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Colorado’s “green” rules aren’t about the planet—they’re about control
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s “green” rules aren’t about the planet—they’re about control

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Being a good steward of the earth means doing it their way One of my pet theories about statists (adherents to a political system in which the state has substantial centralized control over social and economic affairs per the Oxford Dictionary) is that while they say their objective is to make the world more inclusive or green or whatever, what they really want is to control you. It’s not inclusive if you don’t do it my way. It’s not green if you don’t do it my way. I reject this notion wholeheartedly. I believe it is perfectly possible to be a decent person who wants to include everyone without doing it their way. I believe it’s possible to be a good steward of this earth and the beings living on it without do...
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Cracks in Colorado’s left: Democrat infighting spills into the headlines
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Cracks in Colorado’s left: Democrat infighting spills into the headlines

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Colorado Sun follows Democrat dark money?! Like a Yukon fur trapper making his semi annual visit to town to see the store, bar, and brothel, the Sun recently decided to delve into Democrat dark money. Their story is linked first below and details a Vail conference some Democratic state lawmakers recently had.The conference was put on and attended by a group of lawmakers going by the name the Opportunity Caucus. This caucus is set up as a nonprofit and doesn’t reveal its donors, though it also gets funding from its legislator members. The Opportunity Caucus was helped (incubated?) by one of Colorado’s copious lefty nonprofits, One Main Street.Why would the Sun pick these groups to investigate and report on out of all the...
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When lawmakers silence citizens, who holds them accountable?
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

When lawmakers silence citizens, who holds them accountable?

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Does legislative immunity mean CO legislators who cut people’s testimony off face no personal consequence? The Colorado Politics article below details a recent Federal appeals court hearing to determine what limits a legislator could place on a citizen’s speech without facing consequences. The case at hand stems from a couple of hearings back in the regular 2024 legislative session. The plaintiffs in the suit allege that lawmakers who cut off the mics of those trying to testify on bills relating to gender issues were illegally censoring them.** Quoting the article: “The plaintiffs have argued that Democratic committee chairs inappropriately cut them off while they were testifying because the witnesses re...
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Opt-in vs opt-out: The parental rights debate over the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Opt-in vs opt-out: The parental rights debate over the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Where do you land as a parent: opt in vs. opt out? The article below is about a recent Douglas County school board decision about participation in the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey. This is a survey that, quoting the article, includes topics such as “... physical activity, mental health, tobacco and substance use, and school safety and bullying. The high school survey includes demographic questions about sexual orientation, sexual health and sexual violence questions.” It also has questions on teens’ perceived access to guns. The board didn’t vote to not participate, they moved the decision to take it from opt in to opt out. Going forward, parents will have to allow their students to participate rather than rememberin...
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Colorado’s “wildlife threat” plan could threaten agriculture instead
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s “wildlife threat” plan could threaten agriculture instead

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project I smell a Rosmarino I had a couple readers bring a recent US Forest Service (USFS) draft assessment about the Comanche National Grasslands (SE Colorado) to my attention. I didn’t have time to get to it, but I was happy to see that Rachel Gabel of the FencePost did. The reality is that she did a better job than I could have hoped to. Her lengthy rundown on the issue is linked below and is well worth reading. This is particularly the case if you are worried about efforts at conservation and species restoration spilling over into (or being used intentionally for) a way to stop other uses of public lands. I’ll leave it to you to get the details, but from what I read, this assessment smacks of the kinds of rewilding/co...
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La Jara land deal raises questions about public access and state priorities
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

La Jara land deal raises questions about public access and state priorities

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Selling La Jara to conservation groups and the Feds, including a swap with CPW? I had a reader send me a heads up on the State Land Board’s (SLB) La Jara land deal. The reader had heard about it in a CPW meeting because CPW could be involved in the land swap. I wanted to push this out quick so you have a chance to sign up and speak (or email) prior to the October 15th State Land Board meeting. As such, I can’t go into huge amounts of depth or summarize. I can give you the information that’s publicly out there so you can look and decide for yourself. As a quick overview, the SLB is charged with management and leasing of the state’s publicly-owned lands with the mission of getting as much revenue from them as the...
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Colorado’s HB25‑1250 shifts gun conversation into schools—what could go wrong with teachers filing ERPOs?
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s HB25‑1250 shifts gun conversation into schools—what could go wrong with teachers filing ERPOs?

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project HB25-1250’s required materials for schools are now online A bill passed into law in the regular legislative session this year required, quoting the bill’s fiscal note from the first link below “The bill requires the Office of Gun Violence Prevention in the Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to post or link to certain materials on its website for local education providers, including school districts, boards of cooperative services, district charter schools, institute charter schools, approved facility schools, and the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind.”It also requires that, again quoting the fiscal note, “local education providers must distribute these materials to caregivers of elementary and ...
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When the prosecutor is also the judge: Colorado’s due process problem under Griswold’s watch
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

When the prosecutor is also the judge: Colorado’s due process problem under Griswold’s watch

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project I wouldn’t blame someone for thinking the fix is in at a Colorado Administrative Law hearing (especially in the SOS’s Office). If you break one of our state regulatory agencies’ copious rules, the process for our state’s administrative hearings bears little resemblance to a real trial. I recently did some looking into the state’s administrative hearings process, and was disappointed in what I found.The idea of this being a hearing in front of an independent, nominally-impartial, and disinterested judge is decidedly NOT what the process looks like.This goes, as you might imagine for an office run by Jena Griswold, double for the Secretary of State’s Office.More in the op ed below.https://completecolorado.com/2025/09/22/p...
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Worried about what your child is reading at school? You’re not alone
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Worried about what your child is reading at school? You’re not alone

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Substack Worried about your school requiring books that might conflict with your values? I am signed on to the Independence Institute’s newsletter. One installment last week had the following blurb written by Pam Benigno of their education policy center, quoted here at length and with links left intact:“Last week, I spoke at a women’s club about how Colorado’s Social Studies Academic Standards have been hijacked by those trying to shape young children’s hearts and minds by exposing young children to literature intended to “disrupt” their understanding of gender identity. Bringing some good news, I explained how Mahmoud v. Taylor, a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, requires elementary schools to provide n...
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Progressive tax proposal targets Colorado employers while 3.5% already pay most corporate taxes
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Progressive tax proposal targets Colorado employers while 3.5% already pay most corporate taxes

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project The progressive tax scheme and Colorado Business Your 2026 ballot may have a proposal on it to change Colorado’s current flat tax to graduated (aka progressive) income tax rate. That means when you earn more, you pay a higher percentage of tax.The actual ballot proposal is linked first below. I am not aware of it hitting the Secretary of State’s tracker page yet, but I know it’s on the legislature’s and that is what the link is for.This would, quoting the press release pushed by the groups supporting this measure (linked second below), “... lower taxes for 98 percent of Coloradans, while raising taxes on individuals and corporations making more than $500,000 a year.”At a later point, that same press release says the fol...
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