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Author: Brian Porter

SB 70, taking aim at online selling of stolen goods, advances to House
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

SB 70, taking aim at online selling of stolen goods, advances to House

By Brian Porter | Rocky Mountain Voice An inconceivable quantity of goods are bought and sold daily by Coloradans online, and a measure passed out of the Colorado Senate on Monday aims to protect Coloradans from purchasing any goods which may be stolen. Senate Bill 25-070, by El Paso County Republican Sen. Larry Liston and Eagle County Democrat Sen. Dylan Roberts, cleared a 28-3 vote on final reading in the upper chamber. It would require the disclosure, to consumers, of product listings of a high-volume nature by sellers, and require development of a reporting mechanism to the online marketplace. It lost the support of at least one Republican lawmaker after that. "This is one of those bills where I wish I could split my vote," said Sen. Mark Baisley. "The first part, I like im...
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Bill alleging landlord collusion in rigging of rental market pricing advances in House
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Bill alleging landlord collusion in rigging of rental market pricing advances in House

By Brian Porter | Rocky Mountain Voice The average residential property rental in Denver is $2,050, a decrease of $117 in a year from a peak in August 2024, according to Zillow.com. In Colorado Springs the rental market has seen almost no change in a year, while in other cities like Pueblo and Grand Junction rents have increased, Zillow.com says. The rise of rents, or potentially the decline, is all a product of supply of rentals and demand by renters, some industry experts say, but two Colorado Democrat representatives have written a bill to try and prevent landlord price fixing. They say multiple online companies offer algorithms that allow landlords to collude to set rental price points. House Bill 25-1004, by Denver County Reps. Steven Woodrow and Javier Mabrey, aims to cor...
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HB 1040, adding nuclear to state’s clean energy definitions, gains bipartisan support
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

HB 1040, adding nuclear to state’s clean energy definitions, gains bipartisan support

'If Colorado wants to boost our economy, this is a serious conversation to have' — Rep. Ty Winter By Brian Porter | Rocky Mountain Voice A proposal to include nuclear energy in two statutory definitions of clean energy has passed the Colorado House on second reading. House Bill 25-1040 is a bipartisan measure by Rep. Alex Valdez, D-Denver, and Ty Winter, R-Las Animas, with the goal of adding nuclear to "clean energy" definitions, enabling financing. "This does not bring nuclear energy to Colorado," Valdez said, who founded one of Colorado's largest and now defunct solar energy companies in 2008. "This designates it as clean energy." The bill would include nuclear, in definition, alongside solar, wind and other clean energy. "If Colorado wants to boost our economy, this is...
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In killing Rep. Woog’s delivery fee repeal bill, Democrats again voted against relief for Coloradans
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

In killing Rep. Woog’s delivery fee repeal bill, Democrats again voted against relief for Coloradans

By Brian Porter | Rocky Mountain Voice Another Republican measure, which could have made everyday life more affordable for Coloradans trying to get by, has been killed by House Democrats. House Bill 25-1144, by Rep. Dan Woog, R-Frederick, which would have repealed retail delivery fees, was postponed indefinitely Tuesday — legislative lingo for killed — along party lines. The measure failed, 9-4. "By voting to keep this delivery fee in place, Democrats are adding to the financial strain that Colorado families and small businesses are already struggling with," Woog said. "This fee is just another example of the hidden costs that make it more difficult for hardworking Coloradans to succeed. Instead of relieving the pressure on our citizens, this vote will only continue to hurt the ve...
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HB 1135, requiring schools adopt student cell phone usage policy, advances out of committee
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

HB 1135, requiring schools adopt student cell phone usage policy, advances out of committee

By Brian Porter | Rocky Mountain Voice The debate to end all debates may soon reach a conclusion. State lawmakers Wednesday advanced House Bill 25-1135, by Steamboat Springs Democrat Rep. Meghan Lukens and El Paso County Republican Rep. Mary Bradfield, a measure requiring schools adopt and implement a student communication device policy. The bill now moves to the House floor on a 11-1 vote of the House Education Committee. While the measure's concepts were broadly supported in the committee hearing, in many schools across the state, suspension of cell phone access in the classroom has raised the ire of parents and students. Many schools have local policy restricting cell phone use, largely brought by educators who have increasingly said classroom distractions have grown beyond the...
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‘Let there be a run on guns’: Senate Democrats advance semiauto gun ban to Colorado House
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

‘Let there be a run on guns’: Senate Democrats advance semiauto gun ban to Colorado House

By Brian Porter | Rocky Mountain Voice A debate Tuesday on the proper role of government and at what point constitutional liberty has been infringed, led by Senate Republicans, fell upon deaf ears. Senate Bill 25-003, what some deem to be the most overreaching gun-control proposal in the country, was passed by a 19-15 vote of the Democrat-dominated Senate and now heads to the Colorado House. If it were to clear the House, the bill would land on Gov. Jared Polis' desk. The bill, if it were to be signed into law, would allow for future purchase, sell or transfer of only certain semiauto firearms on a Democrat-submitted list and would create a de-facto gun owner registry through other requirements, such as mandatory hunter's and firearms education classes prior to purchase. "We ha...
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Danielle Jurinsky will seek second, four-year term on Aurora City Council
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Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

Danielle Jurinsky will seek second, four-year term on Aurora City Council

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Danielle Jurinsky had been an entrepreneur and business owner, military veteran and single mom, and then, four years ago, added policymaker to the list. She announced Tuesday her intention to seek a second, four-year term to an Aurora City Council at-large seat. The City Council includes 11 members in three wards and at-large seats. Election Day is Nov. 4, 2025. More detail is available through the City of Aurora's website. “Coming through the pandemic as a restaurant owner, my business and many others like mine faced government overreach and increasing costs that threatened to shut us down,” Jurinsky said. It inspired her run for City Council in support of other business owners, who were confronted by local and state governments forcing t...
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SB 5, the undoing of the 81-year-old Labor Peace Act, is headed to Colorado House
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

SB 5, the undoing of the 81-year-old Labor Peace Act, is headed to Colorado House

By Brian Porter | Rocky Mountain Voice When she opened the 75th General Assembly with other lawmakers, Douglas County Republican Sen. Lisa Frizell noted Democrat Gov. Jared Polis' description of "the free state of Colorado". The passage of Senate Bill 25-005 out of the upper chamber Tuesday is proof enough, Frizell says, that those were only words from the head of the ruling party, which led the labor bill. "This bill does nothing more than to put handcuffs on workers and businesses alike," Frizell said, noting Colorado is already rated as the sixth most-regulated state in the country. Senate Bill 25-005, by Majority Leader Sen. Robert Rodriguez and Democrat Sen. Jessie Danielson, which would undo significant portions of an 81-year-old labor relations law, was adopted on a 22-1...
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Legislature recognizes contributions of nurses, EMS responders
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Legislature recognizes contributions of nurses, EMS responders

By Brian Porter | Rocky Mountain Voice The role of emergency workers and nurses was recognized Tuesday in the Colorado Senate, with a selection of each seated in the chamber. Adams County Democrat Sen. Kyle Mullica, an emergency room nurse when he's not serving in the state legislature, noted that a nurse is comfort in trying times. "It has been a tough [few] years to be a nurse," he said. "They take care of us in our most difficult times." And before a patient many times reaches the hospital or emergency room, emergency workers care for them, El Paso County Republican Sen. Larry Liston said. Republican Sen. Mark Baisley introduced EMS workers in the chamber. "Every now and then we need a hero," he said. "When that emergency medical situation comes on us or our family, or...
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Final hearings today for Senate’s labor, semiauto firearms ban bills as state legislature returns to business
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Final hearings today for Senate’s labor, semiauto firearms ban bills as state legislature returns to business

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice A three-day weekend in the Colorado General Assembly may have been needed for the ambitious schedule lawmakers may keep today, Tuesday, Feb. 18. Another marathon session of the Colorado Senate could be on tap, as Senate Bill 25-003, the semiauto firearms ban, returns to the floor for third reading. At issue, bill sponsor Democrat Sen. Tom Sullivan said, is whether, in the interest of stemming mass shootings in the state, Coloradans should sacrifice constitutionally-provided gun ownership rights. “We’re concerned about the next firearm, not the one you have,” said Sullivan, which identified the bill’s approach to prohibit purchase, sale and transfer of common-use firearms that many on the political right find unconstitutional. “If we allow ...
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