Colorado lawmakers OK bill to develop state insurance option
Colorado’s House has sent to the governor a bill to develop a state-run health insurance option.
The bill directs state agencies to recommend a plan to compete with private insurance plans and those offered on Colorado’s health care exchange.
The House approved the legislation by a 45-19 vote late Monday.
The public option legislation directs the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing and the Department of Regulatory Agencies to deliver a proposal in November. The plan would assess costs, funding sources, necessary federal permissions and funding, consumer eligibility and who in government would run the program.
Enrollment could begin in 2020 and a plan, if approved by the federal government, could operate in 2021. Sponsors include Democratic Rep. Dylan Roberts and Sen. Kerry Donovan and Republican Rep. Marc Catlin.
Colorado justices confirm lawyers may ‘borrow’ allegations from elsewhere
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 5 hours ago
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that plaintiffs’ lawyers can use allegations made elsewhere to bolster their own clients’ claims, so long as the attorney first performs some degree of investigation into the “borrowed” assertions. Under Colorado’s rules for...
Colorado legislators propose $46.8 billion budget, driven by Medicaid costs
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 7 hours ago
The six-member panel of legislators in charge of crafting the state budget has now turned over its plan to the Colorado legislature, proposing to spend $1.5 billion more for the Medicaid program. The increase is driven by Medicaid costs, which...
Governor signs bill expanding who can petition for weapons restrictions
Marissa Ventrelli
marissa.ventrelli@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 8 hours ago
Gov. Jared Polis on Monday signed a bill into law expanding who can ask a judge to temporarily restrict a person’s access to firearms. Established in 2019, 0Colorado’s extreme risk protection law (ERPO) initially allowed a family member or law...
Colorado justices restore RTD subcontractor’s award, reject ‘drastic’ view of public works law
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 10 hours ago
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday restored a $5.7 million award to a company that helped build a commuter rail line and, in doing so, rejected a view of state law that would nullify a subcontractor’s entitlement to any compensation...
As Colorado passes 6 million residents, housing initiatives take center stage
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 9 hours ago
New Census data confirming Colorado’s population has topped six million is fueling renewed debate over Gov. Jared Polis’ housing agenda, as he tied the population increases to home construction. The governor said the counties experiencing the largest increases in new...
Congress urged to open antitrust investigation into Apple and OpenAI over ‘left-leaning bias’
Kaelan Deese, Washington Examiner
kaelan.deese.washington.examiner@gazetteedit.wpenginepowered.com
Updated 11 hours ago
A conservative legal group founded by senior White House adviser Stephen Miller is urging Congress to investigate a partnership between Apple and OpenAI, arguing the companies have effectively locked millions of people into a single, politically biased artificial intelligence system....
Trump threatens jail time over downed US fighter jet ‘leak’
Christian Datoc and Mabinty Quarshie, Washington Examiner
christian.datoc.and.mabinty.quarshie.washington.examiner@gazetteedit.wpenginepowered.com
Updated 11 hours ago
President Donald Trump threatened jail time Monday for the journalist who first reported that an airman was still missing after a fighter jet went down in Iran last week. The high-risk and eventually successful attempt to rescue the weapons officer...
Bill to accelerate police access to online data clears Colorado committee
Marissa Ventrelli
marissa.ventrelli@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 7 hours ago
A proposal to speed up law enforcement’s access to social media data is advancing in the Colorado Legislature, drawing testimony from the residents of Evergreen, where a school shooting took place, and questions from opponents worried about privacy and constitutional...
El Paso County defendant’s speedy trial rights violated, Colorado justices find in overturning convictions
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 5 hours ago
The Colorado Supreme Court concluded on Monday that an El Paso County prosecutor made an unjustified decision to file a mid-case appeal, pushing the trial beyond the legal deadline and requiring that the defendant’s convictions be overturned. In Colorado, the...
SCOTUS decides Colorado case, state’s newest justice authors first opinion | COURT CRAWL
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 15 hours ago
Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government. The nation’s highest court decided a First Amendment case out of Colorado, plus the state’s newest justice issued her first opinion since joining the Colorado...
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Colorado Supreme Court to decide on large-capacity magazine ban
Colorado’s highest court is set to decide whether a law banning gun magazines that hold more than 15 rounds violates a person’s state constitutional right to bear arms. The Denver Post reports that the Colorado Supreme Court announced Monday that it would hear the case, which stems from a 2016 lawsuit by Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and […]
Interview: Colorado Springs Mayor Suthers on homelessness, affordable housing and more
COLORADO SPRINGS – Voters elected Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers this month to a second term. The Gazette asked Suthers several questions by email about his first term, unfinished business, current priorities and how he’d like to be remembered. Here are those questions and the mayor’s written responses, edited for brevity: This has […]