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Bottoms And Kirkmeyer Take Stage In High Stakes Colorado Gubernatorial Debate
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Bottoms And Kirkmeyer Take Stage In High Stakes Colorado Gubernatorial Debate

By The Gazette | Colorado Politics The Gazette and the Centennial Institute are cosponsoring a Republican gubernatorial debate Tuesday at Colorado Christian University, featuring candidates state Rep. Scott Bottoms, a Colorado Springs pastor, and longtime GOP insider state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer. Candidates will field questions on major issues facing Colorado, including the economy, crime/public safety, state budget/TABOR, energy, infrastructure and affordability. The debate will be moderated by Shaun Boyd of CBS Colorado; Vince Bzdek, executive editor of The Gazette and The Denver Gazette; and Michael Brown of KOA. Limited tickets are available at McDonald Performance Hall in Armstrong Center, Colorado Christian University, 8787 W. Alameda Ave. in Lakewood. READ THE FULL ARTIC...
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Colorado Marijuana Lawsuit Claims State Inflated Taxes Through Market Distortions
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Colorado Marijuana Lawsuit Claims State Inflated Taxes Through Market Distortions

By Christopher Osher | Colorado Politics Plaintiff says state owes over $100 million in refunds This article was produced in partnership with ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network. The regulators of Colorado’s first-in-the-nation recreational marijuana market have allowed so many sham transactions in the industry to proliferate that honest cultivators and manufacturers shoulder an unfair excise tax burden, claims a lawsuit filed on Thursday that seeks class-action status. The lawsuit, filed by a large-scale marijuana cultivator in the state, claims the state owes millions of dollars in tax refunds. It alleges failures in enforcement by the Marijuana Enforcement Division have allowed “distortions” in how the state calculates the average market rate (AMR) for unprocessed marijuana tha...
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Federal Lawmakers Question Colorado Sanctuary Policies In New Investigation
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Federal Lawmakers Question Colorado Sanctuary Policies In New Investigation

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A congressional panel is reviewing Denver and Boulder’s policies, alleging that these cities, along with other “sanctuary” jurisdictions, are declining to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, the body announced Wednesday. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who chairs the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, issued letters to the district attorneys, sheriffs and police chiefs of Denver and Boulder, accusing the local officials of prioritizing “illegal and criminal aliens over American citizens,” undermining public safety and hindering “the efficient enforcement of federal law.” Rep. Tom McClintock, R-California, chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security and Environment, also signed the letters. Rep. Gabe Evans, the Republic...
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Polis Pushes Back As Employers Cite Rising Challenges In Colorado Economy
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Polis Pushes Back As Employers Cite Rising Challenges In Colorado Economy

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics How does Colorado get back to the climate in the early 2000s, when there was collaboration between state government, companies and colleges and universities? That was the question posed to Gov. Jared Polis and a panel convened Tuesday by the Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce as part of its annual state of the state luncheon that follows the end of the legislative session. Mowa Haile, the CEO of Sky Blue Builders who chairs the chamber board, noted that, in the last year, the state has gained more than $2 billion in capital investment, along with 1,000 jobs. Colorado is still an amazing state, he said. “But we see cracks,” Haile said. Several issues today make Colorado less competitive for businesses, he said,...
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Colorado Supreme Court Orders Hospital To Resume Transgender Treatments For Minors
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Colorado Supreme Court Orders Hospital To Resume Transgender Treatments For Minors

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics The Colorado Supreme Court, by a 5-2 vote, ordered Children’s Hospital Colorado on Monday to resume providing certain medical services to a group of transgender plaintiffs, which it had ceased in the face of funding threats from the federal government last year. The unusual appeal before the Supreme Court stemmed from a trial judge’s rejection of a preliminary injunction to four trans plaintiffs who are minors seeking treatment from Children’s Colorado. The plaintiffs filed a class action alleging that the cessation of services based on their status violates the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act. While multiple considerations inform whether a judge should grant an injunction, the Supreme Court’s majority concluded the plaintiffs wer...
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GOP Opposition Halts Last-Minute Bill Challenging Natural Gas Amendment
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GOP Opposition Halts Last-Minute Bill Challenging Natural Gas Amendment

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Colorado lawmakers pulled back plans to counter a proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right of consumers to use natural gas. The bill’s backers said the legislation would not have significantly affected the initiative’s impact, even as debate intensifies among environmental groups, the oil and gas industry and policymakers. The bill — initially planned by House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D‑Dillon, Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, D‑Denver, and Sen. Lisa Cutter, D‑Evergreen — would have addressed how the ballot measure might affect the state’s air quality. Bacon said the initiative’s wording is overly broad and could create unintended consequences. The proposed constitutional amendment, introduced b...
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Senate Democrats Advance Plan To Redirect Millions In TABOR Refunds
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Senate Democrats Advance Plan To Redirect Millions In TABOR Refunds

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Despite objections from legislative staff and Republican opposition, Senate Democrats on Friday moved forward with a proposal to reroute $306 million in taxpayer refunds. Already, critics are preparing to sue over the proposal that seeks to take $300 million in Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refunds over the next two years to cover what Democratic lawmakers believe is an overpayment from a previous fiscal year. House Bill 1419 won preliminary approval from the state Senate on Friday. It now awaits a final vote in the chamber and will then go back to the House, which must concur with any amendments adopted. The alleged overpayments in 2024–25 TABOR refunds were never reflected in the state’s 2024–25 budget because they stemmed ...
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Colorado Wolf Program Costs Taxpayers More Than $1 Million In Livestock Claims
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Colorado Wolf Program Costs Taxpayers More Than $1 Million In Livestock Claims

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics After paying more than $700,000 in March to ranchers for livestock lost to wolves, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission is poised to approve two additional claims totaling $262,000 at its meeting this week. Those approvals would bring total payouts to about $970,000 with another $56,000 in claims rejected across the March and May meetings. And that figure only reflects claims requiring commission approval. Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) staff can sign off on claims under $20,000, and the state’s wolf‑depredation website shows that, in 2025, the agency received 32 such claims totaling $47, 142.55, ranging from $88.50 to $3,500. That’s a total of $1.072 million for 2025 alone. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT...
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Democrats Advance Bill Sidestepping Citizen Led Push To Prioritize Roads And Bridges
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Democrats Advance Bill Sidestepping Citizen Led Push To Prioritize Roads And Bridges

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics The battle over road funding intensified at the state Capitol this week, where legislators are seeking to negate an initiative that supporters say is sorely needed but which critics insist would divert money from other state priorities. Supporters of the initiative questioned the timing of new legislation that emerged in the waning days of the legislative session. They also wondered about how much feedback sponsors sought, insinuating the House bill was crafted without input from the road construction industry. At stake is roughly $700 million in state dollars. Introduced last week, House Bill 1430 would take effect only ifInitiative No. 175 passes in November. The initiative would require that transportation-...
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Colorado Legislators To Receive Raises During $1.5 Billion Budget Crisis
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Colorado Legislators To Receive Raises During $1.5 Billion Budget Crisis

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Colorado’s $1.5 billion budget deficit is driving widespread cuts across state services, including reduced reimbursement rates for Medicaid providers and steep income losses for families caring for relatives with intellectual and developmental disabilities. However, as those reductions take effect, an automatic pay increase for state lawmakers — triggered by a 2024 change in law — remains scheduled to begin in 2027. When Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 1333 on Monday, the measure included a salary increase for legislators. The bill does not reference this pay raise directly, nor is it mentioned in either of the bill’s fiscal analyses. The increased salary, along with higher per diem and mileage rates, is expe...
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