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Colorado Budget Clears Legislature With Mixed Results On Key Priorities
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Budget Clears Legislature With Mixed Results On Key Priorities

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Colorado legislators on Tuesday adopted a $46.8 billion plan to pay for state operations and programs next year after a joint panel reconciled differences between the House and Senate versions. A small group of lawmakers had resolved those differences. Lawmakers adopted what is called the conference committee report on House Bill 1410 — the budget measure — mostly along party lines. Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton, a member of the Joint Budget Committee, was the only Republican to vote in favor of the bill in the Senate. In the House, fellow JBC member Rep. Rick Taggart, R-Grand Junction, was the only Republican to vote “yes,” while Rep. Bob Marshall, D-Highlands Ranch, was the only Democrat to vote “no.” READ T...
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Colorado Primary Battles Intensify As Voters Face Crowded 2026 Ballots
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Primary Battles Intensify As Voters Face Crowded 2026 Ballots

By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics With just over two months to go until ballots are counted in Colorado’s primary, candidates are squaring off in high-stakes contests for their party’s nominations in statewide and congressional races approaching the midterm election. For the first time in memory, state voters will have the chance to elect an entire new slate of state-level executive officials — from governor and attorney general to secretary of state and state treasurer — since those offices’ Democratic incumbents all face term limits. At the same time, Democrats will decide which candidate to nominate in the state’s marquee U.S. House race, where the Republican incumbent in the 8th Congressional District is facing three potential challengers in what’s expected to b...
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Lone Colorado Judge Sides With Government On Immigration Custody Rules
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Lone Colorado Judge Sides With Government On Immigration Custody Rules

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics Chief Judge Daniel D. Domenico broke with his peers on Colorado’s U.S. District Court last week in siding with the government’s argument about the broad scope of its immigration detention authority. In an April 15 order finding that a man was properly in custody without a bond hearing, Domenico acknowledged his view is the outlier locally and nationally. “The majority of district courts, including all of the judges in this District who have addressed the issue, have found that detention of noncitizens similar to the petitioner under (the mandatory detention provision) is improper,” wrote Domenico, a first-term appointee of President Donald Trump. “There are legitimate arguments on both sides.” Beginning last year, ...
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Lawmakers To Examine Claims Of Financial Mismanagement By House Democrat Leader
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Lawmakers To Examine Claims Of Financial Mismanagement By House Democrat Leader

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics A legislative ethics panel in Colorado is scheduled to meet Wednesday to review a complaint alleging that Aurora Democrat Rep. Mandy Lindsay misused House Democratic caucus funds. Rep. Bob Marshall, D‑Highlands Ranch, filed the complaint on Jan. 26. Marshall’s complaint outlines the structure of caucus funds and details the responsibilities Lindsay has in managing them. Lindsay told Colorado Politics on Tuesday, “I respect the ethics committee, trust in the work they will do, and I look forward to the process.” Lindsay has served as one of the two House Democratic caucus co‑chairs — alongside Rep. Junie Joseph of Boulder — since November 2022. The caucus chair is responsible for managing the group’s fund, including...
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Medicaid Cuts Raise Alarm for Colorado Hospitals Already on Thin Margins
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Medicaid Cuts Raise Alarm for Colorado Hospitals Already on Thin Margins

By Nico Brambila | Colorado Politics The $900 billion in Medicaid cuts over the next decade could threaten the viability of more than 400 hospitals nationally and at least nine in Colorado, a new report has found. The hospitals span the Front Range and rural communities, from Denver Health — the region’s primary safety-net provider — to smaller hospitals in places like Leadville, Lamar and Fort Morgan, reflecting the mounting pressure across both urban and rural health systems. “The cuts will be devastating to many low-income and disabled individuals who rely on Medicaid,” the report said. “Moreover, they will have knock-on effects on hospitals that disproportionately serve these communities, deepening the financial strain already plaguing rural and sa...
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Boebert Pushes Bill To Block Taxpayer Pensions For Lawmakers Convicted Of Crimes
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Colorado Politics, Approved, National

Boebert Pushes Bill To Block Taxpayer Pensions For Lawmakers Convicted Of Crimes

By Haris Alic and Lauren Green | Colorado Politics EXCLUSIVE — Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) is working on legislation to strip disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell of his $22,000 annual taxpayer-funded congressional pension. Swalwell resigned from the House on Tuesday after allegations of sexual assault by multiple women, including a former congressional staffer. Despite his exit under an ethical cloud, the California Democrat is still entitled to a taxpayer-funded congressional pension for his nearly 13 years of service in the House. Boebert, who was one of the first lawmakers to call on the House to expel Swalwell, told the Washington Examiner it was unacceptable that Swalwell would still benefit from American taxpayers. “We should pass a...
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Colorado Supreme Court Confronts Trans Care Dispute With Federal Funding at Stake
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Supreme Court Confronts Trans Care Dispute With Federal Funding at Stake

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics Some members of the Colorado Supreme Court expressed discomfort on Tuesday with having to decide whether to order Children’s Hospital Colorado to resume providing certain services to transgender children, which could trigger a “death sentence” if the federal government imposes consequences. “I’m assuming there’s no middle ground here with the federal administration, in terms of letting the patients who are already in treatment complete their treatment but just not take on any new patients for gender-affirming care?” asked Justice Carlos A. Samour Jr. during oral arguments. There is not, responded the hospital’s lawyer. “We believe that the care can be provided safely and effectively,” added attorney Patrick O’Rourke. “But ul...
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Colorado House Pushes Through $46.8 Billion Budget After Contentious Debate
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado House Pushes Through $46.8 Billion Budget After Contentious Debate

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The House on Saturday, after four days of work – it usually takes two – finished up their work and voted on the $46.8 billion 2026-27 state budget, as contained in House Bill 1410 and 64 accompanying measures designed to help balance the budget. The delay in getting to the finish line was caused by Rep. Brandi Bradley, R-Roxborough Park, who asked for the 661-page budget bill to be read at length, a computer-operated process expected to take up to 15 hours. That was on Wednesday, the first day the full House worked on the budget. The reading was laid over until late Thursday by House Majority Leader Rep. Monica Duran, D-Wheat Ridge. The reading didn’t start until after 6:30 p.m., to allow the House to finish wor...
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Colorado budget showdown: GOP forces full reading of 661-page bill, halting debate
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado budget showdown: GOP forces full reading of 661-page bill, halting debate

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics A procedural battle at the Colorado Capitol boiled over on Wednesday night, when a House Republican demanded the 661‑page state budget be read aloud in full — a move that delayed the advance of the proposed $46.8 billion spending plan. Colorado legislators are constitutionally required to adopt a balanced budget each year. For next year’s budget, they are grappling with $1.5 billion deficit in general fund dollars, compelling them to cut spending and reexamine programs, particularly in Medicaid, the major factor driving the deficit. In addition to the state’s Medicaid woes, Democrats have blamed Congress for Colorado’s fiscal woes, arguing the federal budget changed the revenue equation and caused the state budget to go unbalanced. Republic...
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Polis loses ground with Democrat base as cost-of-living fears rise
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Polis loses ground with Democrat base as cost-of-living fears rise

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Gov. Jared Polis is losing steam among members of his party, particularly progressive Democrats, according to a recent poll. Other statewide Democrats also saw their favorability ratings drop, though relatively stable compared to the governor’s numbers, the poll conducted by the Colorado Polling Institute in late March said. Forty-four percent of respondents said they view Polis favorably, down seven percentage points from last March. Nearly 50% of respondents said they had a negative view of the governor, whose final term ends this year. Polis’ favorability was strong within the Democratic Party last year, with 84% of members saying they viewed him favorably. That number has dropped to 72%, while Polis’ approval among Democrats...
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