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Watch pro-Palestinian protesters disrupt Colorado House proceedings, check out first bills of session, Jeff Crank jumps into 5th CD race | WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

By Colorado Politics 01/11/2024 | updated 2 years ago

Today is Jan. 11, 2024, and here’s what you need to know:

Colorado Politics reporters covered the opening ceremonies of the second regular session of the 74th General Assembly yesterday. Here’s the recap.

The Colorado General Assembly immediately got off to a troubled start on Wednesday, when multiple groups of pro-Palestinian protesters shouted from the House gallery, bringing the chamber’s business to a brief halt.

Similar protests took place in state legislatures in California and Arizona on their opening days earlier this week.

As the 2024 legislative session got underway on Wednesday afternoon, the Senate released its first 10 bills, signaling lawmakers’ priorities for the new year.

From guns and mental health to property taxes, the bills on the Senate’s list aim to tackle several of Colorado’s lingering issues.

With opening day speeches – and other things – out of the way, Colorado’s House lawmakers on Wednesday introduced their first 86 bills of the 2024 legislative session.

The first bill usually reflects the majority party’s priorities. This year, the first measure is notable because of its bipartisan bonafides.

Colorado Senate President Steve Fenberg offered a simple message for his 34 fellow senators on the opening day of the new session – “don’t mess it up.”

Fenberg said while they are “political actors” with “agendas and ideologies” – or candidates on the campaign trail or talking heads on the nightly news – they transform into senators once they step into the Senate chamber.

“You’re simply a moment in time,” Fenberg said on Wednesday, the start of the new legislative session. “You are one of 35 who have the honor – the responsibility – to ensure there will be moments in time after you leave,” he said. “It may seem like a low bar, but our first job is to not mess it up.”

The U.S. Senate confirmed S. Kato Crews to a judgeship on Colorado’s U.S. District Court on Wednesday by a vote of 51-48, restoring the trial court to its full roster of seven active judges.

With Crews’ confirmation, President Joe Biden has now appointed five of the court’s members, marking an unusually high level of turnover during his administration. For the first time since 2015, there will be no vacancies or impending vacancies among the district judges, barring an unforeseen event.

The race to replace retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado Springs is getting crowded.

Conservative podcast host and political strategist Jeff Crank threw his hat in the GOP’s 5th Congressional District primary on Wednesday, joining the state’s Republican Party chairman and a long-serving state lawmaker, with more likely to emerge in coming weeks.

Speaker of the House Rep. Julie McCluskie looks at the large screen showing votes for a joint house resolution during the first day of Colorado’s 2024 legislative session at the Colorado State Capitol building on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in Denver, Colo.(Timothy Hurst/Denver Gazette)
The Gazette

Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupt opening day of the Colorado House’s 2024 sessionMarianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.comMarianneGoodland, Colorado Politics
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
https://www.coloradopolitics.com/content/tncms/avatars/e/f4/1f4/ef41f4f8-e85e-11e8-80e7-d3245243371d.444a4dcb020417f72fef69ff9eb8cf03.png

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