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Colorado GOP Says Special Session Fell Short as Democrats Claim Progress
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State, Approved, DENVER7

Colorado GOP Says Special Session Fell Short as Democrats Claim Progress

By Colleen Slevin | Denver7 Governor Jared Polis is expected to address the remaining $500 million budget gap in a presentation to the Joint Budget Committee on Thursday. DENVER — Colorado's special legislative session ended on Tuesday after six days. The success of the session depends on which state lawmaker you ask. Governor Jared Polis called the session on Aug. 6 to address the state's $1.2 billion budget hole, which he said was created by tax changes made in President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Act (H.R.1). According to the governor and fellow Colorado Democrats, Colorado will collect less revenue than expected when lawmakers approved the state budget in May. Some of that $1.2 billion revenue loss was absorbed by the state education fund and the affordable housing fu...
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Shots for Freedom: Colorado gun owners rally to push back against new restrictions
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Shots for Freedom: Colorado gun owners rally to push back against new restrictions

By Huey Laugesen | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice At a time when Colorado is at the forefront of the national war over the Second Amendment, it’s not enough to be indignant. We must be active.That’s why the Colorado State Shooting Association (CSSA) is proud to host the Shots for Freedom Range Weekend and Banquet, taking place in Colorado Springs September 20–21 at Magnum Shooting Center South. It’s more than just a celebration of firearm culture. It's a strategic stand for freedom.The weekend kicks off with a two-day range event, featuring leading firearm industry vendors from across the country. From machine gun and other firearm rentals, to top-tier manufactures, events for kids, and premium gun raffles, it’ll be an unforgettable time for Second Amendment supporters of every ...
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Polis says Colorado isn’t a sanctuary state but the laws say otherwise
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The Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

Polis says Colorado isn’t a sanctuary state but the laws say otherwise

By The Gazette editorial board | Commentary, The Gazette Gov. Jared Polis has distinguished himself in business and politics, yet he arguably missed his true calling — doing stand-up at a comedy club. He’d leave his audience in stitches. Case in point: His thigh-slapper the other day — about Colorado not being a sanctuary state. He had us rolling on the floor. We were laughing through our tears, of course, given the toll illegal immigration has taken here. But there’s no denying the governor is a hoot. He is in fact such a natural-born comic, his familiar, “Sanctuary? What sanctuary?” routine is uproarious even when delivered secondhand by his communications staff. “Colorado is not a sanctuary state,” Polis’ office deadpanned in a news release Thursday for our news affiliate Co...
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Colorado Senate Committee Advances Costly AI Regulation Bill Amid Concerns
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Senate Committee Advances Costly AI Regulation Bill Amid Concerns

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette The Senate Appropriations Committee on Sunday handed Senate Bill 4, the artificial intelligence bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, a 4-3 win and moved it on to the full Senate. Whether the measure has the votes to get out of the Senate is another matter entirely. Much of the discussion was around the bill's cost. As introduced, it was estimated at $4.4 million, largely expenses for the governor's Office of Information Technology, which handles IT issues for most state departments, and the judicial department. Rodriguez had pushed for an amendment when the bill was in the Senate Business Affairs and Labor Committee, to shift some of the bill's disclosure requirements for public entities to open records requests. H...
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Colorado Lawmakers Clash Over Wolves, Health Subsidies and State Budget
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State, Approved, The Denver Gazette

Colorado Lawmakers Clash Over Wolves, Health Subsidies and State Budget

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette Day three of the legislature's special session ended with the Senate working late into the night to begin debate on the House tax bills sent over earlier in the day, after the House wrapped up voting on those measures, along with bills on health insurance and the Healthy School Meals for all ballot measures. The House's work Saturday night included debate on Senate Bill 5, which would prohibit Colorado Parks and Wildlife from using general fund dollars to acquire more wolves in the current fiscal year. The bill also diverts $264,000 to the Health Insurance Accountability Enterprise to pay for subsidies for health insurance premiums purchased through the state exchange. Those premiums are expected to soar for the individual market by as much a...
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Wolf funding diverted but reintroduction charges ahead
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Wolf funding diverted but reintroduction charges ahead

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun A group of Western Slope lawmakers Thursday abandoned their attempt to pause wolf reintroduction in Colorado. But they reached a deal with Gov. Jared Polis that will redirect about $250,000 set aside to bring more gray wolves into the state this year into a fund aimed at driving down health care costs. Colorado Parks and Wildlife will have to find the funding elsewhere to continue its reintroduction plans, which doesn’t appear to be a problem for the agency.  The next batch of wolves is scheduled to be released in western Colorado around December. The state is already sourcing animals for that release. State Sen. Dylan Roberts, a Frisco Democrat, said the alternative to the compromise was the bill being killed by the legislature d...
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Colorado Legislature Opens Special Session With Taxes and Spending Bills
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State, Approved, The Denver Gazette

Colorado Legislature Opens Special Session With Taxes and Spending Bills

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette Colorado legislators began to advance proposals dealing with an $800 million budget shortfall on Thursday, just hours after the legislature officially re-convened to deal with the revenue shortfall.  They started with a hearing on Senate Bill 1, which adds a requirement to the existing state law that outlines the governor's authority to make spending reductions in case of a significant drop in revenue. Under SB 1, Gov. Jared Polis would be required to develop a plan and present it to the Joint Budget Committee before it goes into effect. Lawmakers and the Polis administration have indicated that budget cuts should be put into place by Sept. 1 in order to spread out any reductions over 10 months, instead of waiting until next Februa...
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Colorado’s budget hole: How Democrats’ spending spree forced a special session
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Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s budget hole: How Democrats’ spending spree forced a special session

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado (CHEC) Just Stop Digging! You can almost smell the school supplies in the air as all families with school-age children or university students start scheduling their year and make the annual trek back to campus or begin rearranging and assigning their homeschool curriculum. Fall is in the air, but for the Colorado State Legislature, another budget session begins on August 21st to plug the self-induced hole in the 2025-2026 state budget.  The session will last a minimum of three days but can continue as long as it takes the General Assembly to complete its work. Since Colorado law requires a balanced budget, Governor Polis announced a Special Session to resolve the issue. The Governor’s announcement was entit...
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Lawmakers Pass The Buck On Budget Deficit Leaving Decisions To Governor Polis
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State, Approved, The Gazette

Lawmakers Pass The Buck On Budget Deficit Leaving Decisions To Governor Polis

By Marianne Goodland | The Gazette Most measures introduced for special session offer no clear plan to solve budget deficit. More than two dozen bills have been introduced ahead of Thursday’s special legislative session, where lawmakers will try to come up with nearly $800 million in budget cuts. What’s notably absent from the proposed bills so far is any clear plan for how those cuts would be made. Indeed, only one bill even hints at specific reductions — a proposal from Western Slope lawmakers to cut $264,000 from the state’s wolf management program and redirect that money to help pay for health insurance subsidies. There are two bills, similar in some regards, from members of the Joint Budget Committee, that deal with Gov. Jared Polis' authority to enact spending cuts whe...
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$277M in state funds go only to “pro-affordable housing” communities under Polis
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

$277M in state funds go only to “pro-affordable housing” communities under Polis

By Hannah Metzger | The Denver Gazette Gov. Jared Polis last week followed up on a May executive order that would limit hundreds of millions in state grants to only communities that adhere to new laws on housing, land use and parking restrictions. In May, the governor had threatened to pull at least $100 million in funding from local governments that have balked at the difficulty of implementing zoning, building codes, and other “affordable” housing changes pushed by the Colorado General Assembly over the last two years. The executive order defines noncompliance as a nonsatisfactory completion of requirements outlined in those laws, a local government adopting a resolution or policy not to conform with them, or acting contrary to the directives in those statutes. Polis hinted a...
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