Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Federal Policy

New Study Finds Government Regulations Add Nearly $132K to the Cost of New Homes
Fox 13 News, Approved, National

New Study Finds Government Regulations Add Nearly $132K to the Cost of New Homes

By Bradford Betz | FOX 13 News Government regulations now add roughly $132,000 to the cost of a typical newly built home, according to a new study from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), as industry leaders warn that mounting costs are worsening the nation's housing affordability challenges. The NAHB study found that regulations imposed by federal, state and local governments account for 26.4% of the final price of a new single-family home. Applied to the average sales price of a new home in January, the regulatory burden totals approximately $131,734 per house. The estimate is based on Census Bureau data showing the average sales price of a newly built home sold in January was $499,500. The report comes as housing affordability remains ...
Trump Refuses FISA Extension Without Voter ID and Citizenship Measures
The Western Journal, Approved, National

Trump Refuses FISA Extension Without Voter ID and Citizenship Measures

By: Nick Givas | The Western Journal President Donald Trump said Monday that he will not support an extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act unless it includes his election integrity measure, the Save America Act. “The Dumocrats want FISA because that’s what they used to go after me for three years during my First Term!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I’m against FISA if it doesn’t come with The Save America Act (Full version!) firmly attached to it. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” The commander in chief outlined key provisions he wants passed, including voter ID and proof of citizenship as well as limited mail-in ballots for extreme circumstances. He added that the bill would ban biological men from playing in women’s sports and prevent transg...
More Than 40,000 Coloradans Impacted As Cigna Leaves Individual Market
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

More Than 40,000 Coloradans Impacted As Cigna Leaves Individual Market

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette Another firm is withdrawing from the individual health insurance market, including for Colorado, effective Jan. 1, 2027. The move by Cigna Healthcare is part of the company’s overall plan to withdraw entirely from the Affordable Care Act market. It will impact individual health plans for 369,000 members in 11 states, according to a company announcement on April 30. In Colorado, Cigna provides individual health insurance to 40,853 members, according to the the state’s insurance office. Cigna joins five other insurers that have pulled out of Colorado since 2022. That doesn’t include two insurers that announced they were withdrawing from the individual market last year but rescinded that announcement two months later. ...
Rep. Gabe Evans Presses DHS Chief on Sanctuary Policies and Colorado Public Safety
Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Rep. Gabe Evans Presses DHS Chief on Sanctuary Policies and Colorado Public Safety

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado WASHINGTON D.C. – Colorado’s 8th Congressional District Rep. Gabe Evans on Wednesday took an opportunity during House Homeland Security Committee hearings to question Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin over how his department handles issues of sanctuary cities, public safety, backlogs and constitutional protections during Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. Evans’ questions came just days after he joined House Judiciary Committee Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio and GOP Rep. Tom McClintock in letters to Denver’s elected district attorney, chief of police, and sheriff demanding information on their offices’ compliance with local sanctuary policies that, according to Evans “prioritize criminal ...
Arizona California Nevada Unite On Colorado River Plan As Shortages Loom
The Guardian, Approved, National

Arizona California Nevada Unite On Colorado River Plan As Shortages Loom

By Ian James | The Guardian Proposal includes cutbacks for three years as negotiations over future of shrinking reservoirs have been unsuccessful. The states of California, Arizona and Nevada have proposed voluntary water-saving measures for the next three years aimed at buying time while negotiations remain deadlocked over the future of shrinking reservoirs filled by the Colorado River. The Colorado River provides water to some 40 million people in the American west. But the two vast reservoirs filled by the river, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, both stand at historically low levels, after consistent overdrawing coupled with reduced snowpack and warming from climate change. The seven states with legal rights to water from the Colorado River have so far failed to agree on...
States step up: New agreements reshape control of Western forests
GregWalcher.com, Approved, Commentary, National

States step up: New agreements reshape control of Western forests

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com I attended a meeting recently about federal ownership of Western lands, and various proposals to transfer some of it to states. To settle a bet, I asked a popular AI tool how that might work, just to test its objectivity. It said, “Transferring public lands to state control can lead to significant challenges and risks for public access and conservation.” It explained that states have limited authority to manage; lack money and staff; might each manage lands differently, “undermining broader conservation goals and ecosystem resilience;” are more subject to political pressures; and might limit public access. So much for objectivity – as if the public is welcome on all federal lands, which are managed perfectly, because federal agencies are...
Pro Life Groups Push DOJ To To Back State Authority On Abortion Drugs
The Federalist, Approved, National

Pro Life Groups Push DOJ To To Back State Authority On Abortion Drugs

By Maisey Jefferson | The Federalist Dozens of pro-life groups sent a letter to U.S. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Monday urging him to protect women and babies from deadly chemical abortion and “reverse the DOJ’s harmful stance of siding with the abortion drug industry.” The 78 signees, led by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, noted that “pro-life states cannot meaningfully enforce their laws when FDA is siding with mail-order abortionists and DOJ is siding with abortion drug manufacturers.” Under the Biden administration, the FDA removed common-sense restrictions around mifepristone, such as requiring an in-person doctor’s visit before obtaining a prescription. The administration also ultimately leveraged the Covid-19 pan...
Frozen in place: How a 1997 tax law may be trapping Colorado’s senior homeowners
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Frozen in place: How a 1997 tax law may be trapping Colorado’s senior homeowners

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice A Centennial resident wrote to RMV earlier this year with a frustration he suspects many of his neighbors share — one shaped by decades spent in the same home. He has watched its value climb far beyond anything he imagined when he bought it. And now, as he weighs whether to downsize, he finds himself facing a tax bill on that appreciation — one shaped by a federal law whose core thresholds haven’t been updated in nearly 30 years. "This realized gain could be used for moving into a more manageable home, pay for necessary home care if needed, help pay for insurance, medical, dental, medicine expenses and keep their quality of life," he wrote. His concern is not an isolated one. It reflects a structural problem — one incr...
Federal order puts Colorado’s mail ballot system on a collision course
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Federal order puts Colorado’s mail ballot system on a collision course

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The way Colorado runs elections hasn’t changed—but a new federal order could force it to. The order would have federal agencies assemble a nationwide list of verified U.S. citizens and share it with state election officials. States could then choose to send their own voter lists to the U.S. Postal Service about 60 days before an election. If they do, ballots would be limited to the names on those lists. In Colorado, that framework could fundamentally change how elections work. Colorado’s system leaves very little room to miss your chance. Ballots go out to every active voter—even those who register just days before Election Day. And for anyone who doesn’t, same-day registration still allows them to walk in and vote right up until po...
Polis Moves Colorado Into WHO Network After US Withdrawal
DENVER7, Approved, State

Polis Moves Colorado Into WHO Network After US Withdrawal

By Óscar Contreras | Denver7 The move is the latest in a series of actions Colorado has undertaken amid shakeup in federal health policy. DENVER — Colorado has been accepted into a network of more than 360 institutions as the state seeks to stay ahead of emerging public health threats following the withdrawal of the U.S. from the World Health Organization earlier this year. “We are thrilled to join the World Health Organization’s GOARN network, especially during a time when federal public health guidance is becoming less consistent,” Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement Wednesday. “Disease does not stop at borders, and this partnership helps ensure Colorado is better prepared to protect people and respond quickly to emerging threats.” The WHO’s Global Out...

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