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Federal judge dismisses drug company’s suit challenging Colorado prescription affordability board
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Federal judge dismisses drug company’s suit challenging Colorado prescription affordability board

By John Ingold | The Colorado Sun A federal judge tossed out a lawsuit filed by the pharmaceutical company Amgen challenging the authority of a Colorado board that seeks to rein in high-priced prescription drugs. U.S. District Court Judge Nina Y. Wang ruled Friday that Amgen had not shown it has or likely will suffer harm from the board’s actions. As a result, she granted the state’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, but she did so “without prejudice” — meaning Amgen could sue again if it can later show harm. “The economic injuries alleged by Amgen are too speculative and too attenuated to support standing in this case,” Wang wrote in her order. The case involved a relatively obscure body known as the Colorado Prescription Drug Affordability Board, or PDAB, which has the authority...
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Gazette editorial board: CO drivers footing the bill for transit dreams amounts to highway robbery
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Approved, denvergazette.com, State

Gazette editorial board: CO drivers footing the bill for transit dreams amounts to highway robbery

The Gazette editorial board | Denver Gazette A lot of motorists aren’t crazy about driving our crumbling and congested traffic corridors. But only a handful actually hates motor vehicles. Unfortunately, that unrepresentative handful is overrepresented in our state legislature and the Governor’s Office. In some city halls, too. And they’d like nothing more than for the rest of us to quit driving and ride a bus or light rail, instead. Or ride a bike. Which explains those empty bike lanes you see squeezing cars and trucks aside on busy transportation thoroughfares and neighborhood streets. It also helps to explain the abysmal condition of Colorado’s highways, bridges and other basic transportation infrastructure. It’s getting worse by the day. Although the powers that be wouldn...
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Democrats launch legal assault on TABOR: Will the courts undo the will of Colorado voters?
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Approved, denvergazette.com, State

Democrats launch legal assault on TABOR: Will the courts undo the will of Colorado voters?

By Marianne Goodland | Denver Gazette In 2011, a coalition of 33 individuals and groups, including current and former lawmakers, county commission and other elected officials and school districts, sued the state of Colorado, challenging the constitutionality of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. A decade later, the lawsuit was dismissed on a technicality: the lawsuit, the federal courts indicated, had the wrong plaintiffs. A state Democratic lawmaker who was part of the legal team in Kerr v. Hickenlooper (later Kerr v. Polis) is now sponsoring a resolution to try again, but with some important differences. Rep. Sean Camacho, D-Denver, sponsored House Joint Resolution 1023, which would require the General Assembly to sue over TABOR's constitutionality in state district court. The...
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Rewriting the rules: Wolves, federal reform and a lawsuit from rural Colorado
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Rewriting the rules: Wolves, federal reform and a lawsuit from rural Colorado

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Late last year, five wolves were airlifted from Oregon to Colorado under a plan voters narrowly approved—but few knew one of them came from a pack with a history of livestock attacks.  Fewer still knew the move may have violated federal law. At the center of the controversy is a growing belief that Colorado’s wolf reintroduction bypassed environmental law and public transparency.  And a federal lawsuit now threatens to unravel the entire plan. The lawsuit that could reset the rules The National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, is one of the country’s cornerstone environmental laws — meant to ensure that federal actions don’t proceed without full environmental review and public input.  But when...
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Rep. Gabe Evans to host telephone town hall Wednesday evening
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Rep. Gabe Evans to host telephone town hall Wednesday evening

By Rocky Mountain Voice Staff Colorado Congressman Gabe Evans is inviting constituents from across the 8th Congressional District to participate in a telephone town hall on Wednesday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m. MT, offering a chance for voters to ask questions directly and hear updates from Washington. The event is part of Evans’ ongoing effort to maintain open lines of communication with the people he represents. According to his office, participants can register at this link, provide their phone number, and will receive a call promptly at 6:30 p.m. to join the conversation. During the call, Evans will take live questions from constituents, who can choose to speak directly or submit their questions to a moderator. Questions will be taken in real-time, and there is no option to submit t...
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Polis greenlights nuclear power as Colorado rejects “Green New Deal”
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Polis greenlights nuclear power as Colorado rejects “Green New Deal”

By Rocky Mountain Voice Staff After years of progressive opposition to nuclear energy, Colorado Governor Jared Polis has signed House Bill 25-1040 into law, officially recognizing nuclear power as part of the state’s clean energy portfolio.  The move—driven by bipartisan support and grassroots pressure—marks a turning point for Colorado’s energy future, and a long-overdue recognition that nuclear energy must be on the table to meet rising power demands and stabilize the grid. The new law adds nuclear energy to the list of technologies eligible for clean energy incentives and financing, aligning it with solar, wind, geothermal, and hydrogen. While HB1040 does not mandate nuclear projects, it opens the door for utilities and private companies to begin investing in advanced nucl...
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Colorado judges made campaign contributions despite rules prohibiting the practice
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Approved, denvergazette.com, State

Colorado judges made campaign contributions despite rules prohibiting the practice

By DAVID MIGOYA | Denver Gazette More than a half dozen judges in Colorado — each of them specially appointed and paid to oversee a divorce case since 2019 — has made at least one political campaign contribution while serving in that capacity despite a prohibition against the practice and an affirmation to uphold it, The Denver Gazette has found. Colorado’s Code of Judicial Conduct explicitly bars anyone serving as an appointed or private judge, as they are sometimes called, from making the contributions, the same exclusion that applies to full-time sitting judges and senior judges who fill in part-time. The private judges handle civil cases, nearly all divorces by high-end couples, away from the courthouse and the public, and their salaries and expenses are paid fo...
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NRA joins El Paso County man in suing to stop voter-approved Colorado excise tax on guns, ammo
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Approved, KRDO.COM, State

NRA joins El Paso County man in suing to stop voter-approved Colorado excise tax on guns, ammo

By Sadie Buggle | KRDO COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The National Rifle Association (NRA) is joining a number of gun rights organizations and an El Paso County resident in filing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality a 6.5% excise tax on guns and ammo sold in Colorado, set to go into effect today, April 1. Proposition KK was passed by voters in November. It creates a 6.5% excise tax on firearm-related purchases in the state of Colorado. Firearm dealers, manufacturers and ammunition sellers are responsible for paying the new tax on their retail sales. The tax revenue will be used to fund crime victim support services, mental health services for veterans and youth, and school safety programs. The lawsuit was filed Monday in Denver District Court by the NRA, the Firearms ...
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Federal charges filed in Loveland Tesla firebombing: AG Bondi says ‘Justice is coming’
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Approved, Fox News, State

Federal charges filed in Loveland Tesla firebombing: AG Bondi says ‘Justice is coming’

By Louis Casiano | Fox News A man accused of firebombing a Tesla dealership in Colorado is facing federal charges, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday.  Cooper Jo Fredrick, 24, was arrested in Plano, Texas, on suspicion of attacking a Tesla dealership on March 7 in Loveland, Colo., Bondi said.  "Let this be a warning. You can run, but you cannot hide," Bondi said in a video message. "Justice is coming." Frederick, a resident of Fort Collins, Colo., allegedly ignited an incendiary device and hurled it at the dealership, narrowly missing several parked vehicles. The device landed between two cars, and created a fire, Loveland police said.  Several people inside the dealership who were cleaning the building were present at the time, police said. However, ...
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Colorado lawmakers propose budget full of cuts and cash sweeps
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado lawmakers propose budget full of cuts and cash sweeps

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Lawmakers on Monday introduced in the state Senate the legislation setting up the 2025-26 budget, which contains hundreds of millions of dollars in funding cuts, transfers and sweeps.   The spending plan comes in at $43.9 billion. The plan includes $16.7 billion in general fund dollars. That is the discretionary money that comes from corporate and individual income taxes, as well as sales and use taxes. Lawmakers use that money to fund new programs, although it will be in short supply in a year when the Joint Budget Committee will have to find ways to cover a $1.2 billion shortfall. Senate Bill 206 was introduced along with 63 "orbitals" — bills that make statutory changes to balance the budget. And that's where a lot...
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