Gov. Jared Polis’ housing proposal – which, as originally introduced sought to impose state mandates and effectively strip local governments of their authority over land use and zoning – is dead after all-day negotiations failed to find a compromise between the Senate and House versions.

The bill’s failure marks the biggest defeat for Polis, who has been able to persuade the General Assembly’s Democrats to support his major policy proposals every year since he took office in January 2019. 

At just after 7 p.m., Senate Majority Leader Dominick Moreno, D-Commerce City, confirmed the bill is dead for the 2023 session. 

“You win some, you lose some,” said Rep. Steven Woodrow, the House sponsor of Senate Bill 213, which will be allowed to die on the calendar without the Senate ever discussing the amendments made by the House. 

For the second year in a row, Colorado legislators passed a proposal originally intended to stop charging children under 13 with most crimes. But the legislation is once again heading to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk without that key provision.

The minimum age for criminal prosecution in Colorado is 10. As drafted, House Bill 1249 sought to raise the age to 13, except when a child is suspected of committing homicide. The bill cleared the House, but hit a wall in the Senate.

Senators on Sunday gutted the bill after days of debate, removing the change in minimum prosecution age. The chamber replaced that provision with funding for the collaborative management programs (CMPs) the bill would have referred child offenders to in lieu of the juvenile justice system. 

The rewritten version of the bill passed the legislature on Monday, now only needing the governor’s approval to become law.  

The House approved on Monday a measure that will ask voters to forego part of their TABOR refunds in exchange for providing tax relief to property owners.

Republicans – angered by what they described as the bill’s attempt to bribe Coloradans to vote for the ballot measure – walked out of the House chambers in protest and refused to vote on Senate Bill 303.

The bill passed on a vote of 46-0, with 19 excused.

Colorado lawmakers on Monday night wrapped up their work for the year after tackling sweeping legislation in several areas, notably property taxes, guns and abortion, following four months of sometimes tumultuous sessions and marathon meetings punctuated by filibusters and a walkout.

Democrats portrayed this year’s session as having delivered “real results” on issues that matter most to Coloradans, citing proposals they say would address high cost of living, protect abortion rights, and reduce gun violence.

Republicans, on the other hand, accused the Democratic majority of “bullying” the minority for 120 days and refusing them a seat at the table.

A bevy of state and federal officials came to the state Capitol on Monday to sign a first-in-the-nation agreement to help with water conservation efforts in the south fork of the Republican River on Colorado’s Eastern Plains.

At the same time, the agreement will help farmers who are allowing their groundwater wells to dry up to be able to continue farming on their land. 

The agreement is known as the Colorado Republican River Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), which arose out of efforts started more than five years ago by then-Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Don Brown, who worked alongside Mike Sullivan in the state engineer’s office.