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Eleven Colorado lawmakers on the ballot first reached office through appointment
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Eleven Colorado lawmakers on the ballot first reached office through appointment

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Every Coloradan who feels ignored at the Capitol can take comfort in this: they have not one but two people assigned to listen. Your House member splits attention among roughly 92,500 residents. Your senator, among about 171,800. As ballots arrive across the state this week ahead of the June 30 primary election, some of those lawmakers earned their seat with less than 50 votes, and one with only 10—from a committee.  Among the names appearing on those ballots are 11 current lawmakers who were never elected to the seats they now hold. Some were selected by vacancy committees after lawmakers resigned. One was ultimately appointed by Gov. Jared Polis after a vacancy committee failed to submit paperwork before a statutory deadline. ...
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Colorado Voters Prepare for Sweeping Legislative Changes in 2026 Elections
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Voters Prepare for Sweeping Legislative Changes in 2026 Elections

By: Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics This year’s general election will feature an unusually high number of state Senate races — 21 seats, the most in at least three decades. The surge stems from the number of new senators appointed to fill vacancies during the 2025 and 2026 legislative sessions, which triggered additional seats to go before voters. That group of 21 includes six senators who are term-limited, running for other offices, or simply choosing not to return. Fifteen House members, meanwhile, will not return next term — they are either term‑limited, running for another office, or choosing not to seek reelection. Here’s a look at the lawmakers who are wrapping up their service in the General Assembly. Open Senate seats The 2026 elec...
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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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Colorado commentator calls on Senate president to address Sullivan’s treatment of citizen witnesses
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado commentator calls on Senate president to address Sullivan’s treatment of citizen witnesses

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project The Free State Colorado video I link to first below was infuriating to me. In it, host Brandon Wark details Senator Tom Sullivan’s berating of a witness who came to testify on a bill before a committee where Sullivan is chair. Not okay. I don’t care what the bill is. I don’t care what any one person’s or organization’s stance on it is. This is impolite, bullying behavior and it’s not okay. Nor is it, and this is why I find it infuriating, the first time I’ve seen Sullivan do this in public. The second link below is to an earlier newsletter about a time a ways back where, shockingly, Senator Sullivan berated some citizens who came in to speak about a gun bill, essentially lobbing the accusation at them that they ...
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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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“Time to walk the talk”: Rich Guggenheim launches Republican challenge in Senate District 25
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

“Time to walk the talk”: Rich Guggenheim launches Republican challenge in Senate District 25

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice A couple of Republican women called Rich Guggenheim and asked if he'd be interested in running for office. His first instinct was a joke. "Running what? Running my mouth? I can definitely... I'm really good at doing that." When they told him it was Senate District 25, he recognized the seat right away. "Nobody else wants to run, huh?" The seat was previously held by Faith Winter and is now filled by appointed Sen. William Lindstedt. They told him they'd tried. No one would do it. He said yes. He joked that a win might come with a therapy bill for them.  After saying yes, he said he earned 90 percent of the vote at county assembly. When he launched his campaign at Satire Brewing in Thornton on April 22, the early support s...
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Colorado Senate Advances New Gun Store Oversight Bill Toward Final Approval
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The Center Square, Approved, State

Colorado Senate Advances New Gun Store Oversight Bill Toward Final Approval

By Derek Draplin | The Center Square (The Center Square) – The Colorado Senate on Tuesday gave final approval to a bill adding more regulations to gun stores operating in the state. House Bill 26-1126, titled “Requirements for Firearms Dealers,” was approved on its third reading in a 20 to 15 vote, sending it to Gov. Jared Polis' desk to be signed into law. The bill directs the Department of Revenue to adopt new security rules for gun dealers, which must adopt the measures and submit a plan to the state by Oct. 1 next year. It would also require gun dealers to keep an electronic record of firearm transfers and would allow the state to fine gun dealers up to $75,000 for some violations. Republicans and gun rights groups argue the legislation is part of a larger e...
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Partisan Divide Sharpens Over Colorado Spending Plan As $46.8B Budget Moves to Senate
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Partisan Divide Sharpens Over Colorado Spending Plan As $46.8B Budget Moves to Senate

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette The battle over Colorado’s proposed $46.8 billion spending plan for next year shifted to the state Senate, which must decide whether to acquiesce to changes made by the House. The senators could also decide to adopt their own changes, which would force the two bodies to reconcile their differences. The state constitution requires a balanced budget, although that rarely stays balanced for long, and this year, lawmakers must plug a deficit of more than $1 billion. The proposed budget is actually bigger than the current year’s spending plan, driven by Medicaid costs. In the Senate, the budget is sponsored by Joint Budget Committee members Sens. Jeff Bridges, D‑Greenwood Village, Barbara Kirkmeyer, R‑Brighton, and Judy Amabi...
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Colorado Senate advances bill limiting local control over housing projects
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado Senate advances bill limiting local control over housing projects

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado lawmakers spent part of the week hashing out just how much the state should push new housing. The Senate approved House Bill 26-1001—after several amendments. Those amendments were agreed upon by the House the next day. Land that is already owned by institutions or the government is the main focus of the bill. If the measure is eventually passed into law, property owned by school districts, housing authorities, universities, transit agencies, and some nonprofit organizations may be eligible for a simplified approval process. Supporters say some of that property is sitting unused. If approvals were easier, they argue, some of it could be turned into housing. During the bill’s second reading, Senator Tony E...
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Critics Warn Senate Bill 66 Could Limit Affordable Weight Loss Treatments In Colorado
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Critics Warn Senate Bill 66 Could Limit Affordable Weight Loss Treatments In Colorado

By: Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado For decades, Colorado has led the way in legalizing non-FDA approved drugs for use as experimental medicines, including marijuana and other psychedelics. So, I couldn’t believe it when I heard about Senate Bill 26-066, “Regulation of Compounded Weight Loss Medication,” which slaps onerous restrictions on Coloradans’ ability to obtain life-changing, and relatively inexpensive versions of GLP-1 weight loss drugs from compounding pharmacies. A favor to pharma There are so many reasons to oppose this bill, I honestly don’t know how anyone could support the “bi-partisan” effort of Democrat Iman Jodeh and Republican John Carson, other than as a political favor to big pharma. After listening to all the testimony on the bill (as well a...
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