The state Senate is known as the more somber body of the two General Assembly chambers. It can also be seen as the kill-House-bills chamber. The toll is 36 passed House bills chopped at the knees in the Senate to 11 passed Senate bills taken down in the House.

There may have been some hopeful communication between leading legislators in the House and Senate to get some mutually unwanted bills out of the way. Speaker Julie McCluskie only voted no nine times, but when she did and the bills moved to the Senate, six bit the dust in that chamber. That’s where HB23-1078 on providing an unemployment insurance allowance to dependents, HB23-1159 on family courts study commission, HB23-1165 on county authority to prohibit firearms discharge, HB23-1171 on just cause for tenant eviction, HB23-1206 on sheriff and district attorney elections, and HB23-1279, Colorado access to justice commission, met their ends.

It’s rumored that Joint Budget Committee Chair Rachel Zenzinger will run for mayor of Arvada. As such, she’ll want local government authority over zoning, housing and other issues municipalities face. She voted no on HB23-1245 reforming campaign finance in municipal elections. That means she could accept as much money as anyone is willing to give as there would continue to be no limits on campaign donations. The bill passed but isn’t signed by the governor. So that’s up in the air.

Zenzinger, establishing her pro-business bona fides, voted no on a series of controversial bills involving housing, rentals and tenants. Several other Democratic legislators voted no on these bills. Sen. Joann Ginal from Fort Collins was most resistant, voting no on five bills related to housing and tenant rights. Zenzinger joined Ginal on three bills, and Rep. Barbara McLachlan and Sen. Dylan Roberts voted no on two.

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With the tenant/rental bills that passed through both chambers, Gov. Jared Polis has yet to offer his signature on HB23- 1120, regarding eviction rights of tenants, HB23-1095, about prohibited provisions in rental agreements, HB23-1068, specific to pets in apartments, and HB23-184, protections for residential tenants. He just vetoed HB23-1190, an affordable housing first right of refusal, so local governments will not have a leg up over private entities in turning properties into affordable housing.

Polis has vetoed three other bills, including HB23-1146, regarding employees accepting cash tips. The question now is whether he’ll extend his grumpiness to apartment pets and tenants facing eviction.

Controversy among Democrats was not limited to housing and tenant rights. This session had the most Democrats, the most LGBTQ members and the most women ever in Colorado’s history. Of the 19 new Democrats, 14 were women. Five of those newly elected or appointed women voted no 15 or more times in 2023. Only Rep. Shannon Bird got close in 2022 with 14 no votes. In 2022, the Democrat with the most no votes was Rep. Dylan Roberts at 32. In 2023, five Democrats hit 32 or more no votes, with Rep. Elisabeth Epps at 46 nos, Robert Marshall at 38, Lorena Garcia and Shannon Bird at 37 and Javier Mabrey at 32.

The two Democrats with the most no votes, Epps and Marshall, illustrate how big the party’s tent now is, with Epps as the sponsor of the prohibition against automatic weapons bill, which failed, and Marshall as a no on raising the age to purchase weapons, which passed.

Epps is currently on the unfavored side of the Democrats, with 14 bills sponsored and only three as yet signed by Polis. Marshall is having a different experience. He sponsored two bills and one passed. The failed bill, affecting county sheriffs and district attorneys, attempted to take the politics out of these offices by making them nonpartisan and limiting how incumbents could campaign. The bill barely made it out of the House, with Epps voting yes, but many other Democrats, including Speaker McCluskie, voted no. The bill lost in the Senate.

Another controversial subject was criminal law. Bills sponsored by progressive legislators had trouble, and Epps’s bill on procedures for commuting sentences was vetoed. A good example of the controversy is the bill on public exposure to children under 18. Twenty-seven House Democrats opposed the bill. Thirty-seven members, Dems and GOPers, voted yes. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate.

There it is. After the big November election, Democrats passed and Polis has signed, up to now, mostly moderate bills. Democrats supporting tenants, along with their pets, have to wait to see what Polis will do to help renters. Most Democrats are not ready to tackle criminal justice reform. One bill, HB23-1258 to study the cost of drug crime, may create space to change the criminal justice system, but it needs Polis’s signature.

At this point, the stage is set for next year, an election season. The new members will have some experience under their belts. They will also have to face their voters. Other Dems will be term limited with nothing to lose. And Polis will suss out opportunities for his own ambitions. It will be very interesting.

Paula Noonan owns Colorado Capitol Watch, the state’s premier legislature tracking platform.