Today is Sept. 1, 2023, and here’s what you need to know:

Colorado’s congressional delegation on Thursday urged the Internal Revenue Service to stick with longstanding precedent by treating refunds issued under the state’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights as nontaxable income.

All but one member of the state’s D.C. contingent signed on to a letter led by U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, both Democrats, asking IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel to “resolve the current ambiguity” over TABOR refunds in response to guidance released Wednesday by the agency.

State officials warned the IRS against changing its policy on TABOR refunds following the publication of a notice covering various state income tax refund scenarios, with some emphasizing that it is unclear whether Colorado’s unique situation is covered by the proposed rules.

The fresh controversy comes on the heels of a dust-up in February when the IRS initially told Colorado taxpayers to delay filing their 2022 income tax returns until the agency decided whether to tax refunds issued the previous summer by the state. Within days, the IRS announced there would be no change regarding TABOR refunds after the delegation unanimously called on the agency to stick with the policy in place for decades.

Remember the old riddle that asks how far you can run into a forest? The answer is halfway, because after that, you’re running out of the woods.

That’s where Colorado’s political juggernaut is poised.

Marking the precise midpoint between last year’s general election and next year’s state primary, Sept. 1 is the day when the next major election begins to draw ever closer than the last, receding one.

Of course, politics is a nonstop, year-round affair now. Colorado’s calendar is crowded with elections, none of which can be considered minor or inconsequential.

From the Nov. 8, 2022, general election – when voters elected a governor, U.S. senator and a full slate of federal, state and county officials – to the state-level primary on June 24, 2024, Coloradans will have had a chance to cast ballots in numerous municipal elections, November’s upcoming statewide off-year election and the presidential primary in March.

There’s a new candidate training program in town. 

Emerge Colorado spent 10 years as the state’s premier training and recruitment organization seeking to get Democratic women elected into public office. But earlier this month, the national affiliate Emerge America cut ties with its Colorado chapter amid accusations of mismanagement. 

Now, some of the former leaders of Emerge Colorado are launching Women Uprising, a new nonprofit to provide free training, mentorship and political resources to diverse progressive women. 

“We are committed to not only increasing women’s voices in the halls of power but fundamentally changing the way power works for the benefit of our families and communities,” said Lisa Calderón, former executive director of Emerge Colorado and leader of the new Women Uprising. 

Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday unveiled the first round of grant funding worth $24 million to help 13 school districts buy electric school buses, saying the state is helping to accelerate the transition away from fossil-based engines.  

“It doesn’t make sense for districts to buy new diesel buses knowing they would be stuck with them and their high costs,” Polis told The Denver Gazette. “I expect this transition is rapidly catching on. We are accelerating it with these grants. In one, two or three years, it really doesn’t make sense for any district to provide a diesel bus.”

To celebrate the grant program, Polis visited East High School in Denver, where he said the funding doesn’t just help with the cost of procuring an electric bus.

“All of the savings from operating an electric bus can be used to pay teachers better and reduce class size,” he said, adding, “We made it a priority to help school districts convert to electric buses for key reasons. One is cleaner air, and that of course means cleaner air for all of us, but also specifically for kids who board the buses.”

The White House will seek an additional $4 billion to address natural disasters as part of its supplemental funding request – a sign that wildfires, flooding and hurricanes that have intensified during a period of climate change are imposing ever higher costs on U.S. taxpayers.

The Biden administration had initially requested $12 billion in extra funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund, which helps with rescue and relief efforts. But a policy analyst in the Office of Management and Budget, Shelby Wagenseller, said that the fires in Hawaii and Louisiana as well as flooding in Vermont and Hurricane Idalia striking Florida and other Southeastern states mean that a total of $16 billion is needed.