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Minority Leader Pugliese pledges Republicans will find solutions for all Coloradans in 75th session
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Minority Leader Pugliese pledges Republicans will find solutions for all Coloradans in 75th session

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice When Rose Pugliese left behind her children to begin the 75th General Assembly in Denver, as children will do she was asked why she did the job of Colorado House minority leader. "Because the people trusted me to be there, to be their voice," she answered. "They didn't just do that for me, but for everyone there." The 75th legislative session officially opened at 10:09 a.m. Wednesday in the Colorado House. Pugliese addressed the House as the minority leader following the Speaker's election. "This session, the House Republicans remain steadfast in addressing the issues of importance to Coloradans," she said. "Affordability remains at the forefront of our discussions. You will see that in our legislation." Among the areas where the Republ...
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One early moment in 75th Legislature demonstrates unity of House Republican caucus
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

One early moment in 75th Legislature demonstrates unity of House Republican caucus

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice What's the difference between the Republican caucus in the Colorado House of Representatives and the U.S. House? Unity. On Wednesday, as the Colorado House opened the 75th General Assembly, Republicans displayed unity by unanimously supporting Minority Leader Rose Pugliese to become the Colorado House Speaker. Although her nomination might simply be viewed as symbolic, with Republicans in the minority and Democrat Julie McCluskie later elected on a party-line vote, it showed the caucus to have unified under Pugliese. "It is important to have people on both sides of the aisle for [members] to vote on," said Rep. Scott Bottoms, R-El Paso County, in his nomination of Pugliese. "When we take back the House in a few years, I expect Democrats to...
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House opens 75th session with Rep. DeGraaf questioning, if passwords were leaked can election be certified?
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

House opens 75th session with Rep. DeGraaf questioning, if passwords were leaked can election be certified?

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice It did not take long for the opening of the 75th General Assembly to reach a hiccup Wednesday. Republican Rep. Ken DeGraaf objected to the Colorado House credentials committee report, typically a first order of business when opening the legislature, based upon concerns related to Secretary of State Jena Griswold's office leaking election system passwords. The credentials report is presented to the whole of the House and voted on to start the process of seating representatives. DeGraaf was critical of a system Griswold has self-described as the "gold standard". He rose to state the objection to the credentials report. "This [the password leak publicly] lasted a full four months," DeGraaf said. "This is the keys to the kingdom." His fu...
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife to discuss citizen petition to stop wolf reintroduction
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Approved, kdvr.com, State

Colorado Parks and Wildlife to discuss citizen petition to stop wolf reintroduction

By Carly Moore | Fox 31 News On Wednesday and Thursday, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission will hold meetings about potentially pausing or changing the wolf reintroduction program.  The program has been met with pushback, especially from livestock owners in the counties impacted.  CPW’s plan is to release 15 more wolves from Canada in January. The counties being considered are Garfield, Eagle and Pitkin. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
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Colorado led effort to conceal medical debt from credit reporting in 2023
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Approved, CBS Colorado, State

Colorado led effort to conceal medical debt from credit reporting in 2023

By Alan Gionet | CBS Colorado A move Tuesday, in the last weeks of the Biden Administration means credit reporting agencies like TransUnion, Equifax and Experian will no longer be able to include unpaid medical bills on credit reports. At least for now. The move is a duplicative one for Colorado residents after the passage of a first-in-the-nation law in 2023 barring the inclusion of medical debt on credit reports. "I'm just starting to feel that like, 'wow, this is like, this is pretty amazing,'" said Western Slope resident Misty Castaneda. "I got to be part of something to help change a massive amount of everybody's lives." READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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Reward upped to $100K after dead wolf found with gunshot wound in Colorado
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Approved, Out There Colorado, State

Reward upped to $100K after dead wolf found with gunshot wound in Colorado

By Spencer McKee | Out There Colorado The reward being offered by a "consortium of conservation groups" for information about a wolf poaching incident in Colorado has doubled to $100,000, as of January 7. A press release related to the reward stipulates that $85,000 of the reward will follow formal charges being levied on a suspect, with the additional $15,000 getting delivered upon conviction of the suspect. This is an increase of the $50,000 award that was initially announced. The poaching investigation involves a Grand County wolf that died, with a necropsy revealing that it had sustained a gunshot wound that was likely a major factor in its death. READ THE FULL STORY AT OUT THERE COLORADO
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In Round 5, Democrat Matthew Ball gets nod to represent Colorado’s Senate District 31
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

In Round 5, Democrat Matthew Ball gets nod to represent Colorado’s Senate District 31

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics A Democratic vacancy committee for Senate District 31 chose Matthew Ball to represent the central Denver district after five rounds of voting Tuesday night. Ball won with 61 votes over Rep. Steven Woodrow of House District 2, who finished with 37.  Seven candidates squared off in an hour-long candidates forum before the vacancy committee got down to the business of voting. The committee had 107 members present out of 109 total members. To win with the required 50% plus one of the vote, candidates had to get 54 votes as long as all 107 voted.  READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Colorado regulators seeking steep increases in permitting fees for air pollutants
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Approved, State, The Sum & Substance

Colorado regulators seeking steep increases in permitting fees for air pollutants

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance Colorado regulators want to raise fees by as much as 67% on air-pollutant emissions and the permits that are required for them — a price hike that industry leaders hope will result in faster permitting. The Colorado Air Quality Control Commission voted last month to set an April rulemaking hearing to consider the fee increases and new rules around the reporting of emissions. If approved, four separate fee hikes — meant to cover the costs of permitting, monitoring and enforcement — would go into place between June 2025 and early 2026. These increases will be debated as part of a trio of hearings in the new year focused on increasing regulations around air toxic contaminants, as prescribed in a 2022 law. The AQCC will identify five air toxins...
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Republicans in minority, but with House seat gains, as 75th General Assembly opens on Wednesday
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Republicans in minority, but with House seat gains, as 75th General Assembly opens on Wednesday

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice The 75th session of the Colorado General Assembly opens Wednesday, Jan. 8, with sine die — adjournment on the final day of the session — slated for May 7. Between, Republicans will be faced with minorities in both chambers and the Democratic trifecta, with Gov. Jared Polis heading up the executive branch. Voters, though, did hand Republicans one advantage. House Republicans are no longer in a super minority and, like Senate Republicans, face a simple minority. That is not to say it will be any easier to pass Republican bills or defeat Democratic bills. Republicans face a 23-12 minority in the Senate and a 43-22 minority in the House. Heading up the Republican House will again be Minority Leader Rose Pugliese of El Paso County. She has gain...
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When the utilities lobby received an icy reception from Colorado state senators
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Approved, Law Week Colorado, State

When the utilities lobby received an icy reception from Colorado state senators

By Michael Rummel | LawWeekColorado.com While lobbyists have always been a fairly regular fixture at the Colorado General Assembly, there have been moments in Colorado history when their presence wasn’t appreciated. Late January 1957 was one of those moments.  Improvements in transmission technology had made power generation using natural gas a more economic and feasible option following World War II. The 1950s also saw a rise in the production of natural gas in the Denver Basin, adding to the existing natural gas developments on the Western Slope.  These factors led to a rise in interest from municipalities in pursuing natural gas power plants for their citizens. But an issue arose when Rocky Ford attempted to build one. According to a Rocky Mountain News article from the ti...
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