaign to crackdown on illegal immigration…
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Colorado lawmakers reverse course, OK $2.4M funding for additional prison beds
The Colorado legislature’s budget panel changed course on Wednesday, reversing its previous decision to deny the Department of Corrections $2.4 million request to pay for additional prison beds. Last week, JBC members voted, 4-2, to deny the department’s request, with Democrats arguing that they have yet to see the department make any substantial effort to…
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Gov. Polis highlights Colorado’s business climate and affordability during annual gathering
Gov. Jared Polis used his annual meeting with Colorado business leaders on Wednesday to take stock of his time in office, highlighting the state’s pandemic response, ongoing challenges facing downtown economies, and what he described as continued efforts to balance a strong business climate with affordability concerns. Polis was joined by leaders of some of…
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Colorado lawmakers reintroduce union bill, revive other stalled legislation
It can take years for a policy to successfully pass through the Colorado legislature, which is why it’s not uncommon to see the same bill or a version of it brought back from the dead several sessions in a row in the hopes it would eventually pass. Here are a few measures lawmakers are hoping…
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The biggest accelerant of our political tribalism | Eric Sondermann
In years past, my go-to word in describing our political condition was “polarization.” I used it endlessly and still do on occasion. But as time has moved on, and the divide has only grown in depth and toxicity, polarization no longer seems to fully capture the magnitude of what has overtaken us. In its place,…
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Colorado Democrats reignite debate over gender identity in child custody cases
Democratic lawmakers eye reviving a provision related to gender identity in child custody cases that was stripped from a bill signed into law last year. Last session, lawmakers passed House Bill 1312, which dealt with legal protections for transgender individuals. The law included new provisions dealing with name changes on marriage certificates, sex designations on…
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Report: Colorado government has grown beyond TABOR’s limits
Colorado’s government has grown substantially over the past three decades beyond the limits that voters approved to restrain that expansion, according to a new report from a think tank. The analysis from the Independence Institute, which examines state spending, revenue sources, and employment trends since the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights went into effect in 1992,…
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Colorado lawmakers want officers to conduct ‘lethality assessments’ when responding to domestic violence calls
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is hoping to reduce to Colorado’s rising domestic violence fatalities through a bill that would require law enforcement agencies around the state to conduct “lethality assessments” on domestic violence victims. In early December of last year, police found the body of 37-year-old Annette Valdez in a trash can near a…
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Colorado attorney general invites public to report ICE ‘misconduct’
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has launched a new online mechanism that allows Colorado residents to report “misconduct” by federal immigration agents, his office announced on Wednesday. “Nobody is above the rule of law, including federal agents such as ICE or border patrol,” he said. “This new reporting form is about keeping our communities safe…
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Enterprise fees surge as more of Colorado’s budget escapes TABOR limits
More than 30 years after Colorado voters approved the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, a growing share of state spending now falls outside the voter-approved limits intended to restrain government growth. A new report shows that fee-funded “enterprises” — state-owned businesses exempt from TABOR’s revenue cap — have expanded dramatically, raising worries that lawmakers are increasingly…