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Colorado protected school funding without touching TABOR refunds. Now it wants those too.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado protected school funding without touching TABOR refunds. Now it wants those too.

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Last session, the Colorado General Assembly passed a bill asking voters to waive their TABOR refunds to fund education.  The ballot title calls it "without raising taxes." No rates change.  But it asks Coloradans to let the state keep money the constitution currently requires it to give back, and it comes one year after the legislature moved more than $200 million into a protected school account without touching anyone's refund at all. The two moves address the same problem. They work very differently. What the legislature did first In 2025, tucked inside HB25-1320, the School Finance Act, a Senate Appropriations Committee amendment drafted by Sen. Kolker (D) and Sen. Kirkmeyer (R), created something...
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I won’t surrender my speech rights: Why I’m challenging Colorado’s gender identity mandates
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Fair For All, Approved, Commentary, State

I won’t surrender my speech rights: Why I’m challenging Colorado’s gender identity mandates

By Laureen Boll | Commentary, Fair For All As Colorado expands protections for gender identity, concerns about free speech, privacy, and compelled expression grow. I consider myself a law-abiding person. I’ve never seen a jail cell, I’ve never been sued. I’ve gotten one speeding ticket (I was driving to the airport and was concerned I would miss my flight) and two parking tickets (both times were unintentional). I begrudgingly pay my taxes — on time and always respect the rights of others. So why am I, of all people, formally notifying my employer that I won’t comply with their policy on “respectful treatment” in the workplace? Because it demands that I use names and pronouns to affirm a gender identity I do not believe exists. My refusal isn’t about disrespect. It’s about...
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Colorado tax data complicates the “fair share” argument
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado tax data complicates the “fair share” argument

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project High Income Coloradans pay an outsized share of income taxes As a follow-up to an earlier newsletter on Colorado’s income tax distribution (the graph headlining this post is from that newsletter), I did a summary op ed for Complete Colorado. That op ed delves into why a progressive income tax in this state would be foolhardy policy. More, including a link to my earlier newsletter with more context and detail, in the link below. https://completecolorado.com/2026/05/21/high-income-coloradans-outsized-share-income-taxes/ A different take on easing the tax burden for low income earners In the first post today, I shared an op ed I wrote which outlines why a progressive income tax (making t...
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Colorado Voters Prepare for Sweeping Legislative Changes in 2026 Elections
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Voters Prepare for Sweeping Legislative Changes in 2026 Elections

By: Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics This year’s general election will feature an unusually high number of state Senate races — 21 seats, the most in at least three decades. The surge stems from the number of new senators appointed to fill vacancies during the 2025 and 2026 legislative sessions, which triggered additional seats to go before voters. That group of 21 includes six senators who are term-limited, running for other offices, or simply choosing not to return. Fifteen House members, meanwhile, will not return next term — they are either term‑limited, running for another office, or choosing not to seek reelection. Here’s a look at the lawmakers who are wrapping up their service in the General Assembly. Open Senate seats The 2026 elec...
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Justice Department Targets Colorado Law Expanding U Visa Certifications
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Justice Department Targets Colorado Law Expanding U Visa Certifications

By: Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette The U.S. Department of Justice has moved to challenge Colorado’s U-Visa law, arguing it conflicts with federal immigration rules by broadening who qualifies for law enforcement certifications used in visa applications. HB21-1060 was signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis in 2021. The law was designed to create uniformity and fairness for immigrant crime survivors. “Colorado victims have been subjected to inconsistent policies across the state, unfairly preventing them from applying for a U-Visa,” Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network said in a statement upon the measure passing both chambers. Eric Maruyama, a Polis spokesperson, could not be reached for comment before this story published. Congress ...
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Xcel Customers Face Largest Electric Rate Hike In Colorado History
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Xcel Customers Face Largest Electric Rate Hike In Colorado History

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun The $225 million increase would raise the average residential bill by $6.13, but the proposed rate needs PUC approval and consumer advocates oppose it. Xcel Energy, its corporate customers and unions are at odds with consumer advocates over a proposed settlement that would grant the utility the largest electric rate increase ever — $225 million. The proposed agreement between Xcel Energy and parties including the Colorado Public Utilities Commission staff, the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers, Walmart and Climax Molybdenum would raise the average household bill by $6.13 to $110.81 a month — a nearly 6% increase. Colorado Energy Consumers, which represents large industrial and commercial customers, also signed on to...
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Colorado Lawmakers Receive Quiet Back Door Pay Raises Through Commission Process
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado Lawmakers Receive Quiet Back Door Pay Raises Through Commission Process

By: Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado I am personally responsible for helping overpay socialists to make Colorado unaffordable, overregulated and one windstorm away from a power blackout. I failed you. Colorado legislators already get automatic inflation raises. You know, just like your job (I’m assuming the sarcasm bled through that one). No private-sector worker has that kind of protection forever. Even union jobs eventually meet reality. Ask Spirit Airlines employees. And that’s the problem. What happens when lawmakers no longer depend on the private sector for most of their livelihood? They stop understanding the people they supposedly represent. They get disconnected. And has Colorado ever had more of a disconnected team of politicia...
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Colorado became a national model for mail voting. Election Integrity Network says it should go back.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado became a national model for mail voting. Election Integrity Network says it should go back.

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The ballot simply shows up weeks before Election Day. Some ballots are filled out the day they arrive. Others sit untouched until the weekend. Too many, most will argue, end up ignored. Eventually, a lot are mailed, taken to a drop box or walked into a polling center.  It’s the only system younger voters have ever known. The Election Integrity Network would prefer something closer to the system Colorado left behind. In May, they released a 116-page handbook outlining what it believes election laws should look like across the country. Before ballots filled the mailbox EIN founder Cleta Mitchell sees Colorado's pre-2013 election system as a blueprint rather than a relic. "Before 2013–14, Colorado used a precinct-based, i...
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Colorado Officials Push For Emergency Drought Declaration As Conditions Worsen
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Colorado Officials Push For Emergency Drought Declaration As Conditions Worsen

By: Shannon Mullane | The Colorado Sun Shifting into the next phase of the state’s emergency drought response plan could unlock more resources and funding. WINTER PARK — Members of the Colorado Drought Task Force want Gov. Jared Polis to issue an emergency proclamation to unlock more help, potentially from state coffers, in face of worrisome drought conditions.  After a historically bad winter that ended a month early, Colorado is already feeling the impacts — whether that’s financial strain, tough business decisions or an overstressed environment. As part of the state’s response, the task force recommended Monday moving into the highest level, phase three, of the state’s drought response plan. The move could allow the state to tap more resources or seek a presi...
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Taxpayers on the Hook When Government Programs Cost More Than Promised
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Taxpayers on the Hook When Government Programs Cost More Than Promised

By: Nash Herman | Commentary, Complete Colorado Colorado’s state budget is structurally unsustainable, which majority Democrats say could be fixed by ending voter consent over new taxation or by increasing taxes on Colorado residents through a progressive income tax.  While those suggestions would certainly increase state revenue, they are unlikely to fix Colorado’s ongoing budget deficits.  Meanwhile, taxpayers often learn too late that programs are vastly exceeding costs; programs like Cover all Coloradans, Healthy School Meals for All, and the wolf reintroduction scheme were all revealed to be more expensive than initially advertised to voters.  Why do programs end up being so much more expensive than advertised?&n...
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