Gov. Jared Polis told reporters his State of the State speech Thursday was an address that spoke to the strengths of Coloradans. 

This is a time to rise to the moment, Polis said, to chart a path forward to make the state more affordable. 

Republicans have claimed that some of the reasons costs are so high is due to policies of the Polis administration, including last year’s Senate Bill 21-260, which raised a variety of fees for motor vehicles and gas.

Polis responded that the bill cut vehicle registration fees by $11 dollars and there will be savings in 2022. And while the fees paid on gas need to keep up with inflation, he said, now is not the time to raise the gas tax when families are struggling with high gas prices at the pump.

Polis also said during the speech that he wanted Colorado to be in the top 10 for the nation’s safest states, but where is Colorado now? 

Colorado is 23rd in property crime and 28th in violent crime, he said, and to get to the top 10 means significant improvements in public safety, reducing crime, recidivism and more successful youth interventions.

“It’s really an all hands on deck effort, working with local partners” to get Colorado to that top ten ranking, he said.

Polis said achieving that goal starts with the state budget, which starts on July 1. Most of those investments are multi-year, he explained. There’s also a need to change laws, in particular around fentanyl and harsher penalties for those who deal it.

“We have to show we don’t tolerate that in Colorado,” he said.

Polis also briefly addressed the King Sooper strike, noting that he doesn’t usually shop at those stores in Boulder, but said he hoped both sides could resolve their dispute.

“It’s a tough time for Colorado consumers,” with store shelves bare. He added he’d like to see good raises for the workers. 

Asked if Colorado “will be a wildly livable, affordable state in one year” on the back of fee cuts that are only one-year timeouts, the governor noted some of those cuts only need to be done once.

That includes shoring up the unemployment insurance trust fund. Polis proposed a $600 million investment, though the fund is short $1 billion, which has been covered by a federal loan. He acknowledged that some lawmakers want to do more than that, and he’s open to that idea.

“The key thing we want to avoid is a payroll tax hike,” Polis said.

He called the Keep Colorado Wild pass, the state parks pass that will become part of the cost of motor vehicle registration, a savings because buying the annual parks pass through motor vehicles will be half the cost of buying it otherwise. Drivers can opt out of buying the pass if they don’t want it.

He also pointed to annual savings to parents through the state’s preschool program, savings he estimated at $4,000 per year. 

Polis was asked if he supported funding increases for higher education at a time when enrollment is down at most state colleges and universities.

“We’re open to the discussion … we have a strong investment in higher ed,” including keeping tuition flat for the coming year, he said.

The environment, which has also been a Polis focus for the past three years, won’t be ignored in 2022, he indicated. 

He said his administration is “very excited” about the opportunity to use one-time funds to do better surveillance on vehicle emissions as well as making progress on electrifying school bus fleets.

“We look forward to engaging with legislators on an aggressive way to reduce emissions,” he said.

Polis also signaled that he favored legislation that would affirmatively state the right to abortion in Colorado.

“I’m pro-choice and strongly support a woman’s right to choose,” he said.

Polis also indicated that if lawmakers can prevent Texas-style anti-abortion laws that get in the way of individual reproductive freedom, he would support that effort.