State

Governor rejects rideshare reform bill amid corporate exit warnings

denvergazette.com, Approved, State / / , , , , ,

Gov. Jared Polis on Friday vetoed House Bill 1291, a bill that would have put more teeth in regulating rideshare companies.

Sponsors heavily criticized the veto, saying his claims that he cares about victims fell short and that he didn’t engage with the sponsors on the bill until three days before the end of the session. 

House Bill 1291 was intended to beef up consumer protections for those who use ride share companies, such as Lyft and Uber. The bill would have required rideshare companies to conduct criminal background checks on drivers at least once every six months and review drivers who have had complaints filed against them by riders. If the company determined that the allegation is “more than likely to have occurred,” it would have had to deactivate the driver’s profile.

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Western Slope pushes $99M deal for historic Shoshone water rights—Front Range says not so fast

The Colorado Sun, Approved, State / / , , , , ,

Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs and Northern Water voiced opposition Wednesday to the Western Slope’s proposal to spend $99 million to buy historic water rights on the Colorado River from Xcel Energy.

The Colorado River Water Conservation District has been working for years to buy the water rights tied to Shoshone Power Plant, a small, easy-to-miss hydropower plant off Interstate 70 east of Glenwood Springs. The highly coveted water rights are some of the largest and oldest on the Colorado River in Colorado.

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Polis backs federal halt after his own AI law faces fierce blowback

The Colorado Sun, Approved, State / / , , , , , ,

Nine months: that’s all the time left before companies have to start complying with Colorado’s first-in-the-nation anti-discrimination law for AI systems, unless policymakers act.

Business and industry groups have been begging for a delay. They say the law as it stands is unworkable — they’re urging Colorado’s lawmakers to give all sides more time to try to find a compromise.

But consumer rights advocates say AI’s rapid spread into more and more areas of life makes it critical to put guardrails on how the technology is working. Many advocates for the law also feel some in the tech industry won’t be satisfied with anything other than a full capitulation on the policy’s most meaningful consumer protections.

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Colorado sued over law punishing ‘misgendering’: Doctors, parents cite First Amendment

denvergazette.com, Approved, State / / , , , , , , , , ,

Several organizations and a western Colorado dermatologist have filed a lawsuit seeking to block specific provisions of a recently signed state law that, as originally introduced, would have defined “deadnaming” and “misgendering” as discriminatory acts but whose final version had been heavily modified.  

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit included Defending Education, the Colorado Parent Advocacy Network, Protect Kids Colorado, and Do No Harm. Travis Morrell, a Grand Junction dermatologist and member of Do No Harm, is also a plaintiff.

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Gaines: Polis’ picks for land board proves Colorado’s gone to the wolves

Commentary, Approved, State, Substack / / , , , , , , ,

I wrote about Polis advisor Nicole Rosmarino being the sole finalist for the directorship of the State Land Board recently. That newsletter is linked first below if you want or need context.

On the heels of that newsletter, I got a message from a reader alerting me to the other two appointments that Governor Polis made to the State Land Board–this is the same board mind you that makes decisions on grazing leases, mineral-extraction (oil/gas) leases, and provides revenue to schools–Mark Harvey from Pitkin County and James Pribyl from Louisville. Harvey was appointed to fill the agriculture seat on the board and Pribyl the citizen-at-large seat.

If the name Pribyl sounds familiar, you’re not alone. He was a former member of the CPW Commissioners (see the picture heading this post whose text was taken from Pribyl’s Linked In account), a wolf reintroduction advocate, and one of the three co-authors of the op ed in support of Prop 127, the big cat hunting ban.**

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“Aptitude test for your rights?” Mesa County pushes back on SB3 in letter to the DOJ

Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Local, National, State, Top Stories / / , , , , , , , , ,

Would you need a perfect GPA to speak your mind or worship freely? Mesa County officials say Colorado’s new gun law is treating the Second Amendment that way – and they’ve asked the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene.

In a three-page letter sent this month, the Mesa County Board of Commissioners urged federal authorities to investigate Senate Bill 25-003, calling it a “grotesque misuse of government power” that effectively imposes a discriminatory test on anyone wishing to lawfully own or carry a firearm.

The law, which takes effect in August 2026, requires residents to complete state-approved firearms training, score 90% on a written exam and obtain conditional approval from their sheriff’s office every five years in order to receive or renew a permit.

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AT&T expands in Colorado as Lumen offloads home broadband business

The Colorado Sun, Approved, State / / , , , , ,

AT&T’s $5.75 billion purchase of Lumen Technologies home fiber-internet business will impact 1 million customers nationwide, including an undisclosed number in Colorado who buy fiber service from Quantum Fiber, a brand that originated under CenturyLink.

The deal, pending regulatory approval, was announced Wednesday, and means AT&T will step into the consumer world of fiber internet service for the first time, at least here in Colorado.

Besides picking up Lumen’s Colorado market, AT&T will add customers in 10 other states for a total of 1 million fiber customers. Lumen’s current network could serve 4 million households if every home ordered it.

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ATF crackdown: Denver gun shop owners sentenced in federal firearms fraud case

kdvr.com, Approved, State / / , , , , , ,

DENVER (KDVR) — The co-owners of a Denver-based firearms business have been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to one count each of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., and after one of the co-owners also pleaded guilty to possession of an unregistered firearm.

Campbell Slayden, 26, a co-owner of Modern Arms and Optics LLC, was sentenced to 50 months in prison and pleaded guilty to two counts: conspiracy to defraud and possession of an unregistered firearm. Anthony Gallegos, 26, also a co-owner of the company, was sentenced to 36 months for conspiracy to defraud.

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Analyst to reveal altered Arapahoe 2020 CVR at Tuesday Capitol press conference

Top Stories, Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, State / / , , , ,

A nationally recognized computer scientist will present what he says is direct evidence of vote data manipulation in Arapahoe County’s 2020 election – and altered ballot records in a newly released 2025 file – at a May 27 press conference at the Colorado State Capitol.

Dr. Walter Daugherity, a Harvard-trained expert in computer science and election auditing, is set to speak at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday on the west steps of the Capitol. According to a press release circulated Wednesday, Daugherity will walk the public through four exhibits that show what he describes as “a manipulated cast vote record” and evidence that votes were changed at the ballot level.

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Colorado Republican Congress members rally behind Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

The Colorado Sun, Approved, National, State / / , , , , ,

President Donald Trump left a meeting with the Republican caucus Tuesday morning predicting a great victory.

His trek to the U.S. Capitol came as GOP leaders try to get his “big, beautiful bill” passed in the House this week.  

House Speaker Mike Johnson, whose party holds a slim majority, has been trying to stitch together a bill that can deliver on Trump’s agenda while threading the needle between his far right faction, his swing seat members, and others in the caucus, as the different factions seek opposing changes to the bill.

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