By Brandon Richard | Denver7
DENVER — With under a week to go before they adjourn this year’s legislative session, Colorado lawmakers still have a lot of work ahead of them.
Dozens of bills are still under consideration, including several controversial proposals.
“It feels like 80% of the work happens in the last two weeks,” said State Rep. Meg Froelich, D-Englewood. “Our budget was pretty late in being finalized, and so, nothing can really move until we know how much money we’re working with, or in this case, how much money we’re not working with.”
Froelich is one of the primary sponsors of Senate Bill 25-161, which would reform the Regional Transportation District (RTD). The bill cleared its second-to-last vote in the Colorado House of Representatives on Thursday.
“This bill addresses all of the things that we need to do to make sure that we’re increasing ridership, that helps us meet our climate goals and gets people out of their cars,” said Froelich.
She said the bill would also help Colorado meet its housing goals.
“It helps with our housing goals because we’ve just had so much legislation that seeks to put housing near transit. That’s predicated on transit being reliable and frequent and safe,” said Froelich.
Lawmakers are also still considering Senate Bill 25-276, which would expand privacy protections for immigrants. It would also place more limits on local and state cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
“Colorado thrives when everyone, regardless of their immigration status, can live, work, and contribute without fear,” said State Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, one of the bill’s primary sponsors.
Republicans say they are deeply concerned about the bill, which is on the House’s agenda for Friday.
“I’m just trying to understand the immigration bill,” said House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese.
Pugliese said she wants to “make sure that law enforcement can cooperate with federal authorities on violent criminals that are not here in our country lawfully.”