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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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States step up: New agreements reshape control of Western forests
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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...
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After GOP vote to close primary: Clerks warn timing could complicate June election
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

After GOP vote to close primary: Clerks warn timing could complicate June election

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado Republicans left Pueblo with more than a slate of candidates. They left with a plan to change who votes—and how soon that could happen. At the state assembly, delegates backed a legal push to stop Republican ballots from going out to unaffiliated voters. Republican National Committeeman Randy Corporon and attorney John Eastman are expected to file an injunction in court this week. The primary is set for June 30. At this point, it’s not about whether Republicans want a closed primary. It’s whether it can happen in time. Colorado law currently allows unaffiliated voters to take part in primary elections by choosing a party ballot. Changing that—even through a court order—would have to work inside a system that is already u...
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Weiser’s Record: The Lawsuit Machine and the Scorecard
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Weiser’s Record: The Lawsuit Machine and the Scorecard

By Shaina Cole | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Marya Washburn is a federal Forest Service firefighter. She was fired by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins last year, right before fire season. At a January forum in Denver, Attorney General Phil Weiser singled her out by name as evidence of what his office has accomplished. "My office got involved in one of the 50 lawsuits we brought against this administration," Weiser told the Colorado Young Democrats forum. "We got our job back." It is also incomplete in ways voters should understand. The lawsuit Weiser was describing is captioned State of Maryland v. USDA. Maryland filed it. Maryland's attorneys drafted the complaint and argued the case. Colorado was one of several states that added its name to the filing. Weiser's o...
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Report Finds Millions In Improper Payments At Unregulated Colorado Autism Centers
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Report Finds Millions In Improper Payments At Unregulated Colorado Autism Centers

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado A new report by the Colorado Department of Human Services says a lack of oversight at facilities that provide therapy for kids with autism has resulted in dozens of complaints of child abuse. It comes after a federal audit found the state Medicaid program made at least $78 million in improper payments to the facilities, some of which are owned by private equity firms that the state agency overseeing Medicaid says have exploited the lack of regulations to maximize revenue. Pam Bisceglia has dedicated her life to improving the lives of people with disabilities as Executive Director of Advocacy Denver and parent of a daughter with autism. She says the facilities sprang up across Colorado when the state and federal government began requi...
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Colorado Regulators Override Local Denial To Advance Renewable Energy Grid
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, Local

Colorado Regulators Override Local Denial To Advance Renewable Energy Grid

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun The ruling was based on a statute used just 3 times in 21 years allowing regulators to override local land use decisions on electric and gas infrastructure projects. State utility regulators have overruled local land use decisions and cleared the way for Xcel Energy to build its $1.7 billion Power Pathway transmission line through Elbert County. The line will bring Eastern Plains wind and solar to the Front Range. The Elbert County Commission voted in June 2025 to deny Xcel Energy two key permits responding to protests by landowners and ranchers and an unwillingness by the utility to reroute the path, which cut through the heart of the county. The county commission and many landowners sought to have the route moved fa...
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Congress Challenges Colorado Court Rule Limiting Immigration Enforcement Access
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Congress Challenges Colorado Court Rule Limiting Immigration Enforcement Access

By Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette The U.S. House Judiciary Committee is seeking information from Colorado’s court administrator regarding a new requirement that attorneys certify they will not use court data for immigration enforcement, arguing it unlawfully obstructs federal law and compels political speech tied to the state’s “sanctuary” policies. Colorado, a blue state that has passed “sanctuary” laws, has been in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, which has cracked down on illegal immigration. Colorado officials, meanwhile, have adopted a confrontational stance against both the administration and Trump’s policies, routinely criticizing the president and suing over an array of issues. Broadly speaking, “sanctuary” policies restrict or prohibit coop...
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Another spring, another Democrat lawmaker push for “extreme temperature” workplace rules
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Another spring, another Democrat lawmaker push for “extreme temperature” workplace rules

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project For the last couple (I think--don't quote me on it being two) legislative sessions, some of the more progressive Democrats in the state legislature have been trying, and failing, to run a bill to offer "protection" to workers who do their job in extreme temperatures.Such a bill is running again this year. It's HB26-1272 which I link to first below.Past efforts died due to (legitimate) concerns by businesses and industry over the effect rules about breaks, heating, and cooling would have on their ability to operate.This year's effort is at least passing its first initial hurdles, albeit in an altered form. Quoting from the Sum and Substance article about the bill linked second below (with link intact):"House Bill 12...
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Free speech or state control?: Elon Musk lawsuit targets Colorado’s AI discrimination law
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Financial Times, Approved, State

Free speech or state control?: Elon Musk lawsuit targets Colorado’s AI discrimination law

By Alex Rogers and George Hammond | Financial Times Elon Musk’s AI lab claims the regulations violate free speech protections Elon Musk’s xAI has filed a lawsuit challenging Colorado’s landmark AI bill as the Trump administration and leading industry players try to stop US states from regulating the technology. Colorado’s bill, set to take effect in the summer, was the first state-level initiative passed to impose protections against “algorithmic discrimination” in AI systems. Musk’s AI lab, which recently merged with rocket group SpaceX, says the bill would force it to “promote the state’s ideological views on various matters, racial justice in particular” rather than its own “disinterested pursuit of truth”. The lawsuit is the latest move in a battle between ...
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Lawmakers Debate Fee Based Plan To Cut Insurance Costs With Hail Resistant Roof Grants
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Lawmakers Debate Fee Based Plan To Cut Insurance Costs With Hail Resistant Roof Grants

By Bente Birkeland | The Colorado Sun Colorado insurance premiums have risen 65% in 5 years. Hail storms are mostly to blame. Colorado lawmakers want to impose a per-policy fee on home insurance providers to raise $20 million a year for a program that would provide grants to homeowners to protect their properties against hail. The hope is that the program will protect enough Colorado homes against hail that insurance rates will drop across the state. A similar effort failed last session. In the last five years the average premium in the state has gone up 65%, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. That makes Colorado one of the top-10 most expensive states in the country for homeowners insurance.   Climate exp...
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