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Trucking industry: Colorado’s climate lawsuit is unrealistic and wasteful
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Trucking industry: Colorado’s climate lawsuit is unrealistic and wasteful

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics The head of a Colorado trucking industry group is voicing worries about the Attorney General's decision to sue the Environmental Protection Agency over vehicle emissions, stressing that the adopted standards are already "impossible" to meet. Last week, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced that he is joining a coalition of states in filing a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's use of the Congressional Review Act to prohibit states from adopting stricter emissions standards for certain motor vehicles. California has received federal permission to adopt more stringent standards, with Colorado and other states following suit in adopting emissions standards. Adopted in 1996, the Congressional Review Act ...
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“Colorado is yearning to be red”: Eric Trump fires up sold-out RMV Gala
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, State, Top Stories

“Colorado is yearning to be red”: Eric Trump fires up sold-out RMV Gala

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Eric Trump had no intention of returning to politics. After years on the front lines of the MAGA movement, he told his father he was done. Ten years of lawsuits, media smears and raising a young family had him ready to step back. Then Heidi Ganahl called. “I told my father… I’m retiring from politics,” Trump said. “And then I got a call from Heidi. Damn it. Alright, fine. I’m back in.” More than 400 conservatives packed the sold-out June 21 event in Golden—including 150 VIPs—united by a common belief that Colorado’s still worth fighting for. The movement begins: Pizza Ranch and a tabletop speech Trump opened with a story about 2016 that drew laughs. The MAGA movement didn’t begin with consultants or ad buys. It started in places lik...
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$2.3B at risk? House Republicans press Polis to end Medicaid funding for illegals
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

$2.3B at risk? House Republicans press Polis to end Medicaid funding for illegals

By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics Three Republican members of Colorado's delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives are urging Gov. Jared Polis to work with legislators to end state spending on health care coverage for undocumented immigrants — or risk losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding. "We write to you expressing grave concerns over Colorado’s continued policy of covering illegal immigrants with state Medicaid funds — prioritizing benefits for those unlawfully present in our country over citizens who need it the most: individuals with disabilities, single mothers, children, and seniors," U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans wrote in a letter delivered to the Democratic governor on Thursday. The letter was also signed by U.S. Reps. Lauren Boebert and Jeff Cr...
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Polis ignored GOP lawmakers’ warnings—and now Colorado faces massive federal funding cuts
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Polis ignored GOP lawmakers’ warnings—and now Colorado faces massive federal funding cuts

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Colorado's House Republican leadership is criticizing Democratic Gov. Jared Polis for not heeding their advice against enacting legislation that could lead to the state losing federal funding. Earlier this week, Polis announced that the state created a dashboard to track funds that are either being cut or are at risk from the Trump administration, as well as the state's efforts to protect those funds through legal action. As of June 19, about $76 million in federal funding has been cut, and another $56 million are at risk. Over $282 million has been reinstated across state agencies.  The dashboard currently shows federal funding tied to nine of the state's 20 agencies. It does not yet include the largest source of f...
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Enos: CHEC’s 2025 Homeschool Freedom Report exposes the good, the bad—and the ugly
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Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Enos: CHEC’s 2025 Homeschool Freedom Report exposes the good, the bad—and the ugly

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado The CHEC 2025 Homeschool Freedom End-of-Session Report is now published and linked in this blog post. It is a sampling of twenty-eight bills from the legislative session — a total of 657 bills were introduced in the Colorado House of Representatives and the Colorado Senate, with an additional 75 House and Senate Resolutions. This was a large volume of legislation for the 120-day annual session. The report is divided into six sections: Home Education, Education, Parental Rights, Life, Families/Healthcare, and Religious Liberty. Several bills could appear under more than one section, but they were placed under the most pertinent category. Also included is a Legislative Voting Grid for twenty-four of the bills,...
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Colorado’s Green Tax Credits to be Slashed Due to Dismal Economic Forcast
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State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado’s Green Tax Credits to be Slashed Due to Dismal Economic Forcast

By Taylor Dolven | The Colorado Sun State discounts for purchasing heat pumps, e-bikes, and electric cars and trucks will be cut in half next year, Colorado economists announced Wednesday. The tax credits, some made available just last year, will be slashed in 2026 because of a dismal state revenue forecast, said Emily Dohrman, senior economist for nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff, at the Joint Budget Committee’s quarterly meeting. Lawmakers enacted the green tax credits in 2023 to make electric transportation and heating and cooling more appealing to Coloradans. But the availability of the credits hinges on state economic forecasts showing at least 4% projected revenue growth in the next fiscal year, or else they are cut by 50%. Up until recently, it looked like the state...
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SCOTUS backs states protecting minors from transgender treatment—Colorado lawmakers say HB25-1312 defies it
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, State, Top Stories

SCOTUS backs states protecting minors from transgender treatment—Colorado lawmakers say HB25-1312 defies it

 By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice A landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding Tennessee’s restrictions on gender-related medical interventions for minors has reignited scrutiny over Colorado’s HB25-1312, with several Republican lawmakers calling the ruling a clear rebuke to the law’s premise—and a warning to parents. “I was so happy with the Supreme Court’s ruling. I hope it leads to the State of Colorado being sued for the passing and the Governor’s signing of HB25-1312,” said Sen. Janice Rich (Mesa County). That ruling, issued June 18 in U.S. v. Skrmetti, affirmed that Tennessee’s restrictions on puberty blockers and hormone treatments for youth were constitutionally sound because the state had a legitimate interest in protecting minors from harm.  The ma...
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$29M in errors, 30% staff vacancy: Audit uncovers years Colorado prison system budget mismanagement
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CBS Colorado, State

$29M in errors, 30% staff vacancy: Audit uncovers years Colorado prison system budget mismanagement

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado An audit of the Colorado Department of Corrections has uncovered "erroneous information and incorrect calculations" over four years of budget requests reviewed. An independent third party conducted the audit that resulted in nearly three dozen recommended changes. CDOC Executive Director Moses "Andre" Stancil told the state's Joint Budget Committee he agrees with the recommendations in the 101-page report that found CDOC's approach to budgeting is unlike any other prison system in the country, and not in a good way. "Everything has been such a fluid mess over the years," said budget writer and Republican state Rep. Rick Taggert of Grand Junction. The audit found CDOC's budget requests have had "inaccurate, incomplete, and inco...
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Free Speech on Trial: Colorado Pushes Ideology, CEO Pushes Back
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State, The Washington Times

Free Speech on Trial: Colorado Pushes Ideology, CEO Pushes Back

By Valerie Richardson | The Washington Times Sey: 'I would argue that we're the ones correctly gendering' DENVER — Jennifer Sey hasn’t run afoul of Colorado’s newly passed ban on “misgendering,” but it’s only a matter of time. Last year, Ms. Sey founded XX-XY Athletics, a sportswear company that bills itself as “the only brand standing up for female athletes and the protection of women’s sports” in reaction to the influx of male-born competitors in female athletics. Referring to transgender people by their opposite-sex names and pronouns in advertising and customer interactions, as Colorado law now requires, would be more than inconvenient — it would contradict her entire business model. “When we talk about how it isn’t right for boys to compete in girls’ sports, it’s import...
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Economists Sound Alarm: Colorado Faces Sluggish Growth, Shrinking Revenues
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State, Colorado Politics

Economists Sound Alarm: Colorado Faces Sluggish Growth, Shrinking Revenues

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Colorado's economic outlook is on a downward trend, according to state economists, who estimated that the chances of a recession here have risen to 50%. "Uncertainty is the key aspect impacting the economy now and moving forward," said Legislative Council Chief Economist Elizabeth Ramey, who discussed the June revenue forecast with the Joint Budget Committee on Wednesday. The Office of State Planning and Budgeting (OSPB) is also less than optimistic about the economic outlook, should a federal budget bill pass, predicting it could affect 100,000 people on Medicaid and SNAP, devastate the state's rural and safety net hospitals and nearly wipe out the state's general fund reserve over the next two years. Uncertainty is also the watchword f...
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