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Tag: Governor Jared Polis

Polis faces pressure as veto showdown looms on sweeping social media bill
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Approved, KUNC, State

Polis faces pressure as veto showdown looms on sweeping social media bill

By Bente Birkeland | CPR News On November 8, 2020, Chelsea Congdon’s life changed forever.  She and her husband had invited friends over for a backyard party at their home in Old Snowmass. They were building a bonfire when a car from the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Department pulled up.  “The policeman came and found us there and let us know that our son Miles had died in Boulder and his body had been discovered that morning,” she recently recalled to CPR News. “It felt very unreal. And it feels as if your entire life just shatters on the floor and for some reason, you’re still standing. I mean, it doesn’t make any sense. It’s impossible to put together losing a kid.” Her son, Miles Brundige, was a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Colorado. He’d grown up big ...
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Democratic lawmakers prepare rare override of Polis veto on open records bill
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Approved, Colorado Politics, State

Democratic lawmakers prepare rare override of Polis veto on open records bill

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Democratic lawmakers, who are preparing for a fight with the executive branch over a myriad of issues, will seek an override of Gov. Jared Polis' veto on Friday of a bill that sought to increase deadlines to fulfill public records requests in Colorado. Senate Bill 77 sought to change the state's open records law by increasing the costs of open records requests, creating three classes of requesters, and extending the time a governmental entity must comply with those requests. One of the main criticisms of the bill was that it allowed the media to receive public records quicker than the general public. Polis vetoed the bill last week, citing concerns over its creation of three classes of requesters — mass media, those who seek open recor...
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Perry: Your CORA request isn’t less important than RMV’s—isn’t it nice that Polis agrees?
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Approved, State, The Sentinel

Perry: Your CORA request isn’t less important than RMV’s—isn’t it nice that Polis agrees?

By Dave Perry, Editor | Commentary, Sentinel Colorado Journalism, like beauty and pornography, is established by the eye of the beholder. Given that everyone judges the quality and depth of each of those things on a wide and sometimes wacky spectrum, whom in the government would you trust to endorse as the most fabulous or vulgar thing ever? More important, which county wonk, city clerk or state bureaucrat do you think should decide whether former gubernatorial hopeful Heidi Ganahl’s far-right “news” website, “The Rocky Mountain Voice,” is as much journalism as is the Sentinel, or the Denver Post, or Donald Trump’s Truth Social blog? In what appears to have been a well-intentioned move by this year’s state legislature to make Colorado’s critical open records law more ...
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Colo. Sheriffs call SB25-003 a ‘nightmare’ for rights, businesses and public safety
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Approved, State, The Truth About Guns

Colo. Sheriffs call SB25-003 a ‘nightmare’ for rights, businesses and public safety

By Mark Chesnut | The Truth About Guns Following Gov. Jared Polis’ signing of the sweeping gun ban measure last week, some Colorado sheriffs, who have opposed the bill all along, are still speaking out against the action. The measure bans the sale of the most popular selling rifle in America—the Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR)—unless Coloradans obtain from their county sheriff approval, based on subjective criteria, a permit-to-purchase semi-automatic firearms capable of accepting detachable magazines. Under the law, the sale of semi-automatic firearms capable of accepting a detachable magazine will be banned unless those purchasing the firearms are vetted by a local sheriff and complete a firearm certification course. Sheriff approval to apply for a permit-to-purchase is based on sub...
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The COvid Chronicles: Fifteen days that changed Colorado forever
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

The COvid Chronicles: Fifteen days that changed Colorado forever

By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board Editor’s Note: The following is the most extensive article RMV has published. We believe the depth is necessary to preserve the timeline and truth of Colorado’s earliest COVID response decisions. Colorado changed overnight. In the first two weeks of April 2020, headlines shifted from public health to public control. Behind the fear and mandates were decisions—made daily—that reshaped lives and redefined freedom. This is the record. April 1 Where else to start than the pages of The Denver Post (The DP)? On April 1, 2020 it wasn't an April Fool's Day joke that the economic industry Gov. Polis prioritized over such Centennial State mainstays as oil-and-gas and beef production – tourism – was reeling.  Hotels across the state were co...
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The COvid Chronicles: How fear and force reshaped Colorado
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

The COvid Chronicles: How fear and force reshaped Colorado

By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board How Polis and the powers-that-be permitted the COVID-19 pandemic to pervert Colorado's pioneer spirit It's one of the more ubiquitous storytelling styles in legacy corporate media — anniversary time pegs. In editorial meetings, reporters and editors look at a calendar, see what historic newsy event(s) are upcoming that originally occurred 5, 10, 25 years ago, and put into proper historical perspective said event on the respective anniversary. So, we thought here at Rocky Mountain Voice, with our exploding audience in the evolving media landscape, that we would do the same – bringing a historical spotlight on a topic that impacted all Coloradans, Americans – and just about every human on planet earth.  That topic? The government and m...
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Polis signs SB25-003 into law after months of protest and 95,000 petitions
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Polis signs SB25-003 into law after months of protest and 95,000 petitions

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice In the end, Governor Jared Polis didn’t make a speech. He didn’t stand before cameras or take questions. He didn’t even put the signing on his public calendar. On April 9, behind closed doors and without public ceremony, Polis signed Senate Bill 25-003 into law—legislation that critics say is one of the most restrictive gun ownership laws in the country. The signing came after months of resistance from Colorado citizens, lawmakers and small business owners who warned the bill was not only unconstitutional, but economically and socially devastating. Here’s how it happened. January: early warnings SB25-003 was introduced on January 8, the first day of this legislative session. Lawmakers and residents immediately began...
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Colorado bishops urge Polis to veto abortion funding bill
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Approved, Catholic News Agency, State

Colorado bishops urge Polis to veto abortion funding bill

By Kate Quinones | Catholic News Agency The Colorado Catholic bishops are urging state Gov. Jared Polis to veto a bill that would put at least $1.5 million of public funding annually toward Medicaid-covered abortions. The Tuesday open letter — co-signed by Archbishop Samuel Aquila and Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodriguez of the Archdiocese of Denver, Bishop James Golka of Colorado Springs, and Bishop Stephen Berg of Pueblo — urged the governor “to consider the millions of Coloradans who do not want their hard-earned tax dollars to be used in the destruction of human life.” The legislation would require the state Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to cover abortions for Medicaid and Child Health Plan Plus participants. The bill passed...
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Daniel: This is your moment, Governor—veto SB25-003 and protect liberty
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Daniel: This is your moment, Governor—veto SB25-003 and protect liberty

By Bobbie Daniel | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Yesterday, the Mesa County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to adopt a resolution opposing Colorado Senate Bill 3. We took this action out of a deep commitment to the foundational principles that have shaped not just Mesa County, not just Colorado, but the very idea of America itself. The Colorado legislature passed Senate Bill 3 with a troubling disregard for the constitutional framework that defines our Republic. It imposes sweeping restrictions on the lawful ownership, sale, and transfer of commonly owned firearms by burdening individual citizens with costly, bureaucratic hurdles and treating law-abiding people as if they are criminals. In our system of government, individual rights are not permissions granted by...
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Enos: Abortion, parental rights and gun grabs—Colorado’s radical trifecta
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Enos: Abortion, parental rights and gun grabs—Colorado’s radical trifecta

By Colleen Enos | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice While continuing to grapple with Colorado’s $1.2 billion dollar shortfall, the state will be losing $250 million in pandemic-related federal funding for healthcare from the American Rescue Plan Act. The federal government is implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Cost Efficiency Initiative. Coloradoans may believe that our Democrat-led state legislature will surely cut back on bills with a fiscal impact, but that would be an incorrect assumption; they just tweak the fiscal note. SB25-183, Coverage for Pregnancy Related Services, would be more appropriately named “Taxpayer-funded Abortion Coverage.” This bill adds abortion coverage to Colorado’s state Medicaid insurance. Howev...
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