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Colorado State Legislature Introduces Seven Bills with Implications for the Business Community
Approved, State, thelobby-co.com

Colorado State Legislature Introduces Seven Bills with Implications for the Business Community

SOURCE: THELOBBY-CO.COM As the Colorado state legislature enters its third week, lawmakers have already introduced several bills that could have a significant impact on the business community. Here are seven that were introduced on the first day of the 2024 Colorado General Assembly: Senate Bill 24-020: Alcohol Beverage Delivery and Takeout by Sen. Dylan Roberts, Rep. William Lindstedt, and Rep. Rose Pugliese, this bill aims to allow businesses to continue offering alcoholic beverages for takeout and delivery beyond the current sunset date of July 1, 2025. House Bill 24-1008: Wage Claims Construction Industry Contractors proposed legislation, sponsored by House Majority Leader Monica Duran, Rep. Meg Froelich, Sen. Jessie Danielson, and S...
Student enrollment down statewide, up in Denver because of newly arriving immigrants
Approved, denvergazette.com, Downtown Denver, Local, State

Student enrollment down statewide, up in Denver because of newly arriving immigrants

By Nicole C. Brambila | SOURCE: THE DENVER GAZETTE Student enrollment statewide declined for a second year with new data from the Colorado Department of Education showing a loss of about 1,800 students on what’s called the October count, which is used to determine funding levels for school districts. “On a percentage basis, it’s a fairly small change,” said Jennifer Okes, chief school operations officer for the Colorado Department of Education. Statewide enrollment remains relatively stable. Those 1,800 Colorado students equate to a roughly 0.20% decrease, down from 883,264 in 2022 to 881,464 last fall, state data shows. Colorado’s enrollment was last this low in 2013, when 876,999 pupils were counted, after gaining 13,438 students. What the Oct. 2 count doesn’t show is t...
Colorado House GOP leader Mike Lynch, a congressional candidate, was arrested in 2022 on DUI, gun charges
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado House GOP leader Mike Lynch, a congressional candidate, was arrested in 2022 on DUI, gun charges

By Ernest Luning | SOURCE: COLORADO POLITICS State House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, a Republican candidate in Colorado's open 4th Congressional District, was arrested in 2022 on suspicion of drunken driving and being in possession of a gun while intoxicated, law enforcement records show. The Wellington lawmaker is one of 11 Republicans running for the seat held by retiring U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, a Windsor Republican serving his fifth term. The crowded primary field also includes U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who announced in late December that she will run this year in the heavily Republican 4th CD rather than seek reelection in the more competitive district she represents. Lynch, serving his second term, was elected to lead House Republicans about six weeks after the arrest, ...
State Rep. Epps pushes bill for lethal drug injection centers across Colorado
Approved, coloradopeakpolitics.com, State

State Rep. Epps pushes bill for lethal drug injection centers across Colorado

SOURCE: COLORADO PEAK POLITICS Insanity is doing the same thing over and over yet expecting different results, which explains why Democrats are once again trying to legalize drug dens across Colorado for hardcore substances like fentanyl, heroin, and meth. The issue was first introduced to the state legislature five years ago by then state Sen. Brittany Pettersen, now Congresswoman Pettersen, who wanted to open a drug injection site across the street from the state Capitol. The idea failed miserably then, and nearly every year since as progressive Democrats intent on dragging the state further into the shitter have tried to legalize lethal drugs using this same backdoor method. This year, it’s state Rep. Elisabeth Epps and Republican-turned-Democrat Kevin Priola who just days a...
Caldara: Stage is set for the ‘Colorado Rebound’
Approved, completecolorado.com, State

Caldara: Stage is set for the ‘Colorado Rebound’

By Jon Caldara | SOURCE: THE GAZETTE Never since the passage of our Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights in 1992 have I been more optimistic about the possibility of Coloradans winning back the lost personal and economic freedoms stolen by the government leviathan. And no, I have not been ingesting the state’s newly deregulated psychedelic mushrooms. I make this observation after taking an inventory of the political condition of our state as I have worked in Colorado politics for well more than three decades. As I wrote last week, the Colorado GOP is a lost cause for the next several years. This is a painful but necessary process, like an addict going through the hell of withdrawal, to realign candidates to the new political truths of the state. Though difficult to swallow, conservativ...
Liberal Democrats Push Failed Drug Policy in Colorado, Ignoring Public Concerns
Approved, State, thelobby-co.com

Liberal Democrats Push Failed Drug Policy in Colorado, Ignoring Public Concerns

SOURCE: THELOBBY-CO.COM Once again, Denver progressives are pushing for the legalization and funding of "drug shooting galleries" in Colorado. Rep. Elisabeth Epps and Sen. Kevin Priola are making their second attempt to pass legislation that would establish "safe injection sites" for illegal drug users. However, this ultra-liberal program has proven to be a complete failure in other cities and was overwhelmingly rejected by the Democrat majority during the previous legislative session. Epps and Priola were the prime sponsors of a similar effort in 2023, which ultimately failed to gain support in a Democrat-controlled Senate committee after passing in the House. Interestingly, the current 2024 effort only includes the names of Epps and Priola, in contrast to the previous bill t...
‘All-time’ temperature record falls in Colorado on sub-zero day
Approved, denvergazette.com, State

‘All-time’ temperature record falls in Colorado on sub-zero day

By Spencer McKee | SOURCE: THE DENVER GAZETTE Another temperature record has been set in Colorado during recent days of frigid weather. According to the National Weather Service, a temperature of -30 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded at their Limon station on January 16. This is the lowest all-time temperature that has been recorded at the station, with the previous record being -28 degrees. That prior record was first set on February 14, 2021 and tied last Monday. That being said, -30 degrees has never been recorded by the station since records began in 1948. This new record is a bit different than other records that have fallen in recent days, as other records that have been addressed were records based on the singular date, not 'all-time.' READ FULL ARTICLE ON DENVERGAZETTE.CO...
Colorado public school enrollment continues to decline, lowest since 2013
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Colorado public school enrollment continues to decline, lowest since 2013

NEWS RELEASE: COLORADO DEPT. OF EDUCATION Colorado public school enrollment continues to decline with 1,800 fewer students counted in October than the previous year State's lowest overall PK-12 enrollment since 2013 DENVER – For the second straight year, student enrollment in Colorado’s public schools declined with the 2023-24 school year PK-12 student enrollment reaching the state's lowest mark in a decade, according to the annual count of public school students in October. The state’s October 2023 count of 881,464 students enrolled in public schools was 1,800 fewer than in October 2022, a 0.20% decrease. The last time Colorado’s public school enrollment was this low was 2013 when 876,999 students were counted. Colorado’s school enrollment has experienced a downward trend i...
Democrat lawmakers take another stab at state-sanctioned drug injection sites
Approved, completecolorado.com, State

Democrat lawmakers take another stab at state-sanctioned drug injection sites

By Mike Krause | SOURCE: COMPLETE COLORADO PAGE TWO DENVER–A pair of Colorado lawmakers are making another attempt at sanctioning what are sometimes referred to as “safe injection sites” for illegal drug users, despite their own Democrat colleagues killing off a similar effort during last year’s legislative session. House Bill 24-1028, titled Overdose Prevention Centers, allows Colorado municipalities (cities, towns, as well as a city and county) to authorize “A space for individuals to use previously obtained controlled substances in a monitored setting under the supervision of health care professionals or other trained staff for the purpose of providing life-saving treatment on the event of a potential overdose.”  The bill also allows for such things as distribution of clean n...
EDITORIAL: AG Weiser picks pot over Colorado’s kids
Approved, denvergazette.com, State

EDITORIAL: AG Weiser picks pot over Colorado’s kids

By The Gazette Editorial Board | SOURCE: THE GAZETTE Big Marijuana is waging a war on Colorado’s children — just as Big Tobacco has done for generations. High-potency concentrates are sold in nifty little packages and pre-loaded into disposable, battery-powered vape pens that can be concealed in a kid’s backpack or pocket. Then, they’re inhaled discreetly on the fly — maybe on the way to school — and tossed in the trash. No dreadlocks; no billowing, acrid smoke; no joints the size of a rolled-up newspaper. This ain’t your grandpa’s Dead concert. This is today’s kids — perhaps even your kids — and the power-packed pot derivatives they’re using are getting them higher than ever. Though technically off limits to minors, retail pot has played a pivotal role in undermining Colorado’...