Today is Nov. 21, 2023, and here’s what you need to know:

Before Rep. Ron Weinberg, a Loveland Republican who is Jewish, could speak, Rep. Elisabeth Epps went up to the House gallery to join the pro-Palestinian protesters, who were once again waving Palestinian flags, shouting at lawmakers, and shutting down the House proceedings. She stayed there for more than an hour, while House leaders from both parties talked about how to proceed.

Republicans insisted that Weinberg should be given wide latitude to address Epps’ remarks, saying the Democrats had allowed her to speak without rebuke.

Once the House reconvened, Weinberg was surrounded by his Republican colleagues at the podium, while every Democratic lawmaker also stood in support, a common practice when someone is speaking on a personal issue.

Epps continued to yell at Weinberg from the House gallery as he spoke.

Colorado’s lawmakers on Monday wrapped up their work for the special session, sending several measures to Gov. Jared Polis, including the Democrats’ solution to soaring property tax bills.

Polis signed four of the seven measures on Monday evening. 

All told, lawmakers passed seven bills in four days, working through the weekend in a marathon session that followed Polis and his allies’ stinging defeat when voters rejected Proposition HH, which would have used Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refunds for property tax relief. The ballot measure lost by more than 18 percentage points and won in only six out of the state’s 64 counties.

A pro-Palestinian protest also disrupted the session and a Democratic lawmaker, who was already called out of order earlier, joined the demonstrators who called for a “ceasefire” in the House gallery, prompting her colleagues, both Democrat and Republican, to stand behind the Colorado General Assembly’s lone Republican Jewish lawmaker.    

The session’s main legislation, Senate Bill 23B-001, offers homeowners relief by reducing the assessment rate from 6.765% to 6.7% and by increasing the amount that would be exempted from tax liability purposes to from $15,000 to $55,000.

President Joe Biden plans to appear in Pueblo on Nov. 28, rescheduling a trip the White House canceled a month ago amid the mounting conflict in the Middle East, Colorado Politics has learned.

Biden is again expected to pitch his administration’s economic accomplishments at Pueblo’s CS Wind factory, the largest wind turbine tower manufacturing plant in the world, which is in Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s district.

The rescheduled presidential visit is also expected to include a fundraiser in the Denver area featuring Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, Democratic sources told Colorado Politics.

John Walsh, a former U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado, has raised $122,000 in the first two weeks of his campaign for Denver district attorney.

He secured contributions from more than 425 donors, his campaign announced on Friday.

“Our collective energy and commitment to safety and fairness to ensure Denver remains a vibrant, welcoming and safe city for all of us is fueling the momentum behind this campaign; and it is continuing to grow,” Walsh said in a news release.

His campaign touted his experience in prosecuting complex cases, such as those involving organized crime and corporate fraud. Walsh is campaigning on tackling major issues plaguing Denver, such as gun violence, auto theft, addiction and homelessness.

Even though an Adams County prosecutor misrepresented the law and the facts when she sought to remove the only Asian juror from a murder trial, Colorado’s second-highest court agreed earlier this month that no racial discrimination occurred.

Under longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent, intentional race-based discrimination in jury selection is unconstitutional. If a prosecutor tries to dismiss a juror of color, the defendant may raise a “Batson challenge,” named after the Supreme Court’s Batson v. Kentucky decision. Such a challenge forces the prosecutor to justify the removal, or strike, with a “race-neutral” reason.

In 2021, jurors convicted Steve Daniel Young for the murder of John Cyprian in Aurora.

During jury selection, the prosecution attempted to strike an Asian woman who was also the only juror of color. Although the prosecution told the juror she gave “a great answer” in response to questioning, they changed their mind in front of the trial judge – raising concerns that the juror would be “very analytical” and would “not want to see holes” in the government’s case.