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Democrats launch legal assault on TABOR: Will the courts undo the will of Colorado voters?
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Approved, denvergazette.com, State

Democrats launch legal assault on TABOR: Will the courts undo the will of Colorado voters?

By Marianne Goodland | Denver Gazette In 2011, a coalition of 33 individuals and groups, including current and former lawmakers, county commission and other elected officials and school districts, sued the state of Colorado, challenging the constitutionality of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. A decade later, the lawsuit was dismissed on a technicality: the lawsuit, the federal courts indicated, had the wrong plaintiffs. A state Democratic lawmaker who was part of the legal team in Kerr v. Hickenlooper (later Kerr v. Polis) is now sponsoring a resolution to try again, but with some important differences. Rep. Sean Camacho, D-Denver, sponsored House Joint Resolution 1023, which would require the General Assembly to sue over TABOR's constitutionality in state district court. The...
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Hancock: SB25-086 tramples the Constitution in the name of control
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Hancock: SB25-086 tramples the Constitution in the name of control

By Michael A. Hancock | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice How SB25-086 tramples the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments in the name of “user protection” In our political age where virtue signaling often masquerades as policymaking, Colorado Senate Bill 25-086, charmingly titled Protections for Users of Social Media, stands as a masterclass in misdirection. Behind its disarming language and so-called concern for user safety lies a deeply troubling expansion of government power—one that threatens to obliterate the digital boundary between individual freedom and state surveillance. Let me be frank: SB25-086 is not about protection—it’s about control. At the heart of the bill is a brazen and unconstitutional attempt to enlist private companies into a pseudo-judicial surveillan...
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Republicans win special house elections, expanding slim majority
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Approved, National, The Federalist

Republicans win special house elections, expanding slim majority

By Shawn Fleetwood | The Federalist Republican candidates won both special House elections in Florida on Tuesday night, expanding the party’s slim majority in the lower chamber. According to The New York Times, Republican Jimmy Patronis is projected to defeat Democrat Gay Valimont in the Sunshine State’s 1st Congressional District. Located in the Florida Panhandle, the district’s residents overwhelmingly supported President Donald Trump over former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. The seat was left open following the resignation of former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who stepped down after being nominated by Trump to serve as attorney general. Gaetz ultimately withdrew his nomination to the position after facing resistance from several GOP senators reportedly opposed to his ...
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Progressives keep Wisconsin Supreme Court; more Democrat US House seats likely
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Approved, National, The Daily Signal

Progressives keep Wisconsin Supreme Court; more Democrat US House seats likely

By Jacob Adams | Daily Signal Wisconsin residents voted on Tuesday to elect Susan Crawford as the next member of their state supreme court, according to the Associated Press, which declared Crawford the winner. The vote will put the liberals in charge of the state’s highest court during a time when the court’s decisions on congressional redistricting in the state could very well lead to more House seats for Democrats. While Wisconsin judicial races are nominally nonpartisan, the official backing of political parties for both candidates left little doubt about how they would be making their rulings if seated on the court.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DAILY STORY
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Rewriting the rules: Wolves, federal reform and a lawsuit from rural Colorado
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Rewriting the rules: Wolves, federal reform and a lawsuit from rural Colorado

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Late last year, five wolves were airlifted from Oregon to Colorado under a plan voters narrowly approved—but few knew one of them came from a pack with a history of livestock attacks.  Fewer still knew the move may have violated federal law. At the center of the controversy is a growing belief that Colorado’s wolf reintroduction bypassed environmental law and public transparency.  And a federal lawsuit now threatens to unravel the entire plan. The lawsuit that could reset the rules The National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, is one of the country’s cornerstone environmental laws — meant to ensure that federal actions don’t proceed without full environmental review and public input.  But when...
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Rep. Gabe Evans to host telephone town hall Wednesday evening
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Rep. Gabe Evans to host telephone town hall Wednesday evening

By Rocky Mountain Voice Staff Colorado Congressman Gabe Evans is inviting constituents from across the 8th Congressional District to participate in a telephone town hall on Wednesday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m. MT, offering a chance for voters to ask questions directly and hear updates from Washington. The event is part of Evans’ ongoing effort to maintain open lines of communication with the people he represents. According to his office, participants can register at this link, provide their phone number, and will receive a call promptly at 6:30 p.m. to join the conversation. During the call, Evans will take live questions from constituents, who can choose to speak directly or submit their questions to a moderator. Questions will be taken in real-time, and there is no option to submit t...
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Polis greenlights nuclear power as Colorado rejects “Green New Deal”
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Polis greenlights nuclear power as Colorado rejects “Green New Deal”

By Rocky Mountain Voice Staff After years of progressive opposition to nuclear energy, Colorado Governor Jared Polis has signed House Bill 25-1040 into law, officially recognizing nuclear power as part of the state’s clean energy portfolio.  The move—driven by bipartisan support and grassroots pressure—marks a turning point for Colorado’s energy future, and a long-overdue recognition that nuclear energy must be on the table to meet rising power demands and stabilize the grid. The new law adds nuclear energy to the list of technologies eligible for clean energy incentives and financing, aligning it with solar, wind, geothermal, and hydrogen. While HB1040 does not mandate nuclear projects, it opens the door for utilities and private companies to begin investing in advanced nucl...
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Russia says it won’t accept US cease-fire proposal ‘in its current form’ in sign Ukraine peace talks may have stalled
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Approved, National, New York Post

Russia says it won’t accept US cease-fire proposal ‘in its current form’ in sign Ukraine peace talks may have stalled

By Emily Crane | New York Post Russia is taking US proposals for a cease-fire in Ukraine “seriously” but can’t accept the deal as it stands, a senior Russian diplomat said Tuesday — suggesting peace talks between the two countries have stalled. “We take the models and solutions proposed by the Americans very seriously, but we can’t accept it all in its current form,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, according to state media. “As far as we can see, there is no place in them today for our main demand, namely to solve the problems related to the root causes of this conflict. It is completely absent, and that must be overcome,” Ryabkov said. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE NEW YORK POST
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Colorado judges made campaign contributions despite rules prohibiting the practice
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Approved, denvergazette.com, State

Colorado judges made campaign contributions despite rules prohibiting the practice

By DAVID MIGOYA | Denver Gazette More than a half dozen judges in Colorado — each of them specially appointed and paid to oversee a divorce case since 2019 — has made at least one political campaign contribution while serving in that capacity despite a prohibition against the practice and an affirmation to uphold it, The Denver Gazette has found. Colorado’s Code of Judicial Conduct explicitly bars anyone serving as an appointed or private judge, as they are sometimes called, from making the contributions, the same exclusion that applies to full-time sitting judges and senior judges who fill in part-time. The private judges handle civil cases, nearly all divorces by high-end couples, away from the courthouse and the public, and their salaries and expenses are paid fo...
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NRA joins El Paso County man in suing to stop voter-approved Colorado excise tax on guns, ammo
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Approved, KRDO.COM, State

NRA joins El Paso County man in suing to stop voter-approved Colorado excise tax on guns, ammo

By Sadie Buggle | KRDO COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The National Rifle Association (NRA) is joining a number of gun rights organizations and an El Paso County resident in filing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality a 6.5% excise tax on guns and ammo sold in Colorado, set to go into effect today, April 1. Proposition KK was passed by voters in November. It creates a 6.5% excise tax on firearm-related purchases in the state of Colorado. Firearm dealers, manufacturers and ammunition sellers are responsible for paying the new tax on their retail sales. The tax revenue will be used to fund crime victim support services, mental health services for veterans and youth, and school safety programs. The lawsuit was filed Monday in Denver District Court by the NRA, the Firearms ...
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