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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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Rep. Iman Jodeh selected by Democrats to replace District 29 Sen. Janet Buckner
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Rep. Iman Jodeh selected by Democrats to replace District 29 Sen. Janet Buckner

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics A Democratic vacancy committee in Arapahoe County on Monday night chose Rep. Iman Jodeh of Aurora to succeed state Sen. Janet Buckner. Buckner resigned last month, just weeks after winning an uncontested race for her second term in the state Senate. Jodeh, who won her third term in the House by 25 percentage points in November, defeated two challengers for the seat, including Maya Wheeler and Christian Caldwell. Jodeh won with 35 votes out of 42 cast; Wheeler got seven votes, and Caldwell did not receive any votes. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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School districts grappling with new state law to honor students’ chosen names
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Approved, gazette.com, State

School districts grappling with new state law to honor students’ chosen names

By ERIC YOUNG | The Gazette As more school districts adopt policies to adhere to a new state law regarding students’ chosen names, it’s been far from a simple decision for some in the Pikes Peak region. With the passage of House Bill 1039 into law last April, all public schools must now implement a written policy outlining how staff will honor a student’s request to use a name different than their legal name. All school personnel must address students and refer to them by these names during school and extracurricular activities. The new law intends to protect LGBTQ+ students whose chosen names differ from their legal names given at birth and reflect their gender identity. Refusing to do so now constitutes discrimination, and students subjected to it can file a school rep...
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Homelessness among families with children in Colorado grew by 134% in 2024, according to federal report 
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Homelessness among families with children in Colorado grew by 134% in 2024, according to federal report 

By Jennifer Brown | The Colorado Sun Colorado saw one of the biggest increases in the nation in the number of families who were homeless in 2024 — a 134% jump from the previous year, according to a federal report that painted the state’s homelessness crisis in a harsher light than previous regional counts.  The rise put the state among four in the country, including Illinois, Wyoming and Hawaii, where the number of homeless families more than doubled. The results have advocates in Colorado calling for further investment in prevention programs to keep more families from slipping into homelessness.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Brita Horn announces she will seek chair of Colorado Republican Party
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Brita Horn announces she will seek chair of Colorado Republican Party

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Brita Horn, a former Routt County treasurer, a fire chief and grassroots and civic leader, has announced her candidacy for chair of the Colorado Republican Party. “This is about the future,” Horn said in a campaign press release. She noted a desire to lead the party with “three key priorities: relationships, resources and responsibility." She will focus on victories at the ballot box in 2026, the release reads. "Colorado Republicans have a bright future, but only if we unite, collaborate and focus on winning elections,” Horn said. As chair, she would build relationships with future candidates, donors, volunteers, activists and the public at large, ensuring the party has the resources necessary to support these candidates and responsi...
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