Rocky Mountain Voice

State

Secretary of State Griswold faces backlash for regulation push
Approved, State, thelobby-co.com

Secretary of State Griswold faces backlash for regulation push

SOURCE: THELOBBY-CO.COM Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold has recently announced a series of proposed bills for the upcoming legislative session, claiming that her top priority is to protect Colorado voters. Griswold's main target this session appears to be AI, as she expressed her intention to hold accountable anyone attempting to defraud Coloradans or the American people. While the goal of preventing fraud is commendable, the proposed bill requiring disclaimers for AI content featuring Colorado candidates or officials raises concerns about the potential infringement on free speech and the stifling of political discourse. Supporters of the bill argue that it is necessary to combat the use of AI in creating deep fakes and spreading misinformation. They claim that requi...
EDITORIAL: Gov. Polis should stop ‘DEI’
Approved, denvergazette.com, State

EDITORIAL: Gov. Polis should stop ‘DEI’

By GAZETTE EDITORIAL BOARD The May 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, now in prison, had a wide-ranging impact on society. It rekindled a needed national conversation on racial justice — Floyd was Black; his killer, White — but also was exploited by opportunists who hijacked peaceful rallies and turned them into violent riots. Colorado experienced its share of both. Among other repercussions was a complete misfire that had nothing to do with honoring Floyd’s memory or learning from his tragic death. It was the sudden rise of a new dogma summed up in the catchphrase, “diversity, equity and inclusion.” Also known by its acronym, “DEI,” the verbiage has caught on so quickly across our state and the rest of the country that just about everyone has heard of it...
Polis Promise made; promise denied. Property taxes to spike 25%
Approved, coloradopeakpolitics.com, State

Polis Promise made; promise denied. Property taxes to spike 25%

SOURCE: COLORADO PEAK POLITICS The bill is coming due for living in a state controlled by a tax-and-spend political party and homeowners will be paying the brunt of it this year when property taxes are projected to spike an average of 25%. PeakNation™ will recall Gov. Polis and his Democrat buddies in the state legislature promised us property tax relief last year, but instead gave us a tax hike ballot measure that failed miserably. Because it was a tax hike, not a tax break. Then Polis called a special session of his cronies to hold a special session and he promised to seriously cut property taxes that time, but it was just a drop in the bucket. Again his word meant nothing. Promises made, promises denied. You know the old saying, fool us once, shame on you, fool us...
New GOP leader Pugliese says the fight is on to make Colo safer and more affordable
Approved, coloradopeakpolitics.com, State

New GOP leader Pugliese says the fight is on to make Colo safer and more affordable

SOURCE: Colorado Peak Politics State Rep. Rose Pugliese of Colorado Springs was elected Thursday by State House Republicans to lead their caucus and serve as minority leader. Her top task — growing the caucus and bring some balance to the policies passed by controlling Democrats who keep trying to tilt this state to the bizarre far left. https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0I...
Move to Classify Colorado Nuclear as ‘Clean Energy’ Killed
Approved, i2i.org, State

Move to Classify Colorado Nuclear as ‘Clean Energy’ Killed

SOURCE: INDEPENDENCE INSTITUTE On Wednesday, January 24, 2024, Independence Institute’s Energy and Environmental Policy Analyst Jake Fogleman testified on SB24-039 in the Colorado Senate Transportation & Energy Committee. The bill would have amended the state’s statutory definitions of “clean energy” and “clean energy resources” to include nuclear energy. The committee ultimately voted not to pass the bill at the end of the hearing. Senators Faith Winter (D.), Kevin Priola (D.), Lisa Cutter (D.), and Tony Exum (D.) voted against the bill, while Senators Nick Hinrichsen (D.), Byron Pelton (R.), and Cleave Simpson (R.) voted in favor of it. READ FULL TESTIMONY ON I2I.ORG
GUEST COLUMN: We don’t need more government control of business
Approved, gazette.com, State

GUEST COLUMN: We don’t need more government control of business

By Paul Prentice | SOURCE: THE GAZETTE In a misguided effort to protect consumers, the Biden administration has embarked on a well-intentioned but ill-advised crusade against what it deems to be “hidden” and “junk” fees. This initiative, while ostensibly aimed at promoting transparency and fairness, overlooks the nuanced economic landscape in which small and medium-sized businesses operate, particularly in states like Colorado. President Joe Biden kicked off this campaign during his 2023 State of the Union address, where he called out industries for allegedly deceiving consumers. Touting his desire to crack down on “junk fees,” he attacked airlines, hotels, cable companies, and concert venues for billing consumers extraneous back-end costs, employing the catchy tagline that airlines ...
How Colorado became the focal point of 14th Amendment efforts to disqualify Trump from the ballot
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, National, State

How Colorado became the focal point of 14th Amendment efforts to disqualify Trump from the ballot

By Jenny Deam | SOURCE: COLORADO POLITICS The extraordinary Colorado election case now headed for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide if former President Donald Trump is disqualified from the ballot had its humble beginnings three years ago in the Maryland basement office of a self-proclaimed legal nerd. It was around New Year’s Day 2021. Constitutional scholar and University of Maryland law school professor Mark Graber was putting the finishing touches on a chapter delving into the then mostly forgotten Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Just the kind of thing Graber, a historian at heart, loved. The rarely used section had been crafted more than 150 years ago to disqualify former Confederate leaders from holding office because they had engaged in an insurrection. It read...
A bill to designate nuclear energy as clean energy dies in committee
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

A bill to designate nuclear energy as clean energy dies in committee

By Marissa Ventrelli  | SOURCE: COLORADO POLITICS A Senate bill that would have defined nuclear energy as clean energy died along party lines in committee Thursday. Introduced by Sen. Larry Liston, R-Colorado Springs, SB24-039 would have included nuclear energy in the statutory definition of clean energy sources, thus rendering it eligible for clean energy project funding. During discussion, opponents said such a designation would have a negative impact on the environment, while proponents listed the benefits of using nuclear energy. After length discussion, the Senate Committee of Transportation and Energy voted 4-3 to kill the measure. “It is our responsibility to lay the groundwork for the development of reliable and renewable energy for future generations to ...
Democracies, Republics, and TABOR
Approved, i2i.org, State

Democracies, Republics, and TABOR

By Rob Natelson, Independence Institute In 2011, a group of politicians and special interests sued in federal court to void Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). The case was Kerr v. Hickenlooper. The plaintiffs’ primary argument was that TABOR violated the U.S. Constitution’s Guarantee Clause (Article IV, Section 4), which says in part, “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.” The plaintiffs contended that to be a “republic,” a state must make taxing and spending decisions through elected representatives only. They based this on a misreading of James Madison’s Federalist No. 10 essay—while ignoring everything else Madison and other Founders said about republican and democratic governance. The plaintiffs pointed o...
On the table — a crazy quilt of Dem justice ‘reforms’ | George Brauchler
Approved, gazette.com, State

On the table — a crazy quilt of Dem justice ‘reforms’ | George Brauchler

By George Brauchler | SOURCE: THE GAZETTE With more than 100 days left in the 2024 legislative session, the Democrat-controlled General Assembly has already revealed its theme for criminal justice reform, and that theme is “bonkers.” A review of the Democrat bills thus far introduced are the kind only conceivable with one party dominance in Colorado government. Many thought it would be impossible for the Democrats to top legislation that mandates a school refer to a child by any name they choose at any time and for any reason. Democrat Rep. Lorena Garcia just said “hold my Bud Lite.” Current Colorado law prohibits convicted felons from legally changing their name — for obvious reasons. Garcia’s HB 1071 seeks to override that long-standing prohibition to permit name changes when...