Rocky Mountain Voice

State

Under the Dome, Democrats take aim at big business, Republicans at overregulation
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Under the Dome, Democrats take aim at big business, Republicans at overregulation

By Marissa Ventrelli  | Colorado Politics State lawmakers from both parties are pledging to pass legislation aimed at saving Coloradans money — whether by eliminating fines they deem unnecessary or regulating practices they believe exploit working-class families.  Democrats are setting their sights on major corporations, which they say have taken advantage of inflation to boost profits while working families bear the brunt. They're banking on a pair of recent lawsuits against the nation's largest property management companies to drum up support for legislation they say will save Coloradans more than $1,500 a year. Republicans, on the other hand, have repeatedly referred to the state's high number of regulations, the sixth-most in the country, as the problem. They've draf...
Senate Bill 3, banning semiauto firearms, could cause gun shops to shutter, owners warn
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Senate Bill 3, banning semiauto firearms, could cause gun shops to shutter, owners warn

By Lucas Brady Woods and Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Colorado gun stores say they may be forced to shutter should Democrats in the legislature this year pass a ban on the manufacture, sale and purchase of semiautomatic firearms with detachable ammunition magazines. Senate Bill 3 would make a large portion of the merchandise at Colorado gun stores illegal to sell overnight, hitting their bottom lines but also presenting safety and liability issues.  The measure is aimed at making it harder for people to violate the state’s 15-round magazine limit, and in turn limit the violence someone can inflict during a mass shooting. It targets semiautomatic rifles and shotguns that are capable of accepting detachable ammunition magazines, like AR- and AK-style firearms, as well as ...
Complaints against Pueblo Co. Democrats, alleging failure to report $5.2M in revenue and building expenses, go unanswered
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Complaints against Pueblo Co. Democrats, alleging failure to report $5.2M in revenue and building expenses, go unanswered

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice A pair of complaints against the Pueblo County Democratic Party for failure to report revenue and expenses, as required by state law, have thus far gone unanswered by party officials, according to Tracer and the complainant. One of the complaints was first levied in October. Jonathan Ambler, who ran as the Republican nominee in House District 46 in 2018, 2020 and 2022, filed two separate complaints against the Pueblo County Democrats related to violation of campaign finance laws. The Colorado Secretary of State's Elections Division has performed initial investigation into the complaints. The initial complaint, No. ED2024-77, was filed Oct. 16, 2024, as a result of a Pueblo Chieftain newspaper article related to the finances of the two maj...
Missy Woods, former CBI forensic scientist, booked into jail on 102 felony charges
Approved, gazette.com, State

Missy Woods, former CBI forensic scientist, booked into jail on 102 felony charges

By Jenny Deam and Carol McKinley | The Gazette Former top Colorado Bureau of Investigation forensic scientist, Yvonne "Missy" Woods, turned herself into Jefferson County authorities on Wednesday and was booked into jail on a 102-count felony indictment, according to county sources and court documents. Woods, 64, was being held in Jefferson County Jail on a $50,000 cash only bond, according to a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson. She is scheduled to make her first court appearance at 10 a.m. on Thursday. In the 35-page indictment, Woods — who goes by Missy — faces felony charges that include attempt to influence a public servant, perjury, forgery and cybercrime, according to court documents. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
Complaint alleges Secretary of State Griswold has violated her own department’s campaign finance rules
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Complaint alleges Secretary of State Griswold has violated her own department’s campaign finance rules

By Rocky Mountain Voice Jena Griswold just can't seem to catch a break. After the Republican Party tattled on the secretary of state, detailing disclosure of election system passwords for months on her own website and up to within days of the general election, and after the Colorado Libertarian Party sued her for the disclosure, she has had a rough go at potentially attempting to earn her party's nomination for governor by first announcing her candidacy as a Democrat. The latest in a winter of missteps for the secretary of state is a campaign finance complaint claiming Griswold has violated her own department's rules for campaign announcements. The complaint, detailed in a Colorado Politics report, was filed Jan. 14 by The Public Trust Institute, represented by Suzanne Taheri o...
Eastern Plains lawmakers want to prohibit ‘cultivated’ meat in Colorado
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Eastern Plains lawmakers want to prohibit ‘cultivated’ meat in Colorado

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice A pair of Eastern Plains lawmakers want to ensure when Coloradans eat hamburger, it was grown on the hoof and not in a lab. House Bill 25-1064, sponsored by Rep. Ty Winter, R-Las Animas, and Sen. Rod Pelton, R-Cheyenne Wells, would prohibit the selling, manufacture or distribution of cultivated meat products. The bill will be heard at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27, in the House's Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources Committee, in a session which could be lengthy. Preceding HB25-1064 on the agenda are HB25-1034 to change the dangerous dog statute in Colorado, and HB25-1074 to repeal the 2020 legislation which gave Colorado cage-free eggs. It is scheduled to be the sixth bill heard. Winter, who represents nine counties in Southeast Colorad...
Colorado’s wolves could have migrated east of Continental Divide, into Fremont County
Approved, kdvr.com, State

Colorado’s wolves could have migrated east of Continental Divide, into Fremont County

By Heather Willard | KDVR-TV Fox 31 News Colorado’s wolf population now has 29 members, according to state officials, and one of the population members is “exploring” a watershed in what Colorado Parks and Wildlife called southeastern Colorado. On Wednesday, the state released its first monthly movement map since the release of 15 Canadian gray wolves and the five surviving members of the Copper Creek pack. The 20 wolves were released into Eagle and Pitkin counties between Jan. 12 and 18 and were released both north and south of Interstate 70. “One female wolf is exploring the southeast region of the state,” CPW said in its Wednesday release. “There is currently just one wolf in the highlighted watershed.” READ THE FULL STORY AT KDVR-TV FOX 31 NEWS
Arapahoe Co. Democrat Jamie Jackson wins House District 41 seat after vacancy election
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Arapahoe Co. Democrat Jamie Jackson wins House District 41 seat after vacancy election

By Marissa Ventrelli  | Colorado Politics A vacancy committee of Arapahoe County Democrats elected Jamie Jackson to serve as the state representative for House District 41, replacing Sen. Iman Jodeh, who left the position to serve in the Senate.  Jackson, the COO of the nonprofit organization The Naloxone Project and vice president of Colorado Black Women for Political Action, received 52% of the vote, enough to garner a simple majority and win the vacancy election.  Community activist Aly DeWillis-Marcano and Aurora School Board president Anne Keke also ran for the seat.   READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
Colorado schools may soon be required to have a cellphone policy
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado schools may soon be required to have a cellphone policy

By Erica Breunlin | The Colorado Sun All Colorado school districts would be required to adopt a cellphone policy with rules for when and how students can use phones in school under a bipartisan bill set to be introduced in the legislature later this month. The legislation aims both “to promote a conducive learning environment” and protect students’ mental health, said state Rep. Meghan Lukens, a Steamboat Springs Democrat and prime bill sponsor. The hope is to eliminate, or at very least limit, distractions to student learning caused by cellphones and other devices. The bill, which would allow districts to make their own decisions about how to address cellphone use during school hours, shows educators’ shared concerns about the toll devices can take on kids’ academics and well-bei...
State grappling with funding insurance enterprise into the future, and solution could be premium fee hike
Approved, State, The Sum & Substance

State grappling with funding insurance enterprise into the future, and solution could be premium fee hike

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance A Colorado enterprise that offers free health insurance to undocumented immigrants and helps fund the state’s reinsurance program is likely to be short of revenue by 2027, spurring consideration of options that include raising fees on statewide health insurance policies. The Health Insurance Affordability Exchange board will meet at 8 a.m. Friday to discuss how to deal with the situation and how to grapple with the uncertainty around future federal funding. If it elects to pursue a fee increase, such an effort would have to go before the Legislature prior to the May 7 conclusion of its 2025 regular session. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE SUM & SUBSTANCE