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Tag: Special Session

Selective reporting skews the Sun’s take on Colorado’s budget reality
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Selective reporting skews the Sun’s take on Colorado’s budget reality

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Paul's and Eason's disingenuous reporting on the special session The Colorado Sun article linked at bottom has the title "Frequently asked questions — and misunderstandings — about Colorado’s special session to close a nearly $1B budget hole", but the article itself fails to deliver on that claim. The article in reality devolves more into "what do conservatives and Republicans have wrong" editorializing than an informative piece.Don't misunderstand me, the article makes plenty of valid points. I would, in fact, include it on a list of required reading to get a partial understanding of Colorado's budget situation and also of the upcoming special session.But, it is that "partial" in there that is the operative word. What ...
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Gaines: Colorado’s add-back taxes are a backdoor tax on overtime
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Gaines: Colorado’s add-back taxes are a backdoor tax on overtime

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project The Great Colorado Add Back? My state senator (B Pelton) alerted me to something you'll almost certainly see in the coming state special session: add back taxes. I thought it would be good to give some resources on that so you'll better understand it and (I hope) be a better advocate on the issue. This is something I will follow up on as the special session gets going; Sen Pelton is running a bill to make such taxes conform to TABOR limits. I have asked for a copy of that bill and will share if and when I get it. There are many different kinds of tax add backs, but I'll stick to the topic of state income tax add backs because I can use the link below as a reference. The State of Colorado weblink at bottom gives ...
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Texas House frozen for a second week over GOP map push
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kdvr.com, Approved, National

Texas House frozen for a second week over GOP map push

by Maddie Biertempfel | KDVR FOX 31 WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The redistricting fight continues in Texas, as State House Democrats remain out-of-state for a second week in a row.  “A quorum is not present,” Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows said Monday before the body adjourned.  More than 50 Democrats have fled Texas, and there aren’t enough lawmakers left to vote.  “We intend to kill the first called special session,” State Rep. Mihaela Plesa (D-Texas.) said.  A group of those Democrats joined Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin in Chicago Monday.  “It isn’t just a Texas issue. This is an American issue. An issue as to whether or not there’s due process and fairness in our politics,” Sen. Durbin said.  READ THE COMPLETE STORY AT KDVR FOX 31...
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Abbott Blasts Fleeing Democrats as “Un-Texan” Cowards
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National, Approved, The Daily Signal

Abbott Blasts Fleeing Democrats as “Un-Texan” Cowards

By: Lorenzo Prieto | The Daily Signal Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Tex., accused Democrat state representatives of being cowards for fleeing Texas to break quorum on calling their actions a “most un-Texan thing.” The governor, who appeared on “Fox News Sunday,” explained in the interview that these lawmakers’ actions will only further strengthen the lawsuit he filed on Aug. 5, which requests the Texas Supreme Court Court remove House Democratic Caucus chair Rep. Gene Wu. This was followed on Friday by Attorney General Ken Paxton asking the court to declare at least 13 seats vacated. Abbott argues that because Democrats have abandoned their seats, “we are incapable of conducting business for the people of Texas.” “This is the most un-Texan thing we’ve ever seen in Texas from the time of the...
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Colorado faces $1B hole: Governor Polis calls special session called and imposes state hiring freeze
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denvergazette.com, Approved, State

Colorado faces $1B hole: Governor Polis calls special session called and imposes state hiring freeze

By Marianne Goodland | Denver Gazette Gov. Jared Polis will convene the legislature on Aug. 21 to enact cuts to the state budget amid a $1 billion deficit, even as he is instituting a hiring freeze. The governor said the hiring freeze in state agencies will start on Aug. 27.   The governor confirmed that, in addition to spending reductions, the special session will deal with AI regulation. Lawmakers approved new AI regulations last year. They are expected to go into effect Feb. 1, 2026. The AI law established rules around the use of artificial intelligence, primarily in employment, health care, education, and government practices, where, backers said, the risk of bias or discrimination exists. Businesses have argued that the new law is problematic, potentially penaliz...
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Colorado’s Medicaid growth is colliding with fiscal reality
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s Medicaid growth is colliding with fiscal reality

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer A new report from the Common Sense Institute (CSI) warns that Colorado’s Medicaid program is on an unsustainable path—driven by rapid expansion at the state level and compounded by shrinking federal support. The warning comes as lawmakers prepare for a possible special session to address the state’s growing budget deficit. State policy has driven major cost growth Since 2019, Colorado has enacted 182 healthcare-related laws, with 21 of them expanding Medicaid eligibility or benefits. According to CSI’s July 2025 report, these expansions alone add approximately $158 million in recurring annual state costs. In total, the new legislation contributes around $858 million per year in additional Medicaid-related spending. Only 36% of that new spend...
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Colorado braces for $858M healthcare shift as feds pull back Medicaid, SNAP funding, prompting special session
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado braces for $858M healthcare shift as feds pull back Medicaid, SNAP funding, prompting special session

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Colorado legislators met at the state Capitol on Friday morning to review how the recently-adopted federal budget will affect health issues in the state. The review is among the steps lawmakers are taking in preparation for an expected special session. Multiple sources have told Colorado Politics that the special session will take place during the week of Aug. 18. Friday's meeting wasn't publicly announced on the legislature's website; the General Assembly had earlier cut funding for many interim committees due to budget constraints.  Senate Democrats announced on their website an "informal meeting" of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, which drew a dozen lawmakers and dozens of lobbyists, journalists and others to the ...
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Colorado braces for special session over bloated Medicaid spending amid federal pressure
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Approved, National, State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado braces for special session over bloated Medicaid spending amid federal pressure

By John Ingold | Colorado Sun There are now only seven days left in Colorado’s legislative session. But lawmakers and other state officials have for weeks been bracing for the possibility of coming back to the Capitol later this year to deal with potential federal cuts to Medicaid likely to be included in Congressional Republicans’ still-being-written budget proposal. “There certainly are a lot of indicators that would suggest that we might end up having to come back in the event that there’s a dramatic cut to Medicaid,” state Sen. Judy Amabile, a Boulder Democrat and member of the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee, said last month, as first reported in The Colorado Sun’s politics newsletter, The Unaffiliated. Speaking to a group of health care leaders earlier this mo...
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California Democrats held special session to ‘Trump-proof’ the state as fires rage
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Approved, National, Washington Examiner

California Democrats held special session to ‘Trump-proof’ the state as fires rage

By Emily Hallas | Washington Examiner California Democrats are being denounced for calling a special legislative session to target the incoming Trump administration as the state reels from devastating wildfires.  At the direction of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), the state legislature convened on Thursday to move forward with plans to provide $25 million to the California Department of Justice in preparation for lawsuits against the incoming Trump administration.  The move prompted immediate backlash from California Republicans, who argued that instead of focusing on “Trump-proofing” the state, Democrats should be invested in “fire-proofing California.”  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
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