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Why lawmakers are afraid 24k Coloradans may disappear in the next budget year, and with them $77M
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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
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House Bill 1133 aims to raise state’s minimum age to buy firearm ammunition to 21
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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
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How the Colorado Labor Peace Act came to be and why unions want so desperately to get rid of it
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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
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Nebraska threatens to condemn land in Colorado for a canal to carry away South Platte River water
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Nebraska threatens to condemn land in Colorado for a canal to carry away South Platte River water

By Parker Yamasaki | The Colorado Sun Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser sent a letter to county commissioners in northeastern Colorado earlier this week pledging to defend their rights if Nebraska tries to condemn land for the proposed Perkins County Canal Project. Six landowners in Sedgwick County, where the South Platte River flows out of the state, received notices of condemnation from the state of Nebraska on Jan. 17, offering $1.4 million for about 650 acres of land, according to Nebraska Public Media.  The landowners were given 90 days to sell or face eminent domain. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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HB 1113 would task Colorado cities, counties with limiting amount and type of grass allowed around homes by 2028
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

HB 1113 would task Colorado cities, counties with limiting amount and type of grass allowed around homes by 2028

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Local governments across Colorado would be required by 2028 to enact or update ordinances limiting the amount and type of grass that could be planted around new or redeveloped residential property under a bill before the state legislature this year. House Bill 1113 would leave it up to counties, municipalities and local districts to determine how to limit turf grass and how to define redevelopment. The measure would also extend a prohibition on the installation of nonfunctional turf to new and redeveloped condominium and apartment complexes. It would go into effect in 2028, building off a bill passed by the legislature last year prohibiting local governments from installing nonfunctional turf on medians and right-of-ways. READ THE FULL STOR...
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Colorado tuberculosis cases hold steady, as a major outbreak rocks Kansas
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Colorado tuberculosis cases hold steady, as a major outbreak rocks Kansas

By John Ingold | The Colorado Sun Colorado is not seeing an unusual uptick in cases of tuberculosis, despite an ongoing outbreak next door in Kansas, the state Health Department says. The Kansas outbreak, focused in the Kansas City area, started last year, and it has since grown to be among the largest in the country since at least the 1950s. (You may have read that it is the largest in U.S. history, but that is erroneous.) Two people are reported to have died. Here in Colorado, cases of tuberculosis are more or less in line with recent historical averages, even though the number of cases reported in Colorado last year exceeded the number of cases reported so far in the Kansas outbreak. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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RTD leadership sets new CEO goals for ridership and on-time service
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RTD leadership sets new CEO goals for ridership and on-time service

By Parker Yamasaki | The Colorado Sun The Regional Transportation District in Denver passed a set of amendments on Tuesday night that will push CEO Debra Johnson to improve on-time service and increase ridership. The agency responsible for Metro Denver’s rail and bus services has been trying to regain its footing after the pandemic slashed ridership and internal disputes surfaced. Public trust in the agency is also sinking, as demonstrated during the public comment portion of the meeting. People showed up in-person, online and through email to express their discontent with unpredictable wait times and unreliable customer service, and called out poor service on the E Line specifically, which runs southeast from downtown Denver to Lone Tree, and has been undergoing maintenance and s...
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Colorado has spent $389M to fund its far-reaching water plans in the past two years
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Colorado has spent $389M to fund its far-reaching water plans in the past two years

By Jerd Smith | The Colorado Sun The state has spent $389 million in the past two years on programs designed to help Colorado stave off future projected water shortages even as it continues to grow. During the last two years, from July of 2022 through July of 2024, the Colorado Water Conservation Board has funded $232.7 million in loans and awarded $156.3 million in grants, and completed about 20% of the projects and activities the Colorado Water Plan has identified are needed to ensure the state has enough water in decades to come. The news came Tuesday as part of a water plan status update presented to the Colorado Water Conservation Board. The board is responsible for putting the plan into action and channeling loans and grants to dozens of major programs, including d...
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Colorado’s unemployment rate rises to 4.4%, the highest in three years
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Colorado’s unemployment rate rises to 4.4%, the highest in three years

By Tamara Chuang | The Colorado Sun Colorado’s unemployment rate rose to 4.4% last month, up one-tenth of a percentage point and the highest in three years. At the same time, there are fewer job openings and fewer people filing to start a new business.  While that seems like the opposite direction state officials prefer, there were some positives and additional context to better understand what happened, Secretary of State Jena Griswold said during a news conference Monday.  “Job and GDP growth numbers are encouraging and indicate the economy is stabilizing after several years of inflation,” Griswold said. “Colorado remains in a strong economic position and the state and national outlook is positive.” READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Public school enrollment is on the decline. How is your local school district changing?
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Public school enrollment is on the decline. How is your local school district changing?

By Erica Breunlin | The Colorado Sun Most Colorado school districts are continuing to count fewer students in their classrooms, propelling a statewide trend of declining enrollment. Total state enrollment in preschool through high school this school year fell by a modest 399 kids — from 881,464 students during fall 2023 to 881,065 students last fall, state data shows. Education leaders attribute decreasing student counts across both the state and country to a mix of factors, primarily declining birth rates and increasing housing costs. Four of the Colorado’s 10 largest districts saw a notable year-over-year decrease in students: Jeffco Public Schools, Adams 12 Five Star Schools, Poudre School District and Boulder Valley School District. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO ...
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