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The hidden impact of two Colorado bills: Privacy risks few are talking about
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

The hidden impact of two Colorado bills: Privacy risks few are talking about

By Maria Orms | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice When I heard about two bills recently proposed in the Colorado State Legislature, I don’t want to sound overly dramatic—but I felt a real chill. Right now, our Constitution and modern technology are on a collision course. We’re being forced to decide how to embrace powerful tools without sacrificing privacy and the rights those tools were never meant to undermine. Consider the debate over Flock cameras in Denver: 400 to 800 people showed up to a community meeting in November, and another 24,000 watched online. People are paying attention—and they’re concerned. Yet these new bills are moving forward with little fanfare and even less public scrutiny. Because they deal with technology, they’re easy to overlook—but their poten...
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Colorado Republican Party Chair Brita Horn Plans April Exit After Year Of Party Infighting
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Republican Party Chair Brita Horn Plans April Exit After Year Of Party Infighting

By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics Colorado Republican Party Chair Brita Horn said Thursday that she will resign her position next month following the GOP’s state assembly, citing what she described as an “enduring divide” within the party “marked by vitriol and hostility.” Horn’s announcement came just over a week after the Republicans’ state central committee voted overwhelmingly to approve a measure expressing “no-confidence” in her leadership. An earlier central committee meeting organized by Horn’s critics approved an identical “no-confidence” resolution and demanded her resignation. The meeting, which Horn dismissed as “illegal” and lacking authority, also sought to restrict her spending authority and require that the party end litigation involvi...
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Griswold Joins Other States Asking DHS To Confirm ICE Will Stay Away From Polling Locations
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Griswold Joins Other States Asking DHS To Confirm ICE Will Stay Away From Polling Locations

By: Jacob Mauk | The Denver Gazette Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced Monday that the state has formally requested written confirmation from the Department of Homeland Security that ICE agents will not be stationed at polling locations during the 2026 election cycle, according to a news release. The letter comes a week after Kristi Noem, the former Secretary of Homeland Security, said, “There are no plans to have ICE officers at our polling locations.’ Noem has since been fired by President Donald Trump, who nominated Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her. Noem was fired not long after testifying before Congress regarding tactics used over the last year to crack down on immigrants living in the United States illegally. READ THE FULL ART...
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Colorado Democrat Shelves Prostitution Decriminalization Effort Amid Growing Criticism
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The Daily Signal, Approved, State

Colorado Democrat Shelves Prostitution Decriminalization Effort Amid Growing Criticism

By: Tyler O'Neil | The Daily Signal Colorado’s Republican House leader is calling foul after a Colorado state senator says he is effectively killing his own bill to decriminalize prostitution—in order to protect “sex workers” from the trauma of having to testify. State Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, the main sponsor of SB26-097, told the Colorado Sun that his bill lacks the necessary support to clear the Senate Judiciary Committee, so he will ask to delay the measure until after the 2026 legislative session, effectively killing the bill. He said the “sex workers” who persuaded him to bring the bill also persuaded him to effectively kill it. “Ultimately, we all decided that having a very tense, long committee hearing, where they’d have to be in a room with a ...
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Colorado Democrats Strike Identity Clause From Family Court Bill After Backlash
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Democrats Strike Identity Clause From Family Court Bill After Backlash

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette The sponsors of a proposal that would require suppression of records in name-change petitions for minors removed a provision that would have mandated the courts to factor in the issue of “identity” when allocating parenting time. In its original form, Senate Bill 018, included a requirement that family courts consider whether parents recognize their child’s identity “as it relates to a protected class” when determining parenting time decision-making responsibility. The protected classes in Colorado include gender identity and gender expression. A similar provision was amended out of last year’s House Bill 1312, which was ultimately signed into law. In that bill, the courts would have been required to consider “...
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Wave of bills sparks alarm over parental rights and religious freedom
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Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Wave of bills sparks alarm over parental rights and religious freedom

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of bills and hearings. Sadly, the Colorado State Senate passed the harmful SB26-004, Expand List of Petitioners for Protection Order, which could result in homeschool families that exercise their second amendment rights being targeted as “a danger” by schools where they participate in part-time or extracurricular programs. The actual school, district or even a health care facility can petition for a Red-Flag order against the parents and remove their firearms according to the bill. It would actually incentivize families to avoid getting necessary healthcare for fear of being targeted. It is now scheduled to be heard in the House State, Civic, Military and Veteran...
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Democrats advance gun barrel regulation bill on party line vote
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Democrats advance gun barrel regulation bill on party line vote

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Gun barrels are not serialized. They are not a regulated “firearm” under federal law. But Colorado lawmakers are preparing to vote on whether they should be treated more like one. The bill sponsored by Sen. Tom Sullivan of Centennial, would require barrels to be sold through a federally licensed dealer instead of privately. Dealers would keep purchase records for five years. Violations could carry fines — and up to 30 days in county jail. The proposal advanced out of committee on a narrow vote and now heads to the full Senate. Supporters describe it as the next step after last year’s ghost gun legislation. Critics argue it regulates a part that cannot be traced. At the center of the debate: whethe...
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Colorado Democrats Push Sweeping New Crackdown on 3-D Printed Guns and Gun Dealer Oversight
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Colorado Democrats Push Sweeping New Crackdown on 3-D Printed Guns and Gun Dealer Oversight

By Lucas Brady Woods and Kyle McKinnon | The Colorado Sun Federal data show ghost guns are increasingly turning up at crime scenes. Democrats in the Colorado legislature are adding to their slate of proposals this year to tighten the state’s gun regulations with measures that would further crack down on 3-D printed firearms and impose tougher rules on gun dealers. House Bill 1144 would add to Colorado’s restrictions on ghost guns, unserialized firearms that are often assembled at home using 3-D printed parts or do-it-yourself kits. They allow people to bypass background checks and are virtually untraceable. Federal data show ghost guns are increasingly turning up at crime scenes. Recoveries of the weapons surged nearly 1,600% between 2017 and 2023,...
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Colorado Democrats Revive Push to Ban State Lawmakers From Holding Multiple Elected Offices
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Democrats Revive Push to Ban State Lawmakers From Holding Multiple Elected Offices

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Colorado lawmakers introduce hundreds of bills each year. Bills in Brief cuts through the noise by explaining which proposals matter, what’s at stake, and how decisions at the Capitol could affect everyday life across the state. A bill set for its first hearing later this month would bar Colorado lawmakers from holding more than one elected office at a time, reviving a recurring debate over conflicts of interest at the Capitol. Senate Bill 59 aims to address an issue that has surfaced at least six times in the last few years: lawmakers holding more than one elected office at a time. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Lisa Cutter, D-Littleton, and Rep. Mandy Lindsay, D-Aurora, is slated for a Feb. 24 hearing in the...
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Colorado House Immigration Resolution Reveals Tension Over Sanctuary Policies and Taxpayer Burdens
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado House Immigration Resolution Reveals Tension Over Sanctuary Policies and Taxpayer Burdens

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A joint resolution affirming lawmakers’ “commitment to Coloradans navigating the complex United States immigration system” sparked more than three hours of debate on the House Floor on Tuesday morning, reflecting the tension rising between Colorado and the Trump administration, which has traded barbs and lawsuits, underpinned by the former’s campaign to crackdown on illegal immigration and the latter’s “sanctuary” policies. At the outset, Colorado’s Democratic officials have signaled a confrontational stance vis-a-vis the Trump administration — the attorney general last month announced the launch of an online “tool” for Coloradans to report misconduct by federal agents, while the city of Denver is considering barring the wearing o...
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