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Lawmakers Attempt End Run Around TABOR With New Tax Bills
Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Lawmakers Attempt End Run Around TABOR With New Tax Bills

By: Mike Rosen | Complete Colorado The governor and progressive Democrats that dominate the state legislature and every statewide office in Colorado have been masterful ― if not ethical and honest ― in devising devious schemes to circumvent the TABOR amendment in the Colorado Constitution.  That’s the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, passed by a 1992 voter-initiated ballot measure that bypassed the legislature. It limited government spending and barred the legislature from increasing taxes or imposing new ones without the consent of the voters. Democrats have always despised TABOR. Their favorite ploys have included misrepresenting taxes as “fees” and funding spending programs through tax credits. Because those credits reduce government revenues, they’re the equivalent of...
Critics Warn Senate Bill 66 Could Limit Affordable Weight Loss Treatments In Colorado
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Critics Warn Senate Bill 66 Could Limit Affordable Weight Loss Treatments In Colorado

By: Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado For decades, Colorado has led the way in legalizing non-FDA approved drugs for use as experimental medicines, including marijuana and other psychedelics. So, I couldn’t believe it when I heard about Senate Bill 26-066, “Regulation of Compounded Weight Loss Medication,” which slaps onerous restrictions on Coloradans’ ability to obtain life-changing, and relatively inexpensive versions of GLP-1 weight loss drugs from compounding pharmacies. A favor to pharma There are so many reasons to oppose this bill, I honestly don’t know how anyone could support the “bi-partisan” effort of Democrat Iman Jodeh and Republican John Carson, other than as a political favor to big pharma. After listening to all the testimony on the bill (as well a...
Caldara Makes Case for Independent Oversight of Colorado Election Audits
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Caldara Makes Case for Independent Oversight of Colorado Election Audits

By: Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado This part will disappoint angry people on Twitter: Relax. Put the pitchforks down. I am not relitigating the 2020 election, or mail ballots, or even Tina Peters. But I am saying people don’t trust elections like they used to. And here in Colorado we can do a rather simple thing to reverse that. And progressives should want it most. Saving democracy is all the rage now, and as far as political slogans go, it’s a pretty damn good one. But saving democracy isn’t just about protecting Colorado from President Donald Trump, whatever that vagary means. It’s about fortifying our democratic institutions so the voters’ true will is clearly and verifiably stated. This is where I’d usually rant about how the legislature...
Colorado Sees Strong Concealed Carry Permit Numbers Despite New Restrictions
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Colorado Sees Strong Concealed Carry Permit Numbers Despite New Restrictions

By: Mike Krause | Complete Colorado DENVER– Despite a Democrat-led state legislature hostile to the lawful carrying of concealed handguns, new data show at least 27,901 Coloradans still subjected themselves to the government scrutiny and costs required to become concealed handgun permit (CHP) holders in 2025, while another 21,871 renewed existing permits.  That’s according to a recently published County Sheriffs of Colorado annual report. Notably, the report lacks data from Adams, Garfield, Pueblo and San Juan counties, which combined accounted for over 5,000 new permits in the prior year, meaning the numbers for 2025 may well be under-reported. Regardless, while the number of new permits trails the 29,495 issued in 2024, it outpaces the 25,218...
Arizona Activist Group Revives Effort To Block Wildlife Fur Sales In Colorado
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Arizona Activist Group Revives Effort To Block Wildlife Fur Sales In Colorado

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER–An out-of-state animal rights group is back for another swing at banning the sale of wildlife fur in Colorado. As with a previous, failed attempt, hunting, fishing and conservation interests are lining up in opposition. As previously reported by Complete Colorado, the Tucson, Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity filed a citizens’ petition for rulemaking in June, 2025 urging the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Commission to amend agency regulations to “prohibit the commercial sale, barter, or trade of wildlife fur in Colorado.” While that effort never made it past commissioners, the petition has been filed again for another round in 2026 and will be heard by the CPW commission in early March. &nb...
Colorado Democrats Push Measure Targeting ICE Use of Vehicle Tracking Systems
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Colorado Democrats Push Measure Targeting ICE Use of Vehicle Tracking Systems

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER–A bill imposing new restrictions on police access to vehicle location surveillance data cleared a Colorado Senate committee on Monday, with one Democrat sponsor making no bones that the legislation is in significant part aimed at federal immigration enforcement. Senate Bill 26-070 bans law enforcement agencies from accessing databases containing historical vehicle locations without first obtaining a warrant. The bill also prohibits any sharing of data with third parties, including via Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) requests. Such databases include those used by companies like Flock Safety, Motorola, and Axon, which utilize cameras, license plate readers, and cellular networks in public intersections to assist police in...
Colorado Regulatory Climate Draws Scrutiny After Palantir Relocates Headquarters to Florida
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Colorado Regulatory Climate Draws Scrutiny After Palantir Relocates Headquarters to Florida

By Vanessa Rutledge | Commentary, Complete Colorado The technology company Palantir recently announced it is relocating its headquarters from Denver to Miami. This is not a minor startup leaving quietly. Palantir is the largest public company headquartered in Colorado when measured by market capitalization. It is one of the most prominent and profitable artificial intelligence companies in the country. In explaining its reasoning, Palantir made no bones about what prompted the move. In its 2025 10-K filing, the company stated: “In addition, Colorado has passed a Consumer Protections for Artificial Intelligence bill introducing state-level oversight of ‘high-risk’ AI systems, which mirrors language and several provisions appearing in the EU AIA.” That is a dir...
Federal Reimbursement Model of ‘Perverse Incentives’ Fuels Colorado Medicaid Expansion
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Federal Reimbursement Model of ‘Perverse Incentives’ Fuels Colorado Medicaid Expansion

By Nash Herman | Commentary, Complete Colorado Colorado’s ongoing budget-gap struggles are the predictable result of structural problems with Medicaid.  Paragon Health Institute, a non-partisan research institute, recently published a new report, Preserve and Improve Medicaid, which explains the program’s inherent challenges and how states such as Colorado can take advantage of One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) reforms to improve outcomes.  However, it remains ultimately up to Colorado legislators to address the program’s systemic issues.  Medicaid’s ‘perverse incentives’ As economist Linda Gorman recently explained, the rapid 2010 expansion of Medicaid did not produce large gains in physical health, suggesting that the new expansion ...
Denver Urbanism Push Part Of Progressive Agenda to Discourage Automobile Use
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Denver Urbanism Push Part Of Progressive Agenda to Discourage Automobile Use

By Mike Rosen | Commentary, Complete Colorado Bicycle lanes in Denver are much more than just a nuisance for motorists, they’re a small but glaring symptom of the radical progressive mentality of Democrats that have grossly mismanaged Denver government in recent years. This is a sad reflection on Denver voters, who have brought this on themselves. Worse than useless and ridiculously underused, they obstruct traffic and pose a safety hazard for bicyclists and pedestrians. The lanes on Broadway north of Speer Blvd. are positively laughable, repositioning cars that were parked at the curb now out into a former traffic lane and inserting the bicycle lane in its place.  Vehicles making a left turn crossing that bicycle lane do so at the peril of cyclists, which can also be sa...
Weiser Gains Ground as Bennet Faces Transparency Test on Senate Appointment Choice
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Weiser Gains Ground as Bennet Faces Transparency Test on Senate Appointment Choice

By Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado I suggest we get used to saying the words, “Governor Weiser.” The election for Colorado’s next governor does not take place in November. It’s in fewer than five months, on June 30. That’s the state’s primary election. Whoever wins the Democratic primary is the next governor (with all apologies to the seeming 328 Republicans running for the seat). So, out of a state of 6 million people, we must choose between an affable socialist and a tired Washington, DC liberal. Aren’t we the lucky ones. Yes, yes, Michael Bennet has all the name recognition and an independent expenditure cash tsunami (it’s good to be the senator). That’s not enough. There are a bunch of small factors tilting toward Attorney General Phil Weiser, bu...