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Colorado’s open meetings law under fire as lawmakers defend it during required meeting
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Colorado’s open meetings law under fire as lawmakers defend it during required meeting

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics While it has been over nine months since Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill exempting the General Assembly from much of the state's open meetings law, the angst over the lack of transparency resulting from the law is far from having cooled. Even the Colorado Press Association, which had worked to make the bill less onerous, criticized the General Assembly in a hearing Monday on Senate Bill 24-157. The law required legislative leadership to hold the hearing, which the governor signed on March 13, the first day of National Sunshine Week. This week is intended to highlight the importance of public records and open government. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Denver’s Crestmoor residents hit panic button as a bollard bikeway heads their way
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Denver’s Crestmoor residents hit panic button as a bollard bikeway heads their way

By Mark Samuelson | Colorado Politics Bollards — waist-high white plastic poles that line the new bike lanes popping up in downtown Denver and in several city neighborhoods — are headed for streets further from the urban core. And neighbors aren’t happy about it. “This project, far from enhancing our neighborhood, threatens to destroy the very qualities that make it a desirable place to live,” residents of Denver’s Crestmoor Park neighborhood wrote Mayor Mike Johnston last week, with a copy forwarded to the city’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure. DOTI is a well-known agency to residents in Denver neighborhoods further west that are coping with bollards installed on their streets during recent years. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Audit finds ongoing misuse of taxpayer funds in Denver’s Technology Services department
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Audit finds ongoing misuse of taxpayer funds in Denver’s Technology Services department

By Deborah Grigsby | Colorado Politics, via The Denver Gazette A follow-up audit has revealed ongoing misuse of taxpayer funds within Denver's Technology Services department, stemming from inadequate policies and poor administration of its employee purchase card program. Auditors from Denver Auditor Timothy O'Brien's office found the department failed to enforce Executive Order 18, which clarifies the mission, role and authority of Technology Services and specifically prohibits technology purchases using city government purchase cards. A 2023 audit, which reviewed departmental transactions and processes from Jan. 13, 2021, through Oct. 31, 2022, found that “city leaders and employees bypassed required approvals for purchase card use and expense reimbursements.” READ T...
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Incoming Denver DA to get pay bump to oversee 6,000 felony, nearly 8,000 misdemeanor cases each year
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Incoming Denver DA to get pay bump to oversee 6,000 felony, nearly 8,000 misdemeanor cases each year

By Deborah Grigsby  | Colorado Politics, via Denver Gazette Incoming Denver District Attorney John Walsh hasn’t even been sworn in and he’s already set to get a pay raise — although he’ll have to wait a year before it shows up in his bank account. In its last meeting of the year on Monday, the Denver City Council voted, 9-2, to approve an amended version of his plea for an annual pay increase for his office. Walsh first brought the request to the Dec. 4 Safety, Housing, Education & Homelessness Committee, where he asked for a 4% annual pay raise beginning next year, which would have placed his starting salary at $254,609 instead of $244,816. He said he had to ask for a pay raise now — otherwise, that window is foreclosed for the next four years. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLOR...
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As ‘transit-oriented’ law takes hold in Colorado, some see erosion of home rule
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As ‘transit-oriented’ law takes hold in Colorado, some see erosion of home rule

By Scott Weiser | Colorado Politics, via The Gazette A new law that mandates more than 30 Front Range municipalities incorporate state housing density goals along transit routes will lead to messy conflicts over contractual obligations and yet another erosion of Colorado's long history of local control over zoning and building regulation, according to critics. Supporters, on the other hand, argue that the high cost of housing is a problem that needs to be fixed, and Coloradans don't care who solves it — their local government or state actors. "It's certainly arguable that the reasonable expectations of parties to contracts could be adversely affected by state regulation," said Jack Luellen, special counsel at the Buchalter law firm. "And it really leaves the homeowner or the ...
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Landrith: The Postal Grinch who stole rural Coloradans’ Christmas
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Landrith: The Postal Grinch who stole rural Coloradans’ Christmas

By George Landrith | Commentary, Colorado Politics The role of the United States Postal Service (USPS) is to bind the nation together by delivering to all Americans. It is based in the Constitution and enshrined in statute they must deliver mail and packages together to everyone everywhere six days a week. This not only unites the nation and creates a pathway to knit the 3.7 million square miles of our nation together, but it also provides a strong network for commerce and the delivery of needed goods. Unfortunately, affordable, reliable and efficient Postal Service deliveries to rural America are threatened by several recent USPS actions. Given the fact one in 10 Coloradans live in such areas, residents of the Centennial State are likely to be among those most significantly impacted...
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Colorado justices reject media request for police officer records on narrow grounds
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Colorado justices reject media request for police officer records on narrow grounds

By Michael Karlik  | Colorado Politics At the same time the Colorado Supreme Court found that two media outlets were properly denied access to records bearing on police officers' misconduct, it declined to endorse an interpretation of state law that would have enabled non-law enforcement entities to shield their documents by labeling themselves "criminal justice agencies." Instead, the justices on Monday concluded that label applies to one particular licensing agency, the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Board. As a result, POST's records certifying and decertifying law enforcement officers are subject to more stringent disclosure guidelines. Previously, the state's Court of Appeals concluded POST met the definition of a criminal justice agency. However, the appellate c...
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In 75th session, 6 of 10 Colorado Senate committees have one-seat Democratic majority
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In 75th session, 6 of 10 Colorado Senate committees have one-seat Democratic majority

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Senate leaders on Friday announced committee assignments for the 2025 session that begins on January 8. There will be 10 committees in the 2025 session, six of which will have a narrow one-seat majority, according to Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, D-Denver, and Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, R-Monument.  Democrats retained 23 seats following the November election, while Republicans held onto 12.  Only 20 members of the Democratic caucus are assigned to committees; 11 out of 12 Republicans have committee assignments. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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NRA sees national concealed carry, ATF reform under Trump
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NRA sees national concealed carry, ATF reform under Trump

By Paul Bedard | Colorado Politics, via Washington Examiner The National Rifle Association is growing hopeful that after four years of fighting off anti-gun policies in Washington and several state capitals, having an ally in the White House will result in several pro-firearms policies. Doug Hamlin, the CEO and executive vice president of the nation’s biggest and oldest Second Amendment advocacy, said that the NRA is eager to work with President-elect Donald Trump on multiple fronts, including national-pro-gun initiatives and key law enforcement hires. “We're super excited because we have a president who has the benefit of four years experience,” Hamlin told Secrets. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
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