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Tag: Byron Pelton

PERA Bonus Payouts Draw New Scrutiny From Colorado Lawmakers
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

PERA Bonus Payouts Draw New Scrutiny From Colorado Lawmakers

By Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun The proposal comes in response to a Colorado Sun investigation that found PERA has paid its investment staff millions of dollars in performance bonuses in recent years. Democratic lawmaker says he plans to introduce legislation next year to limit the bonuses that the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association pays to its investment staff. The proposal comes in response to The Colorado Sun’s investigation last week that found PERA has paid its investment staff millions of dollars in performance bonuses in recent years — including $10.2 million in payouts following the stock market’s disastrous 2022. That year, the pension lost $9.8 billion on its portfolio, but PERA still beat many of the benchmarks used to measure it...
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Is HB26-1111 a smart ag solution or another TABOR workaround?
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Is HB26-1111 a smart ag solution or another TABOR workaround?

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project HB26-1111: a beneficial enterprise? At my last check, HB26-1111 (linked below) is awaiting either 30-day passage or the Governor’s signature. This is another enterprise-creation bill. It creates an enterprise which charges a fee on pesticide producers and applicators. The fee will, among other things, be used to create a program where pesticide applicators can dispose of leftover pesticide. Per a conversation I had with my State Senator Byron Pelton, as things stand now, prior to this bill, pesticide applicators must pay a disposal company to take leftover chemical, and that price is growing more and more each year. The enterprise created in that bill steps in with a government-run business to take ...
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Colorado Capitol Clash Erupts Over Nonprofits Receiving Advanced Taxpayer Funds
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Capitol Clash Erupts Over Nonprofits Receiving Advanced Taxpayer Funds

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado DENVER – GOP opposition to a bill passed in the final hours of the 2026 Colorado legislative session around tax dollars going to non-profits stirred up a pot of anger and controversy among Democrat legislators tied to organizations that stood to benefit. So much so that one state senator pledged to pursue restriction next session prohibiting sitting lawmakers from profiting on taxpayer’s money. House Bill 26-1274, sponsored by Democrat Representatives Monica Duran from Jefferson County and Mandy Lindsay from Arapahoe County and carried in the Senate by Democrats Katie Wallace of Boulder and Mike Weissman of Adams County, changed the way non-profits can collect a portion of state grant money in the future. But amendments offered in th...
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Senate Democrats Advance Plan To Redirect Millions In TABOR Refunds
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Senate Democrats Advance Plan To Redirect Millions In TABOR Refunds

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Despite objections from legislative staff and Republican opposition, Senate Democrats on Friday moved forward with a proposal to reroute $306 million in taxpayer refunds. Already, critics are preparing to sue over the proposal that seeks to take $300 million in Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refunds over the next two years to cover what Democratic lawmakers believe is an overpayment from a previous fiscal year. House Bill 1419 won preliminary approval from the state Senate on Friday. It now awaits a final vote in the chamber and will then go back to the House, which must concur with any amendments adopted. The alleged overpayments in 2024–25 TABOR refunds were never reflected in the state’s 2024–25 budget because they stemmed ...
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Colorado Senate Advances Bill to Ease Landfill Regulation Burden
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Senate Advances Bill to Ease Landfill Regulation Burden

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado DENVER – A bipartisan bill to backfill county governments for an unfunded methane emissions mandate is counting on money from existing state grant programs, which, according to Sen. Byron Pelton, is necessary to ensure Colorado counties don’t go bankrupt from the environmental rules put in place by unelected boards appointed by Gov. Jared Polis. Senate Bill 26-101, Local Government Landfill Methane Emission Reduction Regulations, will allow counties to use money from the community impact cash fund, air quality enterprise cash fund, and local government mineral impact fund “for the purpose of complying with landfill methane emission reduction requirements adopted by the air quality control commission, a division of the department of public h...
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State approval to farm? Lawmakers debate new limits on seed and pest control
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

State approval to farm? Lawmakers debate new limits on seed and pest control

By Sen. Byron Pelton | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s farmers and ranchers already face significant challenges, including volatile commodity prices, rising input costs, labor shortages, and unpredictable weather. They should not also have to contend with a state legislature that increasingly seeks to regulate how they protect crops and livestock.  Yet that is precisely what Senate Bills 26-062 and 26-065 represent: a top-down attack on agriculture that increases costs, undermines private property rights, and signals deep disrespect for the men and women who feed our nation and the world. A Direct Hit on Practical Pest Control SB26-062 would significantly restrict the sale and use of common rodenticides and glue traps. While intended to pr...
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Rural Colorado Road Concerns Gain Ground As Bipartisan Resolution Moves to full Senate
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Rural Colorado Road Concerns Gain Ground As Bipartisan Resolution Moves to full Senate

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette A Republican legislator said he was pleasantly surprised on Wednesday when the state Senate’s transportation panel advanced a resolution brought to him by county commissioners urging the Colorado Department of Transportation to invest more money to fix roads. Road maintenance is “probably the No. 1 issue” in his seven-county district, said Sen. Byron Pelton, R-Sterling. Morgan County’s transportation infrastructure is the worst, he added. According to a 2023 CDOT assessment, 70% of the roads in the county are in the “red” for maintenance, meaning they’ll soon be undrivable. A Reason Foundation report ranked Colorado 47th in the nation for rural road conditions. Pelton mentioned a 2021 funding legislation, Sen...
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Wolf Reintroduction Sparks Debate at Upcoming Colorado Town Hall
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State, Approved, The Gazette

Wolf Reintroduction Sparks Debate at Upcoming Colorado Town Hall

By The Gazette Staff | The Gazette Agriculture and outdoor recreation are considered two of Colorado’s most important industries. The outdoor recreation industry contributes over $65.8 billion and 511,000 jobs to Colorado’s economy, while the agriculture industry generates $47 billion and 195,000 jobs annually, according to the most recent data. Yet as Colorado Politics’ recent Rural Reckoning series indicated, these two powerhouses don’t always get the attention that industries do in the halls of the Capitol. A town hall on Tuesday, Sept. 9, sponsored by The Gazette and The Common Sense Institute, will dive more deeply into the importance of these industries to Colorado’s economic success, and the policies necessary to ensure they thrive. The Common Sense Institute is a non...
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‘It’s a sad day in Colorado’: Sen. Pelton recalls Bill McCartney era at Colorado
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Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

‘It’s a sad day in Colorado’: Sen. Pelton recalls Bill McCartney era at Colorado

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice It wasn't an easy life growing up on the Eastern Plains of Colorado, Sen. Byron Pelton recalled Monday for the Colorado Senate. He became a fan of the Colorado Buffaloes and almost no one then was on the Eastern Plains, and still isn't today. Colorado State? Yes. Nebraska Cornhuskers? Yes. Oklahoma Sooners? Maybe. But, Colorado Buffaloes fans were few and far between, he recalled in memorializing legendary Colorado Buffaloes coach Bill McCartney, who died Friday. "It's a sad day in Colorado that we lost him," Pelton said. "I'm so thankful for having him as a part of this great state." In 13 seasons, McCartney compiled a record of 93-55-5, won three Big Eight championships and earned the co-national championship in 1990 in a split with Geor...
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