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Democrats Push Business Tax Increases To Fill State Budget Gap
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State, Approved, CBS Colorado

Democrats Push Business Tax Increases To Fill State Budget Gap

By Shaun Boyd | CBS News Colorado State lawmakers passed four bills raising taxes on Colorado businesses as a special legislative session stretched into a fifth day. Gov. Jared Polis called lawmakers back to work after President Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" cut taxes, leaving the state without enough revenue to cover expenses. This year's budget is short $750 million. The four bills raise about $330 million a year. Democrats say businesses are taking the biggest hit because they got the biggest breaks in the "Big Beautiful Bill" and Coloradans on food stamps and Medicaid need help more. "Small businesses are the backbone of our society, and so are teachers and nurses," said Democratic state Sen. Faith Winter. Republican state Sen. Lisa Frizell says the tax increases wi...
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Why educational choice matters more than ever in Colorado
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Why educational choice matters more than ever in Colorado

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Educational Choice Makes Education Better I saw the op ed below in Complete recently and wanted to share. It details a movement in education that I was not aware of: microschools.A couple of non-contiguous quotes help explain."Microschools are small learning communities typically serving less than 50 students, but which may have as many as 150. These schools are usually privately funded and launched by parents or educators to offer unique programs that address a specific need or demand in their communities. Low student-to-teacher ratios prioritize giving individual attention to each student."and "Driven by a desire for change, most microschools do not adhere to the standard educational model. It is most common for mi...
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Colorado election results may violate 1946 Secret Ballots Amendment
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado election results may violate 1946 Secret Ballots Amendment

By Mike O’Donnell | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The Colorado Constitution guarantees the right for citizens to vote in secret.  Article VII, Section 8 states that all elections by the people shall be by ballot, and no ballots shall be marked in any way that would allow the ballot to be identified as the ballot of a particular person. And in 1946, Colorado voters approved the Secret Ballots Amendment that explicitly provided for secret ballots.  However, if a voter voluntarily shares how he or she voted, they may do so. Colorado Revised Statute §1-13-712 says that any voter who makes available an image of the voter’s own ballot through electronic means, after it is prepared for voting, is deemed to have consented to the transmittal of that image. So i...
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Colorado Senate Committee Advances Costly AI Regulation Bill Amid Concerns
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Senate Committee Advances Costly AI Regulation Bill Amid Concerns

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette The Senate Appropriations Committee on Sunday handed Senate Bill 4, the artificial intelligence bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, a 4-3 win and moved it on to the full Senate. Whether the measure has the votes to get out of the Senate is another matter entirely. Much of the discussion was around the bill's cost. As introduced, it was estimated at $4.4 million, largely expenses for the governor's Office of Information Technology, which handles IT issues for most state departments, and the judicial department. Rodriguez had pushed for an amendment when the bill was in the Senate Business Affairs and Labor Committee, to shift some of the bill's disclosure requirements for public entities to open records requests. H...
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Colorado Lawmakers Clash Over Wolves, Health Subsidies and State Budget
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State, Approved, The Denver Gazette

Colorado Lawmakers Clash Over Wolves, Health Subsidies and State Budget

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette Day three of the legislature's special session ended with the Senate working late into the night to begin debate on the House tax bills sent over earlier in the day, after the House wrapped up voting on those measures, along with bills on health insurance and the Healthy School Meals for all ballot measures. The House's work Saturday night included debate on Senate Bill 5, which would prohibit Colorado Parks and Wildlife from using general fund dollars to acquire more wolves in the current fiscal year. The bill also diverts $264,000 to the Health Insurance Accountability Enterprise to pay for subsidies for health insurance premiums purchased through the state exchange. Those premiums are expected to soar for the individual market by as much a...
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Colorado Workers Face Strain As Polis Freezes State Hiring
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State, Approved, The Colorado Sun

Colorado Workers Face Strain As Polis Freezes State Hiring

By Lucas Brady Woods | The Colorado Sun The freeze takes effect Aug. 27 and will last until the end of the year. It’s estimated to save the state as much at $7 million. State employees who say they are already overworked due to high vacancy rates are concerned they’re going to be stretched even further after Gov. Jared Polis implemented an administration-wide hiring freeze that begins at the end of this month. Polis announced the freeze at the same time he called a special session of the Colorado legislature — and for the same reason: impacts on the state budget from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the federal tax and spending measure passed by congressional Republicans earlier this summer and signed into law by President Donald Trump. “Our hope is that these proactive measures...
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Colorado Lawmakers Act to Preserve Medicaid Access to Planned Parenthood
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State, Approved, DENVER7

Colorado Lawmakers Act to Preserve Medicaid Access to Planned Parenthood

By: Robert Garrison | Denver7 Republicans opposed the measure, citing the state’s $1.2 billion budget shortfall. DENVER — Democrats in the Colorado House of Representatives on Sunday passed Senate Bill 25B-2, which would restore Medicaid funding, using state money, for reproductive health care providers, namely Planned Parenthood. The 43-19 party-line vote comes after Republicans in Congress passed what is dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which excluded Planned Parenthood from federal Medicaid reimbursement for reproductive health care services. Existing federal law prohibits the use of Medicaid funds for most abortion-related services. SB 25B-2 aims to preserve access to services like cancer screenings, STI testing, and birth control consultations for Medicaid recipie...
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Colorado House Approves Six Tax Bills During Special Session
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kdvr.com, Approved, State

Colorado House Approves Six Tax Bills During Special Session

By Nate Belt | KDVR Fox 31 DENVER (KDVR) — On Saturday, the Colorado House of Representatives passed six bills to address the state’s budget shortfall. The special session was called after a $1.2 billion loss of revenue from changes in tax laws in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which Democrats say the bills passed are a fix for what they call an unnecessary gap in the budget, while Republicans feel they weren’t given enough room to debate. “We passed a revenue package that closes corporate tax loopholes, which I think is the most responsible way to address the shortfall that we are experiencing,” said Rep. Yara Zokaie. Rep. Jarvis Caldwell tells FOX31 that the bills passed on Saturday hurt the average person. “Every single bill we’ve seen here come through during the spec...
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Pettersen questions ICE actions in Chaffee County, agency defends its record
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Fox31, Approved, State

Pettersen questions ICE actions in Chaffee County, agency defends its record

By: Matt Thornton | FOX31 Denver DENVER (KDVR) — A U.S. Congresswoman and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are sparring online over immigration enforcement actions purportedly taken in Chaffee County this week. “We have been notified that people who are here legally have been detained in Chaffee County,” wrote Rep. Brittany Pettersen on X on Wednesday afternoon. “Truly unimaginable that this is happening in the United States of America where freedom and democracy and the rule of law were the envy of the world. “None of us can stand on the sidelines while this is happening. My office will be following their case and getting additional information,” Pettersen continued. “We are available to submit inquiries to ICE on your behalf if you or a loved one are detained.” ...
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Wolf funding diverted but reintroduction charges ahead
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Wolf funding diverted but reintroduction charges ahead

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun A group of Western Slope lawmakers Thursday abandoned their attempt to pause wolf reintroduction in Colorado. But they reached a deal with Gov. Jared Polis that will redirect about $250,000 set aside to bring more gray wolves into the state this year into a fund aimed at driving down health care costs. Colorado Parks and Wildlife will have to find the funding elsewhere to continue its reintroduction plans, which doesn’t appear to be a problem for the agency.  The next batch of wolves is scheduled to be released in western Colorado around December. The state is already sourcing animals for that release. State Sen. Dylan Roberts, a Frisco Democrat, said the alternative to the compromise was the bill being killed by the legislature d...
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