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Lawsuit Accuses Colorado House Democrats of Retaliation and Politicized Workplace Oversight
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Lawsuit Accuses Colorado House Democrats of Retaliation and Politicized Workplace Oversight

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics A former legislative aide has filed a lawsuit alleging she was mistreated, illegally directed to perform campaign work and harmed by a House leadership structure she charged was fragmented, politicized and ineffective at protecting employees. The lawsuit, filed by Jennifer Chick, names Littleton Democratic Rep. Sheila Lieder, House Speaker Julie McCluskie of Dillon and House Majority Leader Monica Duran of Wheat Ridge as co-defendants. The lawsuit alleged that Lieder was “emboldened in her misconduct by the gratuitously complex and simultaneously ineffectual employee management system that Defendants McCluskie and Duran operated during the relevant time periods.” The time period was from December 2022 to Aug. 13, 2024, wh...
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Federal Court Weighs Fate Of Colorado’s Three-Day Gun Purchase Waiting Period
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Federal Court Weighs Fate Of Colorado’s Three-Day Gun Purchase Waiting Period

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics A federal judge heard arguments on Monday about the constitutionality of a 2023 Colorado law that generally imposes a three-day waiting period on firearm purchases after the initiation of a background check. The test that the U.S. Supreme Courtcreated in 2022 for assessing firearm regulations’ compliance with the Second Amendment occurs in two phases. First, judges must determine if the constitutional text applies to the regulation at issue, and then the government must show that the policy is consistent with similar regulations throughout the country’s history — in particular, around the time of the Second Amendment’s adoption. “The first ‘cooling off’-style waiting period did not come into existence until the ...
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Colorado Voters To Decide Whether To Cap State Income Tax At 4.4%
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Colorado Voters To Decide Whether To Cap State Income Tax At 4.4%

By Thelma Grimes | Colorado Politics Election officials on Thursday confirmed that the proposal to cap the state’s income tax at the current rate submitted signatures and voters will consequently decide its fate this November. The fight over tax rates is part of the tug and pull in Colorado between opposing political forces feuding over state revenue. One side of that fight argues that Colorado isn’t generating enough revenue to spend on state priorities, such as education. The competing side counters that the state already collects enough — but policymakers’ spending priorities are misplaced. The Secretary of State’s Office on Thursday cleared Initiative No. 232 after Advance Colorado, the group behind it, submitted more than 184,000 signatures to get it on the b...
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Colorado Rural Hospitals Fight to Survive as Costs and Regulations Mount
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Colorado Rural Hospitals Fight to Survive as Costs and Regulations Mount

By Thelma Grimes | Colorado Politics Editor’s Note: Colorado’s healthcare system is entering a period of accelerating instability — a “tsunami,” as multiple leaders describe it — driven by collapsing hospital finances, shrinking Medicaid reimbursements, disappearing services and a political fight over who is responsible for this unraveling. Healthcare Freefall is a multipart series examining how Colorado arrived at this moment, what H.R. 1 will do next and why communities across the state are bracing for deeper shocks. Healthcare Freefall Colorado’s rural hospitals are facing severe financial strain — with 75% operating on unsustainable margins and some worrying they may have to close. Southwest Health CEO John Theine said the situation is especially frustrating, given ...
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Federal Court Asked to Block Colorado’s New Semiautomatic Firearm Requirements
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Federal Court Asked to Block Colorado’s New Semiautomatic Firearm Requirements

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics The Colorado chapter of the National Rifle Association is seeking an injunction to stop the state from enforcing a new law that took effect earlier this month. The new law requires anyone buying or selling certain firearms to first complete a safety training course offered through Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Under Senate Bill 003, the course is mandatory for anyone planning to purchase a semiautomatic rifle, shotgun or handgun with a detachable magazine. The Colorado State Shooting Association had filed a lawsuit last September, challenging the law’s constitutionality and arguing it places “unlawful burdens on the rights of law-abiding Coloradans.” “A government that makes you ask permission to buy a firearm ...
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Colorado Voters Will Decide Right To Natural Gas in November
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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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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 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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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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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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