House Minority Leader Mike Lynch is ready to focus on security issues – whether fiscal or personal safety – as he prepares a list of priorities ahead of the upcoming legislative session. Lynch, who will lead House Republicans this year, said he hopes the voices of minority party members will be heard and he believes his party will perform well in the upcoming elections.

Lynch said if the majority party continues to “disregard the voice of the people,” Republicans will deploy tactics at their disposal.

Colorado Politics: What are your top policy priorities for the 2024 session?

House Minority Leader Mike Lynch: The Republican caucus remains focused on security for the people of Colorado. Whether that be financial security, or security when you are in your own home or just out on the street. That security includes delivering substantial property tax relief that the special session failed to address. Our focus will continue to be on addressing the rising cost of living across this state from the cost of housing to the rising price of goods and services. We will remind our colleagues on the other side what led us here and not allow them to stray from prioritizing solutions to these issues that still have not been met.

Public safety will continue to be a priority of our caucus as well. I personally will be continuing my fight to crack down on illicit drugs, particularly fentanyl, and felonizing any possession of that poison.

CP: How will the 2024 election affect your chamber?

Lynch: We are laser-focused on this upcoming legislative session and presenting the best possible solutions to the citizens of Colorado. We believe the people of Colorado will be appalled at what the supermajority has voted for and prioritized this session and will take that under consideration when choosing who to represent them in the next session.

CP: How would you like this session to be different than 2023? 

Lynch: We would like our seat at the table to be recognized and see our counterparts on the other side of the aisle keep all Coloradans in mind in 2024. The default from Democrats has been to further partisan policy items that leave out the interests of many without considering the consequences. While I would like to see more bipartisanship this go around, I am keeping expectations low amidst the events of the special session.

CP: Given the tight budget, what are your expectations in areas such as housing and education?

Lynch: Regarding housing, affordability remains a top-of-mind issue for our constituents. We plan to support the construction of more affordable homes for Coloradans. However, this issue asks for more than just sound policy – a housing environment that redirects investors back here from other states is required to bring in the billions of dollars needed to allow affordable housing to truly take place. This can only happen if we can repeal the construction defects laws in this state.

We are looking forward to seeing our public schools fully funded this year and will continue to prioritize the issue of educational and parental freedom this session. Our focus will be to ensure that in that budget, more money actually ends up in the classroom and not in administration.

CP: What do you think will be the toughest challenge this session?

Lynch: Our toughest challenge will be ensuring that our seat at the table is not overlooked as it was last session and during this recent special session. Bipartisanship goes both ways. Convincing our Democrat colleagues of this continues to be our biggest hurdle. This session will be even more difficult to get things accomplished, while the majority works through their organizational crisis, but it should also be an opportunity for us to show Colorado who has the real solutions.

CP: Under what conditions will you resort to slowdown tactics?

Lynch: We saw unprecedented attacks on the legislative process last session that prohibited the voices of Coloradans from being heard. From the majority instituting rules 14 and 16 to shut down debate, to the failure to upload the bills being debated, to the website not allowing citizens to be able to provide public comment on them, the majority circumvented the legislative process any way they could. Our goal is for the legislative process to work for the citizens of Colorado. If the majority wants to continue to disregard the voice of the people, then we will use whatever tactics we have at our disposal.