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Colorado Voters Will Decide Right To Natural Gas in November
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Voters Will Decide Right To Natural Gas in November

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A citizen initiative that seeks to enshrine the right to natural gas has qualified for the November ballot, Colorado’s election office confirmed on Thursday. Petitions containing signatures for Initiative No. 177 were turned in to the Secretary of State’s Office for review in late June. On Thursday, the Secretary of State’s Office said 146,165 of the 189,508 signatures collected were valid, surpassing the threshold. The initiative from Advance Colorado establishes consumers’ right to purchase natural gas for cooking and heating their homes and businesses, as well as the right of distributors and utilities to sell natural gas to homes and businesses. “Natural gas is a clean, reliable and affordable form of energy...
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Bennet Agrees To Settlement Over Improper Campaign Spending On Travel
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Bennet Agrees To Settlement Over Improper Campaign Spending On Travel

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s gubernatorial campaign has agreed to pay a $7,433 fine for using his Senate campaign account to pay for gubernatorial campaign travel expenses. The July 31 settlement includes an admission by Bennet and his campaign that they violated state campaign finance laws. The settlement is tied to multiple complaints filed last year. The complaints said Bennet traveled for his gubernatorial campaign in 2025, paying for it with funds from his U.S. Senate campaign account. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Colorado Records 17th Wolf Death After Livestock Attacks
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Records 17th Wolf Death After Livestock Attacks

By: Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics   A yearling male wolf in Grand County has become the 17th wolf to die in Colorado in the past two years. Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced that its staff killed the wolf on Aug. 4 because it was believed to be responsible for killing four calves in Jackson and Grand counties between June 29 and Aug. 1. The state agency’s announcement said the producers had pursued nonlethal measures to minimize conflict with the wolf. Ranchers have told Colorado Politics that those minimization efforts are ineffective. The wolf killed on Tuesday is the second mortality in 10 days. Another wolf had been found dead in northwest Colorado, according to a CPW announcement, but no further details were made available. READ THE FUL...
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Judicial Performance Commissions Flag Three Colorado Judges Ahead of November Election
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Judicial Performance Commissions Flag Three Colorado Judges Ahead of November Election

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics Of the 123 Colorado judges standing for retention on the November ballot, citizen-led performance commissions found that three did not meet the required performance standards. However, in an unprecedented move, the commission charged with evaluating Supreme Court and Court of Appeals members stepped in to issue its own narrative after it concluded the local performance commission in northeastern Colorado violated the rules in a “serious” manner when it gave an unfavorable review to one judge. Under Colorado’s system of selecting judges, the governor appoints new judges from a short list created by citizen-led nominating commissions that screen and interview applicants. Judges serve for at least two years before voters dec...
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National Democrats Target Colorado for Legislative Supermajority Control in 2026
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

National Democrats Target Colorado for Legislative Supermajority Control in 2026

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A national organization that works to elect Democrats to state legislatures has its sights on Colorado, unveiling a road map to establish a supermajority in both the House and Senate. Democrats have held a majority in the House since 2013 and the Senate since the 2019 session. There are currently 43 Democrats in the House and 23 in the Senate, meaning the party needs to gain three House seats and one Senate seat in the November election to obtain a supermajority. If that happens, it would be the first time in state history the Democrats would hold a supermajority in both chambers. “Since flipping the Senate, Democrats in Colorado have delivered for the 6 million people in their state,” the Democratic Legislative Campaign ...
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Colorado Graduated Income Tax Proposal Heads to Signature Review
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Colorado Graduated Income Tax Proposal Heads to Signature Review

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The measure, which eliminates Colorado’s flat tax, is expected to raise $2 billion in new revenue The proposal to amend the Colorado constitution to change the state’s flat rate into a graduated income tax came in under the wire Monday, the deadline for groups to turn in petition signatures for November’s ballot, setting up a high-stakes battle over revenue. Backers of the graduated tax proposal — which would marginally decrease the tax liability for the lower ends of the new bracket, while raising taxes for others — turned in 157,000 signatures with about an hour to go before the 5 p.m. deadline. The proposal, if approved at the ballot box, is expected to generate $2 billion more in tax revenue for the state. Doze...
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Victor Marx Selects Retired Marine George Markert For Lieutenant Governor
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Victor Marx Selects Retired Marine George Markert For Lieutenant Governor

By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics Colorado Republican gubernatorial nominee Victor Marx named George Markert, a retired Marine colonel, as his running mate for lieutenant governor Friday morning, saying the former U.S. Senate candidate will bring “exceptional character, proven leadership and a lifetime of serving others” to the ticket. Marx is facing Democratic nominee Phil Weiser, the state’s attorney general, and independent candidate Greg Lopez, a former Republican congressman, in the race to succeed Democratic Gov. Jared Polis next year, who faces term limits. The announcement comes nine weeks before county clerks can start sending out mail ballots for the Nov. 3 election. Last week, Weiser announced thathis choice for the No. 2 position was Jefferso...
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Colorado Lawmakers Grapple With Strict Rules for $200 Million Rural Health Program
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Grapple With Strict Rules for $200 Million Rural Health Program

By: Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Members of the Colorado legislature’s new Commission on Medicaid raised concerns Wednesday about the federal Rural Health Transformation Program created under H.R. 1. The bipartisan, bicameral commission, created in the last legislative session to guide implementation of Medicaid changes under H.R. 1, met Wednesday to begin shaping its recommendations. Cristen Bates, deputy Medicaid director at the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, told members that Colorado is slated to receive $200 million in federal funding each year for the next five years to support rural health care initiatives. CMS requires states to apply for the Rural Health Transformation Program by November, with awards expected by year’s...
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Colorado Strengthens Criminal Investigations With New Social Media Warrant Law
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Colorado Strengthens Criminal Investigations With New Social Media Warrant Law

By: Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A law requiring social media platforms to respond to search warrants within 72 hours goes into effect on Aug. 12. Senate Bill 011 also requires platforms to create a staffed hotline for Colorado law enforcement agencies to contact regarding pending search warrants. The bill is a pared-down version of last year’sSenate Bill 086, which also included provisions related to violations of social media policies and minor users. While the bill passed through both the House and the Senate, Gov. Jared Polis vetoed the legislation, expressing worries about requiring social media companies to enforce state laws and about the measure’s data-collection requirements. The Senate voted to override the veto, but efforts sta...
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Former GOP Congressman Greg Lopez Secures Spot on Colorado Governor Ballot as Independent
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Former GOP Congressman Greg Lopez Secures Spot on Colorado Governor Ballot as Independent

By: Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics Unaffiliated gubernatorial candidate Greg Lopez, a former Republican congressman from Elizabeth who left the GOP to run as an independent, has qualified for the ballot by submitting enough petition signatures, the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office said Tuesday. He’ll face Democratic nominee Phil Weiser, the state’s two-term attorney general, and Republican Victor Marx, a first-time candidate who runs a Christian ministry in Colorado Springs, as well as several candidates who belong to minor political parties. Lopez and his pick for lieutenant governor, Taralyn Romero, a Jefferson County property rights activist and health care worker, needed to turn in 1,000 valid signatures from registered voters in each of the state’s eight co...
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