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‘Everyone feels anxiety’ over CPW depredation payments, but commissioners note it’s the law
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

‘Everyone feels anxiety’ over CPW depredation payments, but commissioners note it’s the law

By Lindy Browning | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice “Everyone feels anxiety and fear about all this," Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Jeff Davis told commissioners as they approved a large payment to two Colorado ranchers in Grand County that lost livestock as a direct result of the wolf reintroduction program. The agenda item was on the commission's consent agenda — generally reserved for items so routine as to not require discussion. A motion was made to approve the depredation claims in the amount of $343,000 and some change. "I feel like we’re working with ranchers and livestock operations," Davis said. "It may not feel or look like it to them sometimes, but we are.” Davis continued, “These are large claims. We are the only western state that pays for itemize...
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With his first bill, U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colo. Springs, aims to defund sanctuary cities
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Approved, Fox21, State

With his first bill, U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colo. Springs, aims to defund sanctuary cities

By Norishka Pachot | Fox 21 News Colorado Congressman Jeff Crank has introduced a new bill, which, if passed, would bar federal transportation dollars from going to sanctuary cities. On Thursday, March 6, Congressman Crank introduced his first bill to Congress as the Blocking Lawless Open Border Cities and States Act of 2025. Also known as the BLOC Act, it seeks to bar the Department of Transportation from funding infrastructure projects in sanctuary cities and counties that do not give a 48-hour warning to U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) ahead of the release of an illegal immigrant. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 21 NEWS
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State lawmakers place 10 interim, year-round committees on hold, citing fiscal concerns
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

State lawmakers place 10 interim, year-round committees on hold, citing fiscal concerns

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Citing fiscal worries, legislative leaders on Tuesday approved a proposal to put 10 interim and year-round committees on hold that would otherwise meet once the legislature concludes its 2025 session on May 7. They also said they would not accept lawmakers' requests for new interim panels, known as "letter committees,” this year. The Executive Committee of the Legislative Council, comprised of the six top leaders of the House and Senate, cited budgetary constraints as the reason for holding interim committees. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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HB 1192 would add financial literacy to state’s high school graduation requirements
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Approved, CBS Colorado, State

HB 1192 would add financial literacy to state’s high school graduation requirements

By Jasmine Arenas | CBS Colorado Some Colorado lawmakers want financial literacy to be a requirement for high school graduation. Only about 25% of Colorado school districts require a personal finance course to graduate, according to the Colorado Department of Education. Denver Public Schools is one of the districts. West High School in Denver is one of the schools that has offered the course for the past five years, in English and Spanish. At Denver West High School, more than 80% of students identify as Latinx. House Bill 25-1192, which has bipartisan support from state lawmakers including Reps. Don Wilson, Lorena Garcia, and Sens. James Coleman and Barbara Kirkmeyer, would make financial literacy a graduation requirement statewide. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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Democratic bill cutting reimbursement rates for Colorado’s urban hospitals sparks debate, backlash
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Democratic bill cutting reimbursement rates for Colorado’s urban hospitals sparks debate, backlash

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics A bill that won a party-line vote in the House Health & Human Services Committee aims to cap the price insurers pay urban hospitals for health services for state employees and those insured in the small group market. As introduced, House Bill 1174 would set reimbursement rates that health insurance carriers pay to mostly urban hospitals for covered services. There are about 200,000 insureds in the small group market and 60,000 state employees, which is about 6% of the total health insurance market. The bill won a party-line 8-4 vote from the committee over the objections of businesses and healthcare providers statewide, from the largest urban facilities to some of the state's smallest rural healthcare providers. The bill also raised con...
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Artificial intelligence workers may get special protections in Colorado
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Approved, State, The Sum & Substance

Artificial intelligence workers may get special protections in Colorado

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance Even before Colorado has established regulations for artificial-intelligence development, legislators are advancing a proposal to give special whistleblower protection to sector workers — a plan raising significant concerns for business groups and Gov. Jared Polis. It’s not the broad idea of safeguarding whistleblowers that bothers opponents of House Bill 1212 so much as several provisions in the bill and the idea that Colorado would be alone in offering such great protections to workers who report major risks to state authorities. A key official from the Democratic governor’s administration said that Polis worries this will incentivize companies to move AI development and highly paid workers outside of Colorado to states where they face lower...
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Here’s the facts Rep. Gabe Evans used in hearing that Mayor Mike Johnston disputes
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Here’s the facts Rep. Gabe Evans used in hearing that Mayor Mike Johnston disputes

By Brian Porter | Rocky Mountain Voice When confronted Wednesday with crime data by U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Fort Lupton, detailing Denver's trends, Mayor Mike Johnston said the former Arvada police lieutenant was confused. "I think you may have some bad facts, and I'm happy to clarify them for you," said Johnston, one of four large-city mayors questioned by the U.S. House's Oversight and Government Reform Committee. In other words, despite his career in policing, Johnston either believes Evans is lying or can't understand crime data. Evans retorted, "I'm happy to show all of the sources for my facts." https://twitter.com/repgabeevans/status/1897406777114681422 And his office did in an email to the media. Following is a glance at those claims by Evans: A report by...
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Rep. Jeff Crank ‘totally opposed’ to ‘just unconstitutional’ SB 3, he says in town hall
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Rep. Jeff Crank ‘totally opposed’ to ‘just unconstitutional’ SB 3, he says in town hall

By Brian Porter | Rocky Mountain Voice As he debates the policy of the day in Washington, D.C., U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colo. Springs, has an eye on Colorado's General Assembly. He's concerned with the passage of Colorado Senate Bill 25-003 out of the Senate and to the House. The bill would prohibit the transfer, sale or purchase of a semiauto firearm not on a government-approved list and not without the taking and passage of government-prescribed classes some gun owners call a "permission slip". It has been called the most extreme gun bill in the country's history. Rep. Ryan Armagost, the co-founder of the House's Second Amendment Caucus, and Rocky Mountain Gun Owners have said the bill could be heard in the House's Judiciary Committee March 11 or 12, although it has not been add...
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Sanctuary mayors broke laws, engaged in ‘an act of treason’ and should be prosecuted, some Republicans say
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Sanctuary mayors broke laws, engaged in ‘an act of treason’ and should be prosecuted, some Republicans say

'We don't ask anyone's status at the time of arrest' — Denver Mayor Mike Johnston By Brian Porter | Rocky Mountain Voice At least one member of Congress is referring criminal prosecution of Denver Mayor Mike Johnston to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, on grounds he violated his oath and U.S. law, and another alleges him to be a traitor to the country. Those were but two of the allegations the mayor faced during a marathon hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill in the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee pertaining to sanctuary cities. He was joined on a panel by the mayors of Boston, Chicago and New York City. "I've heard you say Denver's crime went down, well Aurora's crime went up," said U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Windsor, Colo., who visited the city this summer ...
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Colorado House’s Judiciary Committee advances bill to add 15 judges
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado House’s Judiciary Committee advances bill to add 15 judges

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics Colorado's House Judiciary Committee advanced a bill to establish 15 new judgeships throughout the state by a vote of 9-2 on Tuesday. Senate Bill 24 is the Judicial Department's top priority this year. As originally proposed, it would have added 26 judge seats in the trial courts and three seats on the Court of Appeals. The numbers did not come close to the projection calculated by a series of recent workload studies, which estimated Colorado needs approximately 43 more district judges, 20 more county judges and six appellate judges. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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