75th Colorado Legislature - Rocky Mountain Voice

Silent signature, rising resistance: HB1312 becomes law, but parents vow to fight on

Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 25-1312 into law on Friday, May 16, without a press conference, social media announcement or public ceremony.

While the bill, known as the “Kelly Loving Act,” was hailed by progressive lawmakers as a milestone for transgender rights, many Coloradans who opposed the bill say the governor’s quiet signature is a telling indication of just how controversial the legislation had become.

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Colorado falls in business rankings as Denver Chamber of Commerce faults heavy regulation

denvergazette.com, Approved, State / May 16, 2025 / 75th Colorado Legislature, Business Regulations, Colorado Businesses, Colorado economy, Denver Chamber, Economic Rankings, Governor Jared Polis, Regulatory Burden, Small Business Climate, Workforce Policy

As Colorado continues to trend downward on the national economic scale, the Denver Chamber of Commerce is critical of the direction the state’s Democratic-led legislature took in 2025 and in recent years.

The main message at Tuesday’s annual post-legislative State of the State event, hosted by the chamber, was that the anti-business, pro-regulation approach is failing the business community.

Chamber members discussed Colorado’s economic challenges and legislative impacts. In giving a rundown of bills affecting the business community after the 2025 session, chamber members Rachel Beck and Carly West pointed to CNBC’s annual top states for business rankings. Once a perennial top 10, Colorado was ranked 11th last year and dropped to 16th this year.

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Enos: Colorado’s 2025 session pushed the most woke agenda we’ve ever seen

Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State / May 15, 2025 / 75th Colorado Legislature, Democrat Lawmakers, Family values, Gender Ideology, Human Embryo Rights, Parental Rights, Pro Life Ethics, Religious freedom, Woke

“Woke” does not begin to describe the ideological beliefs of the majority in the Colorado legislature. They have become bold in their desire to reorder our lives in accordance with two basic ideological beliefs. First, there is no intrinsic value to human life. It is a commodity to be disposed of at will, and the destruction of pre-born life is a required service in every emergency room. Second, there is no such thing as a person’s sex; it is merely a “gender identity” seen through “gender expression.”

Ryan Anderson explains that the origins of “trans” thinking come from cultural breakdown and fear, among other things. “Too many people were afraid to say that the emperor has no clothes,” he reasons. The transgender religion has taken Colorado by storm. These beliefs were the basis of the last two weeks and final days of the 2025 Colorado Legislative Session.

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Polis open to signing bill restricting local ICE cooperation as Colorado sanctuary debate heats up

Colorado Politics, Approved, State / May 15, 2025 / 75th Colorado Legislature, Ann Arbor Police, Governor Jared Polis, Illegal Immigration, Law Enforcement, Public safety, Sanctuary Policies, Sanctuary state, SB 25-276

Gov. Jared Polis said that while he had “major problems” with an earlier proposal that sought to inoculate immigrants from federal policies, the bill now includes “workable language,” thereby signaling his intent to sign it.

The governor reiterated he is still reviewing the proposal, which underwent several changes before its final passage during the 2025 legislative session.

At its core, Senate Bill 276 reemphasized existing state law that precludes local law enforcers from detaining an individual based on an “immigration detainer.” An immigration “detainer” is a notice issued to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies informing the latter that agents intend to assume custody of an individual no longer subject to the former’s detention.

Polis open to signing bill restricting local ICE cooperation as Colorado sanctuary debate heats up Read More »

Polis signs sweeping election bill modeled on federal law—GOP calls it unnecessary

denvergazette.com, Approved, State / May 14, 2025 / 75th Colorado Legislature, Election reform, Election worker protection, Governor Jared Polis, LGBTQ voter rights, SB25-001, Vacancy election law

Gov. Jared Polis signed a trio of election-related bills into law on Monday, including a measure sponsors say will “safeguard voting rights in Colorado amid federal uncertainty.”

Senate Bill 001, sponsored by Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, and Reps. Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, and Junie Joseph, D-Boulder, implements a state-level version of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which banned certain discriminatory voting practices.

Polis signs sweeping election bill modeled on federal law—GOP calls it unnecessary Read More »

Hancock: The future of Colorado hangs between boom and blackout

Substack, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories / May 14, 2025 / 75th Colorado Legislature, Colorado Policy, Democrat Lawmakers, Economic development, Energy Crisis, Free Market Solutions, Governor Jared Polis, Housing affordability, Nuclear Innovation, Progressive politics, Regulatory Overreach, State Governance

There’s a difference between dreaming big and hallucinating. Colorado’s progressive legislators have yet to figure that out.

Once a beacon of frontier grit and entrepreneurial promise, Colorado is drifting into a twilight of self-imposed stagnation. This isn’t the result of some unforeseeable external shock. No. The decline is being engineered — brick by legislative brick — by a political class more interested in social signaling than in fostering economic vitality.

The question isn’t whether Colorado faces a reckoning. The question is whether we will admit the cause before we hit the wall.

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Condo reform bill becomes law–after years of lawsuits, delays and rising insurance costs

Colorado Politics, Approved, State / May 13, 2025 / 2001 Construction Defect Action Reform Act, 75th Colorado Legislature, Affordable housing, Condo Construction, Governor Jared Polis, House Bill 25-1272

Gov. Jared Polis on Monday signed the first major bill of his administration that sponsors hope would unclog the state’s longstanding logjam regarding the construction of affordable, middle-market multi-family housing, specifically condos and townhomes, and, thereby directly promote home ownership.

Past efforts by the governor had mostly focused on rental housing and zoning.

This year, House Bill 1272 aims to jumpstart the affordable condo market, which backers say has died off in Colorado due to “construction defects” litigation.

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Teller County to DOJ: Don’t punish rural communities for Denver’s sanctuary policies

KOAA News, Approved, Local / May 12, 2025 / 75th Colorado Legislature, Federal funding, Government overreach, Governor Jared Polis, ICE, Sanctuary Policies, SB25-003, Second Amendment, Teller County

TELLER COUNTY — In a letter sent to President Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ), Teller County leaders are simultaneously supporting DOJ lawsuits against Colorado while at the same time asking for leniency if federal funding is cut off from the state.

The letter was written and signed by Teller County’s three commissioners and sent last week to the DOJ’s Office of Civil Rights.

The commissioners first take issue with Colorado’s recent gun control measures, going so far as to encourage the DOJ to take legal action against the state of Colorado.

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The Good, the Bad, and the Alarming: What You Need to Know from Colorado’s 2025 Legislative Session

The 2025 legislative session officially adjourned Wednesday evening after 120 days, leaving behind a flood of new laws, deep partisan divides, and a public increasingly skeptical of the pace and priorities of progressive lawmakers. From sweeping gender identity mandates to gun control and TABOR attacks, the Democrat supermajority pushed through one of the most ideologically driven sessions in recent memory.

The Good, the Bad, and the Alarming: What You Need to Know from Colorado’s 2025 Legislative Session Read More »

Colorado Republicans: Effort to save taxpayers money ‘shredded’ by Democrats this session

denvergazette.com, Approved, State / May 11, 2025 / 75th Colorado Legislature, Democrat Lawmakers, Governor Jared Polis, Parental Rights, Public Spending, State Budget, TABOR, Taxpayer Relief

Republican lawmakers, who are in the minority at the state Capitol, said they saw little success in their campaign to save residents money this year, as Democrats “shredded” that goal.

At the beginning of the session, Republicans unveiled a series of measures that, they insisted, would save the average Colorado family $4,500 each year.

“We had hopes to make life more affordable,” said Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen of Monument.

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