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Colorado Progressive Tax Plan Advances Seeking End to Flat Tax and TABOR Limits
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Approved, Complete Colorado, State

Colorado Progressive Tax Plan Advances Seeking End to Flat Tax and TABOR Limits

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado DENVER — After years of voter-approved measures scaling back Colorado’s income tax rate, proponents of significantly higher government spending have cleared a major hurdle at the state Title Board towards raising taxes by $4.1 billion annually.   Proposed Initiative #181 would replace Colorado’s flat income tax with a so-called “progressive” tax where taxpayers are charged higher rates based on their income.   The initiative is being put forth by the Bell Policy Center, a progressive nonprofit led by former Colorado state rep. Chris deGruy Kennedy, who while in office advocated multiple times for such things as reducing refunds under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) and universal healthcare. The Title Board gave the green light to move forw...
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Douglas County Cracks Down on Retail Theft With New Reporting Rules
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Douglas County Cracks Down on Retail Theft With New Reporting Rules

By: Olivia Young | CBS Colorado Douglas County Sheriff's Office says shoplifting is up in the county, but now county leaders want to crack down on the crime by encouraging businesses to report it. Douglas County Board of County Commissioners, the sheriff and the district attorney gathered Tuesday to reaffirm their support for strict penalties for theft and announced a new ordinance proposal. The ordinance would fine local businesses for not reporting theft. Leaders in Douglas County say the goal is to get corporations to change policies that disincentivize theft reporting. Nancy Schuster has worked at The Colorado Store for more than 15 years. "It's a small family business, so everyone kind of knows everyone, and it's definitely close knit," Schuster said. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT CB...
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Federal Investigation Targets Colorado’s Prison Policies and Youth Facility Failures
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Approved, State, The Gazette

Federal Investigation Targets Colorado’s Prison Policies and Youth Facility Failures

By: Cleo Westin | The Gazette The U.S. Department of Justice opened an investigation into possible constitutional violations of Colorado prisoners through inadequate treatment and transgender housing policy, according to a release by the agency. The department’s letter of notice to Gov. Jared Polis on Monday identified housing “biological males” in female units in violation of religious freedom, inadequate medical care, excessive force and inadequate nutrition in youth facilities as matters it will investigate. The Department of Justice’s action to investigate aspects of an entire state’s prison system appears to be the first of its kind in 2025. It comes following a 2024 settlement on the treatment of transgender prisoners and several reports of inadequate care at prisons and you...
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Teen’s Suicide Highlights Rising Sextortion Crisis Targeting American Teens
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Approved, National, New York Post

Teen’s Suicide Highlights Rising Sextortion Crisis Targeting American Teens

By: Chadwick Moore | New York Post The afternoon that 15-year-old Bryce Tate was sextorted started off as a perfectly normal Thursday. The Cross Lanes, W. Va., sophomore came home from the gym on Nov. 6, scarfed down a plate of tacos prepared by his mom, then went outside to shoot hoops. At 4:37 p.m., he received a text message from a strange number. Three hours later, Bryce was found in his dad’s man cave — dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. “They say it’s suicide, but in my book it is 100% murder,” Bryce’s father, Adam Tate, told The Post. “They’re godless demons, in my opinion. Just cowards, awful individuals, worse than criminals.” READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE NEW YORK POST
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Boulder Climate Case Risks Imposing Local Agendas on the Entire Nation
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The Federalist, Approved, Commentary, National

Boulder Climate Case Risks Imposing Local Agendas on the Entire Nation

By Christopher Mills | Commentary, The Federalist This week, the U.S. Supreme Court should consider a basic constitutional reality: county officials from Boulder, Colorado, cannot force their preferred climate policies on the rest of the nation. Obvious as it seems, that is what’s at stake in Suncor Energy Inc. v. Boulder County, a climate change case the court will weigh for review on Dec. 12. Like the other thirty-odd copycat climate lawsuits filed by states and localities from Honolulu to my hometown of Charleston, Boulder’s suit weaponizes tort law to try to transform state courts into vehicles for deploying sweeping climate mandates. If Boulder gets its way, the casualties won’t be confined to the energy companies it endeavors to bankrupt; American consumers an...
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Colorado Courts Deliver Split Decisions on TABOR in 2025
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado Courts Deliver Split Decisions on TABOR in 2025

By Rob Natelson | Commentary, Complete Colorado During 2025, Colorado appellate courts issued two important decisions construing the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR. One continued the judiciary’s long practice of defeating and weakening TABOR. The other decision, however, was a rare victory for Colorado taxpayers. Background The Colorado Constitution, like the charters of almost all other states, includes terms restricting public debt, taxes, and spending. Such terms are called “tax and expenditure limitations” or “TELs.” State constitution-writers started to insert TELs during the mid 19th century, after several states went bankrupt from overspending. This helps explain why the Colorado Constitution, as adopted in 1876, included some very strict TEL...
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More Victims Coming Forward as Douglas County Tackles Growing Sex Crime Caseload
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

More Victims Coming Forward as Douglas County Tackles Growing Sex Crime Caseload

By Allie Jennerjahn | Denver7 Sex crimes can range from internet crimes against children, to adult sex assault, and George Brauchler said the county is working to find a solution. DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — District Attorney for the 23rd Judicial District George Brauchler is speaking out about a surge in sex crime cases and why he thinks there's an increase. Sex crimes can range from internet crimes against children, to adult sex assault and Brauchler said the county is working to find a solution. “It's unclear to me if we're seeing an incredible uptick in it, or if because this jurisdiction that has invested so heavily in public safety, including creating subject matter experts in rape cases … if that, in and of itself, hasn't caused an increase in the number of...
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Colorado’s Appointment System Tested as Districts Lose Multiple Lawmakers
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Colorado’s Appointment System Tested as Districts Lose Multiple Lawmakers

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette Two vacancy committees that will convene in the next month or so will have an interesting challenge: Picking a new state senator and state representative who will represent the same geographic area. The vacancy election for Senate District 25, represented by the late Sen. Faith Winter, D-Broomfield, will meet on Dec. 23 at 6:30 p.m. to pick a replacement. The meeting will be livestreamed. Winter died in a car crash a few weeks ago. Reps. William Lindstedt, D-Broomfield, and Jenny Willford, D-Northglenn, are planning to run for the Senate seat.  Lindstedt already filed the candidacy paperwork for the Senate District 25 seat for 2026, given that Winter was term-limited. He noted in an announcement Monday that Win...
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Forecast Shows Home Prices Falling in Much of the South and West in 2026
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CBS News, Approved, National

Forecast Shows Home Prices Falling in Much of the South and West in 2026

By Mary Cunningham | CBS News It's still a tough time to get a foothold in the housing market, with homes sitting near record values and mortgage rates parked well above 6%. But the tide could turn in 2026, with property prices forecast to dip in 22 of the largest 100 U.S. cities and mortgage rates expected to ease slightly, according to a new analysis from Realtor.com. The real estate market is expected to move in a more "buyer-friendly" direction next year, leading to the "most balanced housing market" since the pandemic, meaning that neither sellers nor buyers are likely to have the upper hand in negotiations, said Jake Krimmel, a senior economist at Realtor.com. Mortgage rates are expected to dip to an average of 6.3% next year, a slight drop from 2025's ...
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Justices Take Key Immigration Case on Trump Order Limiting Birthright Citizenship
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Washington Examiner, Approved, National

Justices Take Key Immigration Case on Trump Order Limiting Birthright Citizenship

By Jack Birle | The Washington Examiner The Supreme Court announced Friday that it will hear arguments in a case challenging President Donald Trump‘s executive order on birthright citizenship later this term. In an order released Friday afternoon, the justices said they would take up for review Trump v. Barbara, a case originally brought in a federal court in New Hampshire by a group of people whose children could be affected by the order. The Justice Department filed petitions to the high court to hear the Barbara case and Trump v. Washington, a challenge brought by Democrat-led states, in September, arguing the justices should rule on the legality of the order. “The government has a compelling interest in en...
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