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Colorado Graduated Income Tax Proposal Heads to Signature Review
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

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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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

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 Politics, Approved, State

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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Colorado Schools Receive $24 Million to Expand Free Meals Program
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Schools Receive $24 Million to Expand Free Meals Program

By: Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics The Colorado Department of Education is providing Colorado schools with nearly $24 million in grant funding to implement a free lunch program. Approved by voters in 2022, the Healthy School Meals for All provides free breakfast and lunch to all public school students in the state, as well as wage increases for cafeteria staff. The program is funded through a tax increase on households making more than $300,000 a year. Because initial estimates fell short of the actual costs, the program ran into fiscal challenges right from the start and had never been deployed in its entirety. A pair of ballot measures approved by voters last year allows the state to keep additional revenue and interest from income tax deductions to help pay f...
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Colorado Springs Planning Commission Keeps Data Center Project Moving Forward With Four New Conditions
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Colorado Springs Planning Commission Keeps Data Center Project Moving Forward With Four New Conditions

By Alex Edwards | Colorado Politics The Colorado Springs Planning Commission rejected appeals Thursday night against a proposed artificial-intelligence data center off Garden of the Gods Road. The vote of the commission was 6-2, but residents who filed the appeals will have 10 days to challenge that decision. While allowing Project Taurus to proceed, the commissioners set four conditions on the company, Raeden. These include: Requiring Raeden to report utility use data for the first 10 years of operation. Limiting utility use to a specified level of 50 megawatts, with the condition that if Raeden wants to exceed that, it must return to the commission for further approval. Raeden must furnish a corrected “single sheet” to the existing building plan. The...
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New Wolf Pack Confirmed in Eagle County as Colorado Monitors Population Growth
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

New Wolf Pack Confirmed in Eagle County as Colorado Monitors Population Growth

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A new gray wolf pack has formed in Eagle County, Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced on Wednesday. Known as the Piney Ridge Pack, it is the fourth pack of gray wolves in the state to have produced pups this year. According to CPW, the average litter size for wolves is four to six pups. More information about the packs will be included in the agency’s annual report next spring. “Detection of pups in late spring or early summer is inherently challenging, because of their use of remote habitats in dense cover, secretive nature of very young animals and time potentially underground,” said CPW’s Wolf Conservation Program Manager Eric Odell. “We are continuing to monitor the four reproducing packs in Colorado and will include...
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Luxury Car Owners Use Montana LLCs to Sidestep Colorado Registration Costs
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Luxury Car Owners Use Montana LLCs to Sidestep Colorado Registration Costs

By: Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Coloradans looking to avoid high vehicle registration fees have increasingly turned to what’s known as the “Montana loophole” — a strategy that surfaced recently at a luxury car event near the Cherry Creek Mall. Here’s how it works. A Colorado resident buys a high-end vehicle — anything from a large recreational vehicle to a supercar like a 2022 McLaren 765LT Spider, which was recently listed in Boulder for more than $1 million. The buyer then forms a limited liability company in Montana, a service some firms advertise for about $1,000, and registers the vehicle under that LLC. The vehicle is still owned, maintained and driven in Colorado, meaning it uses state roads and services here. But because it’s registered to an o...
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Montezuma County Judge Agrees to 90 Day Suspension After Misconduct Admissions
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Montezuma County Judge Agrees to 90 Day Suspension After Misconduct Admissions

By: Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics A Montezuma County judge and the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline both agreed this month that a suspension and public censure are the appropriate consequences for his multiple instances of misconduct, including invoking his title when facing a citation from state officials and exhibiting bias against a criminal defendant. Under constitutional Amendment H, which voters adopted in November 2024, a three-member panel will formally administer discipline to County Court Judge Ian J. MacLaren. The commission originally sought MacLaren’s removal from the bench for actions that allegedly included lying to disciplinary officials. However, on July 11, the parties told the panel that a combination of a public censure, unpaid...
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