Colorado Senate leaders outlined their agendas on Wednesday during the opening day of the legislative session, with the GOP focused on regulatory reform, while Democrats will continue to push to free revenue for critical services.

Senate President Kevin Grantham, R-Cañon City, highlighted Senate Bill 1, which the majority party usually introduces to symbolize its priorities for the year. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Tim Neville of Littleton, is called the Regulatory Relief Act of 2017.

The effort is similar to legislation in the past, which would give small businesses a window of time to cure minor operational or administrative violations before receiving a fine.

“We will remain committed to reducing the regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles that inhibit business startups, expansions and relocations,” Grantham said.

Sen. Beth Martinez-Humenik of Arvada will introduce a bill as part of the GOP’s agenda that aims at ensuring timely reviews of rules that “beleaguer” small businesses, according to Grantham.

Sen. Jim Smallwood of Parker will introduce a bill for the caucus that would repeal the state’s health insurance marketplace.

Sen. Jack Tate of Evergreen plans to introduce a bill that would permit individuals enrolled in Medicaid to seek care at a provider that does not accept Medicaid.

Republican Majority Leader Chris Holbert of Parker will introduce a measure that would authorize school districts and charter schools to work with sheriffs to develop a school safety-based training program for educators and school employees with concealed carry permits.

“The general idea is to not only allow teachers/school employees to bring their concealed carry to work, but also to teach them how to properly use them within the context of a school and under known threat scenarios,” Senate Republicans explained.

Sen. John Cooke of Greeley will introduce a Republican bill that would allow military veterans as young as 18 to conceal carry in the state. The conceal carry law currently only applies to people 21 and older.

“It is to this end that we strive: to preserve and protect the God-given rights of the individual, the ‘we’ in ‘we the people,’ not to grant them, but to fight to ensure them. To fight on their behalf,” Grantham said.

Senate Democratic Leader Lucia Guzman said Republicans – who control the Senate by one seat – are modeling their agenda after a national GOP platform pushed by Republican Donald Trump.

“I didn’t quite expect that to be on their forefront,” Guzman said. “This just shows they’re very tied to the Trump agenda and we’re going to fight that here.”

Senate Democrats will again push to restructure the Hospital Provider Fee as an enterprise fund, or government-owned business. A similar proposal failed in the legislature last year.

The fee is assessed on hospitals to force a match of larger federal health care dollars. The plan – which never made it to the floor for debate in the Senate and died over GOP objections – would have exempted the hospital fee from TABOR, taking the revenue out of the TABOR calculation and lowering taxpayer rebates set aside in the general fund, thereby freeing money for spending.

House Democrats have largely abandoned the idea, noting that Senate Republicans have vowed to kill the measure again this year. But Senate Democrats appear determined to continue the debate. Restructuring the fee is at the top of the priorities list.

“This solution was at our fingertips last year, but we were not able to get it done,” Guzman said.

Her caucus will also focus on coming up with a stream of money to fund transportation; furthering a clean energy agenda; protecting public lands; and fighting the heroin and opioid epidemic.

“All across this great state of Colorado, there are many challenges. We hear about them, we read about them, and sometimes we experience them firsthand,” Guzman said. “But in Colorado there are many resources to fight the challenges. Thirty-five of them are sitting in this chamber.”