Thursday marks the halfway of the 120-day General Assembly calendar, and Democratic lawmakers who control both legislative chambers are this week working on legislation around guns, one of their highest priorities this session.

But House Republicans are noting that at the 60-day mark, other pivotal priorities outlined by Gov. Jared Polis and Democrats legislative leaders at the outset of the session have yet to see the light of day. House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, R-Wellington, told Colorado Politics this week to the people of Colorado have been sold a bill of goods.

A spokesperson for the House Democratic caucus was not immediately available for comment on the GOP complaints.

Through Thursday, 232 bills have been introduced in the House; 181 in the Senate, including about two dozen mid-year budget bills. Most of the bills that have made it to the governor’s desk are those adjustments to the state budget. 

But is it that much different than previous years? As it turns out, sort of.

As of the 60th day last year, 297 bills had been introduced in the House, although that includes the two dozen budget supplementals. In the Senate, 153 bills had been introduced as of day 60.

But numbers only tell a part of the story.

The 2022 session’s major bills – the Reproductive Health Equity Act, behavioral health and affordable housing measures funded by federal dollars – were already well on their way through the process by the midpoint. The bills dealing with fentanyl and collective bargaining were still weeks away.

The priority bills for this year’s session are shaping up in a slightly different manner.

During his State of the State address in January, Gov. Jared Polis outlined as his top priorities affordable housing. Specifically, he outline proposals to include flexible zoning, streamlined regulations, expedited approval processes for projects like modular housing, sustainable development, and more building in transit-oriented communities.

Those bills have yet to surface so far, House Republicans pointed out in a Thursday morning news conference.

Democrats highlighted the negotiations needed to get those bills introduced, but those conversations have so far excluded Republicans, according to Lynch and Rep. Ty Winter, R-Trinidad, who sits on the House Transportation, Housing and Local Government Committee. 

The governor also called for measures on public safety, including more resources for local law enforcement officers, to help crack down on auto theft, including a measure to help locate and return stolen vehicles; an auto-theft task force, and “greater support for District Attorneys in communities with high rates of auto theft to help them successfully prosecute the criminals responsible.”

The only auto theft bill so far changes the penalties for motor vehicle theft so that the penalty is no longer based on the value of the vehicle stolen. The rest are still waiting in the wings.

Rep. Gabe Evans, a Fort Lupton Republican whose background is in law enforcement, said Thursday he’s seen firsthand how public safety is suffering. Evans said he was optimistic when the governor spoke of making Colorado one of the top ten safest states in the country and that Colorado isn’t going to turn into California. That optimism is now gone, Evans said.

“Outside of slick talking points, we haven’t seen any action or policies that will help solve the problems Colorado is facing,” he said. 

“What conversations are we not having while we’re arguing about firearms?”

Evans added he hopes Democrats will stop pursuing ideological goals and meet with Republicans, to look at data and come up with positive, pragmatic, balanced solutions. 

Lynch said after last year’s election, there was an appetite for big change – instead, the legislature has gotten mired down with what he described as “silly stuff.” Lynch pointed to the debate last week in the House on a resolution regarding the Equal Rights Amendment.

That turned into a condemnation of Republicans who spent hours on amendments, some which Democrats called transphobic.

But he did have words of praise for one Democrat: Speaker of the House Julie McCluskie of Dillon.

“I think she’s doing an exceptional job,” Lynch told Colorado Politics. “She could be a little sterner, [but] I sincerely really respect the way she’s running things.”

What advice would Lynch give McCluskey for the next 60 days?

“Keep her wits about her and keep focused on really fixing issues for Colorados and not get embroiled into where her caucus is trying to take her. They’re trying to take her down rabbit holes and she’s better than that,” he said.