Colorado Politics

Gov. John Hickenlooper wary of U.S. interference in Colorado regulations

ASPEN (AP) – Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper says one of his priorities during his last year in office will be to keep U.S. officials from meddling in regulations his state has enacted.

Colorado has worked with industry and nonprofit groups to enact model regulations, especially for the oil and gas industry, Hickenlooper told the Aspen Times.

Colorado also can be a national model for things such as affordable housing, he said Thursday.

But Hickenlooper worries President Donald Trump’s administration will try to undo Colorado’s regulations by saying they’re burdensome.

“We’ve worked hard to go through all the regulations to get rid of all the deadwood, the red tape, the bureaucracy and have lean, efficient regulation that actually helps businesses to succeed,” Hickenlooper said. “I don’t want the federal government to come in and tell us what we created between business and the nonprofit communities isn’t good anymore because it doesn’t fit their political paradigm.”

Colorado and other states no longer can wait on the federal government for help to solve their problems, especially as the country grows economically and in population, he said.

“I’m not sure the federal government is going to be much of a partner as we look at solving all the problems of our growth,” he said. “We’re going to have to solve them ourselves.”

Hickenlooper was mayor of Denver before being elected governor in 2010. He is term-limited and has about a year left in office.

 
Joshua Polson

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