Rocky Mountain Voice

Menu

State

Rep. Weinberg’s constitutional carry bill would give Coloradans rights that 29 other states already have
No Comments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Rep. Weinberg’s constitutional carry bill would give Coloradans rights that 29 other states already have

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice When the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, written by James Madison, was ratified on Dec. 15, 1791, along with the other Bill of Rights, Americans believed the Founders had provided a right that "shall not be infringed" to own and possess firearms, wherever they may be and however they may wish. A bill introduced this week in the Colorado House would mostly and finally provide that unrestricted right. House Bill 25-1164, by Republican Rep. Ron Weinberg, would add Colorado to the growing majority of states with constitutional carry. It is a more long-awaited bill for gun owners than the repeal of the high-capacity magazine law. Constitutional carry is as it sounds, a right, as intended in the constitution, where anyone who can legally...
Read More
Senate Dems’ whip says ‘I am a no’ to SB 3, the semi-auto gun ban bill, absent of significant changes
No Comments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Senate Dems’ whip says ‘I am a no’ to SB 3, the semi-auto gun ban bill, absent of significant changes

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice The house of cards on Colorado Senate Bill 25-003 appears to be collapsing in the wee hours before it is set for a vote. Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, a Pueblo County Democrat and the majority party's whip, has declared his opposition to the bill "prohibiting the manufacture, distribution, transfer, sale, and purchase of specified semiautomatic firearms" that some have said would make Colorado the most anti-gun state in the country. https://twitter.com/NickForCO/status/1886526899926786130 SB 3, sponsored by Democrat Sens. Tom Sullivan and Julie Gonzales and by Democrat Reps. Andrew Boesenecker and Meg Froelich, is slated for a second reading postponed from Jan. 31 at 9 a.m. Friday, when a vote could be taken. "I believe that, broadly, semi-au...
Read More
Report finds 63% of age 25-plus Coloradans have education beyond high school, leading the nation
No Comments
Approved, Chalkbeat Colorado, State

Report finds 63% of age 25-plus Coloradans have education beyond high school, leading the nation

By Jason Gonzales | Chalkbeat Colorado Colorado residents are still the most educated in the nation, but Massachusetts now shares the top spot, according to a report released last week. This year’s Stronger Nation Report found that 63% of Colorado residents aged 25 and older had an educational credential beyond a high school diploma in 2023, matching Massachusetts. That’s above the national average of 54.9% of residents who have earned college degrees or certificates or an industry certification. The figure is mostly unchanged from 2022, when about 62.9% of Colorado’s residents held a college credential. However, the percentage of Native American Colorado residents with college degrees or credentials has fallen, a troubling sign after years of steady increases. READ THE FULL ST...
Read More
Why lawmakers are afraid 24k Coloradans may disappear in the next budget year, and with them $77M
No Comments
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Why lawmakers are afraid 24k Coloradans may disappear in the next budget year, and with them $77M

By Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun Nearly 24,000 Coloradans are set to disappear from the state’s population this year — at least as far as the state budget is concerned. It’s no mere illusion. The vanishing act will have real consequences for public services, to the tune of $77 million in required cuts, if lawmakers don’t take action to prevent it. The issue dates all the way back to when the legislature first implemented the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights in 1993, the year after voters added it to the state constitution. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
Read More
Senate confirms Coloradan Chris Wright to lead Energy Department
No Comments
Approved, Fox21, State

Senate confirms Coloradan Chris Wright to lead Energy Department

By Rachel Frazin | KXRM-TV Fox 21 News, via The Hill The Senate on Monday confirmed Chris Wright, the CEO of fracking company Liberty Energy, to lead the Energy Department.  The vote was 59-38. Democrat Sens. Michael Bennet (Colo.), Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Martin Heinrich (N.M.), John Hickenlooper (Colo.), Ben Ray Luján (N.M.) and Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) as well as independent Sen. Angus King (Maine) voted with Republicans to confirm him. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle indicated support for his nomination during his confirmation hearing, and he sailed out of committee on a 15-5 vote.  READ THE FULL STORY AT KXRM-TV FOX 21 NEWS
Read More
House Bill 1133 aims to raise state’s minimum age to buy firearm ammunition to 21
No Comments
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

House Bill 1133 aims to raise state’s minimum age to buy firearm ammunition to 21

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Colorado is poised to raise the minimum age to buy firearm ammunition to 21 and require that retailers keep bullets in an enclosed display or behind a counter where customers could not access them without assistance.  The changes would be made through House Bill 1133, which was introduced last week by Democrats in the Colorado legislature. The measure is promoted as a way to align the rules for ammunition sales in Colorado with the state’s new law prohibiting anyone younger than 21 from purchasing any gun. Right now, someone can purchase rifle and shotgun ammunition at 18 and handgun ammunition at 21. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
Read More
A state shroom? Colorado House advances bill to crown emperor mushroom the state fungi
No Comments
Approved, Courthouse News Service, State

A state shroom? Colorado House advances bill to crown emperor mushroom the state fungi

By Amanda Pampuro | Courthouse News Service Colorado's quest for a state mushroom started in a high school politics club. On Tuesday, Horizon High School students saw their bill proposing an official state mushroom pass the house committee on State Civic Military & Veterans Affairs with a unanimous 11-0 vote. “It’s inspiring to finally see this bill for the mushroom come up,” testified Logan Burdick, a Thornton, Colo. high school senior. Burdick lobbied to bring the Designation of State Mushroom Bill, HB25-1091, to the statehouse along with members of his school’s politics club under the guidance of social sciences teacher Greg Sanchez. “Colorado is a beautiful state and this mushroom encapsulates that,” Burdick added. READ THE FULL STORY AT COURTHOUSE NEWS S...
Read More
Supporters of single-payer health care hope third time is charm for advancing study bill
No Comments
Approved, State, The Sum & Substance

Supporters of single-payer health care hope third time is charm for advancing study bill

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance For the third year in a row, Colorado Democratic legislators have begun to advance a bill to study the impact of implementing a single-payer health-care system, though this year’s version of the legislation would carry no cost to the state itself. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Thursday advanced Senate Bill 45 on a 6-3, party-line vote to the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill’s supporters include medical professionals, local government leaders and the Colorado PTA, while business groups and the health-insurance industry are heading up the opposition. SB 45, from Democratic Sens. Sonya Jaquez Lewis of Longmont and Janice Marchman of Loveland, tasks the Colorado School of Public Health with analyzing implementation ...
Read More
Colorado House committees to tackle school lunch waste, NIL deals; Senate to hear 911 obstruction bill
No Comments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Colorado House committees to tackle school lunch waste, NIL deals; Senate to hear 911 obstruction bill

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice In schools across Colorado, the waste during a lunch period might be astounding — on average a school-age child throws away 67 pounds of food annually. One bill in the Colorado House aims to limit it. House Bill 25-1059, by Republican Rep. Ron Weinberg and sponsored in the Senate by Democrat Sen. Janice Marchman and Republican Sen. Janice Rich, asks school officials to establish policies by which it can reduce waste in school cafeterias and food preparation facilities. The bill will be heard Wednesday, Feb. 5, in the House Education Committee upon adjournment of the House in Room 0107. School policies may address "food waste diversion and aversion initiatives, including composting and share tables," which the bill indicates would permit st...
Read More
How the Colorado Labor Peace Act came to be and why unions want so desperately to get rid of it
No Comments
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

How the Colorado Labor Peace Act came to be and why unions want so desperately to get rid of it

By Bente Birkeland and Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun One of the headline bills of Colorado’s 2025 legislative session would rewrite the state’s 80-year-old rule on labor organizing, making it easier for unions to require that all employees at a company pay fees for collective bargaining representation, regardless of whether they are members of the union. Right now, it takes a simple majority vote for workers to form a union. But achieving so-called union security, where all employees at a company are required to pay for representation, is a much taller task.  The Colorado Labor Peace Act requires a 75% vote of approval before a union can even negotiate with an employer over imposing union security. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
Read More