State

A shepherd in the trenches: Rep. Scott Bottoms answers the call to fight for Colorado

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El Paso County Republican Rep. Scott Bottoms walked the quiet State Capitol halls with his wife, prayers filling the empty space. They spent hours there—no fanfare, just a pastor seeking God’s will on a new path after years of preaching in Colorado Springs. 

Several lawmakers asked him to run for office. “I’m a pastor,” he told them. One replied, “Pray about it.” That stuck. “I almost said no,” Bottoms said. “I was scared God might say yes.” 

“I didn’t choose this,” Bottoms said. “I felt God say ‘This is your battlefield.’”

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Lawmakers propose risky PERA maneuver for voter-approved police funding amid budget shortfall

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Something’s missing from the Colorado state budget proposal — and it’s a biggie. The Joint Budget Committee last week finalized its budget package without deciding what to do about Proposition 130: the voter-approved requirement that the state spend $350 million to support law enforcement.

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Bureaucracy vs. 2A rights? SB25-003 awaits Polis’ pen

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On Friday, the Colorado Senate voted to concur with amendments adopted by the House on a bill that Democrat legislators have touted as a way to “fully implement and enforce Colorado’s existing high-capacity magazine prohibition.”

That means the bill is now headed to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk where he could sign the measure into law.

The bill would require anyone in Colorado after Aug. 1, 2026, to have a permit and complete firearm safety training to purchase semiautomatic firearms that accept detachable magazines. The bill would also prevent any sales of rapid-fire conversion devices, which allow the user of a semiautomatic gun to treat it more like a fully automatic weapon. These devices include bump stocks and binary triggers.

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Bannon lights fire under Colorado GOP at Centennial Gala: “The elites failed this state”

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Despite credible bomb threats and a last-minute venue change, the Colorado GOP gathered under tight security to kick off what Steve Bannon called “a journey to take this state back.” But the fight, he warned, isn’t just against Democrats—it’s against weak Republicans and elites “who don’t want you in their party.”

The Centennial Dinner, held March 28 at Phil Long Music Hall in Colorado Springs, featured a live call-in from former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters from the Larimer County jail, and a headlining speech from Bannon that ignited the room with calls for courage, action and confrontation.

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From the ashes of division: Horn, Phelan and Andrews chart a new course for Colorado GOP

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“We’re like a great football team,” Russ Andrews told delegates at the Colorado Republican Party reorganization meeting on March 29. “But when we take the field, we block and tackle each other. That has to end.”

It was a sentiment echoed by the party’s newly elected leaders Brita Horn (Chair), D. Lee Phelan Sr. (Vice Chair), and Andrews himself, who was elected Secretary. The three swept their respective races after a day of pointed speeches, surprise withdrawals and shifting alliances that ended with a new leadership slate promising to put unity and effectiveness over factional infighting.

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Ballooning Medicaid costs, TABOR limits expose flaws in Colorado’s big government spending spree

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By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board After years of overreach and unchecked government growth, Colorado lawmakers are now scrambling to plug a $1.2 billion hole in the state budget —

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Cole: Colorado lawmakers scrolled while your safety was debated

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In a state where crime surges and citizens rely on their Second Amendment rights for protection, you’d hope lawmakers would take their duties seriously. Yet, during debates on Senate Bill 25-003—a measure slashing Coloradans’ ability to defend themselves—several representatives checked out. 

Rep. Meghan Lukens (D) played Tetris, Rep. Sheila Stewart (D) and Rep. Javier Mauro (D) scrolled TikTok, Rep. Tisha Mauro (D) browsed Instagram, and Rep. Matthew Clifford (D) surfed Facebook—all while colleagues argued over a bill that could leave Coloradans defenseless. 

Their minds seemed made up, uninterested in the arguments put forth by their colleagues.

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Hillman: Fiscal tailgating put Colorado in the ditch

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Headlines from the state Capitol might cause a reader to believe Colorado is in a deep recession. Legislators say they must cut more than $1 billion in spending to balance the 2025-26 budget.

Still, state government has $687 million more to spend than last year in a $19 billion budget. So why all the histrionics about a budget “crisis”?

Because Colorado lawmakers practice fiscal tailgating.

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Rural Colorado school districts that once served students online could see brunt of major state budget cuts

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As Colorado lawmakers try to solve a state budget crisis, Gov. Jared Polis’ office is advocating for a new set of changes to student averaging that would significantly impact a handful of rural school districts and charter schools that found a lifeline for their budgets by enrolling online homeschool students.

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