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SB26-147: A Great Idea Almost Certain to Be Vetoed
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

SB26-147: A Great Idea Almost Certain to Be Vetoed

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project     SB26-147: a great idea almost certain to be vetoed The CPR article linked first below was my first introduction to the bill SB26-147, which is linked second below. The focus of the article is on how the legislature is pushing back on Governor Polis’ micromanaging by requiring his staff to register and hold to the same rules as any other lobbyist would. Quoting from the article with link intact: “Currently, lobbyists are required to register a stance on any bills they’re trying to influence with the Secretary of State’s Office, which makes that information publicly available. Legislative liaisons doing the same type of work for state agencies or the governor’s office directly don’t have those dis...
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Colorado Title Board Blocks The “Right to Know” Transparency Amendment From Ballot
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Title Board Blocks The “Right to Know” Transparency Amendment From Ballot

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado DENVER — The Colorado Title Board has refused to give Coloradans the opportunity to vote on making government transparency a state constitutional right. The board voted 2-1 at an April 24 re-hearing that a proposed constitutional amendment, put together by a large stakeholder group from across the political spectrum, did not meet Colorado’s “single-subject” requirement, calling it too broad. The 3-member Title Board is made up of representatives of the secretary of state, attorney general, and office of legislative legal services (OLLS). Colorado’s single‑subject rule requires that every citizen-initiated ballot measure be only about one issue in an effort to keep non-related topics from being grouped together.  Ball...
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A missing email and a federal paper trail: Colorado weighs discipline in Guggenheim case
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

A missing email and a federal paper trail: Colorado weighs discipline in Guggenheim case

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Rich Guggenheim says an email exists that would end his case. The Colorado Department of Agriculture says it does not. The dispute centers on a message Guggenheim says was sent to him in early December by Gabriel Leverance, a grant accountant at CDA, instructing him to approve a USDA-funded Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey report—the report he had previously kicked back and now at the center of the discipline the department is weighing against him. Guggenheim says he requested records twice under CORA that he believes should have included the email. At an April 15 disciplinary hearing, he told the department’s deputy commissioner: “I know it exists, because I’m the recipient of that email, and I’m not getting it in a CORA reques...
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Are lawmakers getting the full picture? Concerns raised about Capitol health research
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Are lawmakers getting the full picture? Concerns raised about Capitol health research

Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project I have followed and written pretty extensively on how a group tied to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science is funding a group of four “legislative fellows” with the stated intent of providing nonpartisan, unbiased scientific information to legislators. See “Related” below if you want to read that op ed. I recently had a chance to sit down to discuss this work with Jon Caldara on an episode of Devil’s Advocate. That video is linked first below. Embedding people in the legislature with outside funding is concerning, but concerns don’t automatically equal problems. I mentioned in the video that the public work I’d seen from the fellows seemed pretty benign. Taping with Mr. Caldara inspired me to go back into ...
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Colorado Board Rejects Broad Right To Know Ballot Proposal Over Scope Concerns
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Colorado Freedom of Information, Approved, State

Colorado Board Rejects Broad Right To Know Ballot Proposal Over Scope Concerns

By Jeffrey A. Roberts | Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition A state board on Wednesday declined to set the title for a proposed fall ballot initiative that would enshrine in the Colorado Constitution “a fundamental right to know the affairs of all levels of state and local government.” Title Board Chair Theresa Conley said Initiative #286, proposed by Jon Caldara of the Independence Institute and Beth Hendrix of the League of Women Voters of Colorado, is too broad and therefore doesn’t meet the statutory and constitutional requirement that initiative titles concern a single subject. Signature gathering for a ballot petition cannot begin unless a ballot title and a petition form are approved. “Voters don’t know what they’re voting yes or no on,” Conley...
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How many lawmakers benefit from taxpayer-funded nonprofits in Colorado?
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

How many lawmakers benefit from taxpayer-funded nonprofits in Colorado?

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project I saw a CPR article (see the first link below) about how much Colorado legislators are paid recently. It was one of their "Colorado Wonders" series. This is a series where CPR writes articles based on reader questions. If you want more on that series, see the second link below. I read the article on how much Colorado legislators are paid. If that's something you've wondered, give it a look. The answer is "not much", but if you look at the daily rate for what has always been and ought to continue to be a part-time job, it's respectable. Noting that it was completely missing from the CPR piece on legislator pay, I had a little Colorado Wonders of my own. I actually took the time to submit it to CPR last week immedi...
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Colorado Supreme Court sides with transparency in child abuse hotline case
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado Supreme Court sides with transparency in child abuse hotline case

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project The CFOIC article linked at bottom details a recent ruling by the CO Supreme Court. Five years on from when the suit was first filed, the state’s highest court ruled that the Colorado Sun and 9News have a right to some records from the state’s child abuse hotline pertaining to group homes for children. The State of Colorado, in particular the State Department of Human Services (CDHS) had argued that releasing the statistics would violate state statutes pertaining to confidentiality, mainly due to there only being three group homes from which statistics were sought.** Quoting with links intact: “CDHS contended the information could be used to identify individual informants, children or family members — in ...
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Hidden Costs And Secret Repairs Cloud Colorado’s Largest Coal Plant
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Colorado Public Radio, Approved, State

Hidden Costs And Secret Repairs Cloud Colorado’s Largest Coal Plant

By Ishan Thakore | CPR News Last week, state utility regulators sharply questioned Xcel Energy’s repairs to Colorado’s newest coal-fired power plant, Comanche 3.  Since it opened more than a decade ago in Pueblo, the behemoth plant has been beset by technical problems and months-long outages. It has been offline since August 2025, when it suffered a catastrophic breakdown. Xcel now believes the plant won’t reopen until at least August 2026, because repairs have been delayed.  Multiple commissioners on the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) said the plant’s woes could put the state in a bind during the summer, when demand for electricity can skyrocket.  “Not to state the obvious, but we have a real problem with Comanche 3,” said ...
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Colorado Safe2Tell system sees record growth: But outcomes stay hidden
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado Safe2Tell system sees record growth: But outcomes stay hidden

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice February marked the first time this school year that monthly Safe2Tell totals outpaced the same period during the previous year. Three thousand and eight reports. Eighteen percent higher than January. And still, the question that the data doesn't answer: what actually happens once a report is filed? That gap, between the volume of concerns being submitted and the public record of what follows, sits at the center of a system that now handles tens of thousands of tips each year from Colorado students, parents, and community members. The Colorado Attorney General's Office released the February figures earlier this month, along with a press release citing interventions in student safety and welfare concerns.  Attor...
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El Paso Co. clerk resigns leadership role and pulls county from clerks association over transparency concerns
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Ashe in America, Approved, Commentary, State

El Paso Co. clerk resigns leadership role and pulls county from clerks association over transparency concerns

By Ashe in America | Commentary, Ashe in America The CCCA is a Non-Governmental Organization that Generally Serves as the Authority on Colorado Elections El Paso County Clerk & Recorder Steve Schleiker has quietly resigned as Vice President of the Colorado County Clerks Association (CCCA), and he has withdrawn El Paso County from active membership in the non-governmental organization. Schleiker was candid about his decision in an email with a Colorado voter who reached out after noticing his name had been removed from the CCCA leadership list. “After careful consideration, I made the decision several weeks ago to resign as Vice President of the Colorado County Clerks Association and to withdraw El Paso County from active membership. This was not a decision I made li...
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