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From bag fees to car fees, two ballot measures could end Colorado’s fee-frenzy
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

From bag fees to car fees, two ballot measures could end Colorado’s fee-frenzy

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado In an effort to avoid having to go to voters for tax increases, Colorado state lawmakers have increasingly turned to fees. But they may have gone too far this year. In addition to bills imposing fees on phones, alcohol and tires, state Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill increasing the fee on car and truck rentals to just over $5 a day. If passed, the money would be used to fund mass transit projects. The American Car Rental Association, which represents companies like Enterprise and U-Haul, is now threatening to sue the state and is putting money behind two ballot measures that could drastically limit all fees. Greg Scott with the association warned lawmakers the fee would be a violation of federal law, which prohibits fees on airport busines...
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‘The Most Legit Dude’ in the Colorado Capitol: Senator becomes unlikely celebrity
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Approved, State, Westword

‘The Most Legit Dude’ in the Colorado Capitol: Senator becomes unlikely celebrity

By Hannah Metzger | Westword One Colorado legislator has become the subject of fan pages, a weekly holiday and an effort to replace Mayor Mike Johnston’s greeting at the Denver airport with his voice instead. As state Senator Perry Will walks through the Colorado Capitol Building on Friday, May 3, staffers stop him to ask for photos. Dozens of people roam the halls wearing bolo ties — Will’s signature look — in homage to the year's last “Perry Will Friday,” which has been celebrated every week since the legislative session began in January. Now four months in, with legislators preparing to adjourn this week, Will is a bona fide celebrity under the gold dome. “I just love it. I crave it,” Will says. "I'm not your garden-variety legislator, but I work across the ai...
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‘Devastated’ details the deadly fentanyl epidemic and calls Coloradans to action
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

‘Devastated’ details the deadly fentanyl epidemic and calls Coloradans to action

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Overdoses believed to be driven largely by fentanyl-laced prescription drugs are setting records annually. The death count once was similar to the capacity of a high school classroom each week, marking the third largest cause of pediatric deaths behind firearm-related injuries and motor vehicle collisions, a report by UCLA Health reads. It has now grown beyond that analogy. The drug often kills those experimenting with it for the first time, with the Centers for Disease Control finding 86 percent of those adolescents dying of a fentanyl overdose had not previously experienced a drug overdose, according to a report in The Free Press. Introduction of Fentanyl has been especially devastating in Colorado, where the Department of Public Health ...
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Three takeaways from Colorado’s 2024 legislative session
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Three takeaways from Colorado’s 2024 legislative session

By Colorado Politics Colorado policymakers wrapped up this year's legislative session on Wednesday night, following a hectic pace that saw them passing major proposals on housing, taxes and guns. Here are three takeaways: Lawmakers find agreement on difficult subjects  Hot-button proposals from Democrats' progressive wing fail  Property tax fight is far from over READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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101 bills debated by the Colorado legislature in 2024 that you need to know about
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

101 bills debated by the Colorado legislature in 2024 that you need to know about

By Jesse Paul and Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun The Colorado legislature debated more than 700 bills in the lawmaking term that ended Wednesday.  The Colorado Sun pored through the measures to highlight the ones that passed — and some that failed — that you need to know about. Gov. Jared Polis has a June 7 deadline to sign or veto bills, or let them become law without his signature. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Secretary of State announces $894K in grants directed to six county governments
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Secretary of State announces $894K in grants directed to six county governments

By Rocky Mountain Voice Staff Six counties have been awarded $894,411 in grant funding by the Colorado Secretary of State's Electronic Recording Technology Board, a release received by Rocky Mountain Voice reads. The counties being funded are Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Clear Creek, Dolores, Pueblo and Yuma for indexing and digitizing of county records and to improve public accessibility to historical documents. “The grant money we’ve awarded to Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Clear Creek, Dolores, Pueblo and Yuma Counties represents an investment in Colorado’s future," the release announcing the awards reads. "It’s a privilege to be able to support these counties in their commitment to preserving historical records and making documents more accessible for their constituents.” Government grants ge...
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Want real property tax relief? Stay tuned for ballot initiatives in November.
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Want real property tax relief? Stay tuned for ballot initiatives in November.

By Rocky Mountain Voice Staff A bill passed yesterday, touted as the answer to skyrocketing property taxes, does NOT cut property taxes. Instead of paying an effective rate of 6.3% this year, you'll be paying 6.8% next year.  Colorado lawmakers wrapped up their 2024 legislative session Wednesday evening by sending Gov. Jared Polis a last-minute property tax relief bill, Senate Bill 233. Introduced on Monday after months of negotiations, this was one of the final bills to pass before the Assembly adjourned for the year. Lawmakers hope the measure will dissuade voters from backing property tax measures on the November ballot that could significantly impact state and local government budgets.  Colorado Concern, the group ready to push a ballot initiative, didn’t get on board.  S...
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Smrz: Thirty-seven 1st Amendment advocates denied a voice at Colorado Capitol 
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Approved, Commentary, State

Smrz: Thirty-seven 1st Amendment advocates denied a voice at Colorado Capitol 

By Jimmy Smrz | Guest Commentary DENVER, COLORADO—On May 1, 2024, The state House Education Committee hearing for Colorado Senate Bill 24-158 proceeded without calling for testimony from any of the 37 opponents who had registered to speak against the bill. Insiders were struck by the one-sided monopolization of the hearing, where only testimony in support of the proposed legislation was heard. This raises concerns about legislative protocols and stakeholder engagement.  Following its introduction in February, "Social Media Protect Juveniles Disclosures Reports'' garnered significant legislative support. The bill passed out of the state Senate Business, Labor, and Technology Committee hearing on March 28 unanimously, and encountered only one dissenting vote in the full state Sena...
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‘Hostile and discriminatory’: 10th Circuit slams CU for treatment of religious vaccine exemptions
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

‘Hostile and discriminatory’: 10th Circuit slams CU for treatment of religious vaccine exemptions

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics In a fiery opinion on Tuesday, the federal appeals court based in Denver tore into a pair of COVID-19 vaccination policies the University of Colorado imposed on medical staff in late 2021, concluding they discriminated against certain religions and affected plaintiffs were consequently entitled to exemptions. By 2-1, the all-Republican panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit directed unusually sharp barbs at each other and at the trial judge who initially declined to block the university's mandates. Judge Allison H. Eid, writing for the majority, believed the policies governing religious exemptions at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus were "permeated with animus." CU "has not even attempted to explain why its interest is served by...
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Property tax bill on track to reach governor’s desk by final day of session
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Property tax bill on track to reach governor’s desk by final day of session

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics With just one day left in the legislative session, an eleventh-hour property tax deal has unanimously cleared two House committees and secured approval at its second reading on the floor.  The bipartisan Senate Bill 233, announced the day before, marks the culmination of months of conversations between the governor, legislators and groups like Colorado Concern, Colorado Counties Inc. and the Bell Policy Center.  This bill gradually decreases commercial property assessment rates from 29% to 25% over three years and introduces two reductions in residential property valuations: from 6.8% to 6.7% for multifamily units and from 7.06% to 6.7% for all other residential properties. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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