Today is Feb. 22, 2024, and here’s what you need to know:

Colorado lawmakers decide to hold proposal exempting legislature from open meetings law's provisions

A panel of lawmakers decided to hold a proposal that seeks to carve out the General Assembly from some of the provisions of the state’s open meetings law after the sponsor indicated it may not be ready for prime time.

Senate Bill 157 attempts to deal with one of the stickiest unanswered questions around the state’s open meetings law — what exactly is an open meeting? The law, as it applies to the General Assembly, says that occurs whenever two or more lawmakers are together discussing public business.

“The open meetings law doesn’t apply in a way that makes a lot of sense in today’s world for the General Assembly,” as demonstrated by a “natural tension” between the law and the practicality of conducting every day work and conversations with each other, said Senate President Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, the bill’s sponsor.

Jeff Roberts, executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, argued that SB 157 will undermine the principle — embraced by voters that policymaking is the public’s business and may not be conducted in secret — by allowing and encouraging members of the General Assembly to discuss public business in an unlimited way through electronic, written communications, email, text message, or disappearing messaging apps, such as Signal — all outside of public view.

Former Colorado Senator Cory Gardner endorses Jerry Sonnenberg in 4th CD Republican primary

Former U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner on Wednesday endorsed Logan County Commissioner Jerry Sonnenberg in the Republican primary in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, calling the veteran state lawmaker “the conservative conscience” of the district Gardner used to represent.

Sonnenberg is one of 11 Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, seeking the nomination to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Ken Buck in the solidly GOP seat, which is anchored by Douglas and portions of Larimer counties and covers Colorado’s Eastern Plains. Boebert announced late last year that she was jumping from the more competitive 3rd Congressional District to run for a third term from the more favorable 4th CD.

“Jerry is committed to his faith and family and will be a committed conservative in Congress,” Gardner said in a statement released by Sonnenberg’s campaign. “As a leader, he understands the importance of a thriving urban corridor on the Front Range and how it bolsters the rural Eastern Plains. He will be a passionate and dedicated warrior for our nation and our shared conservative values.”

GOP candidate Nikki Haley to host rally in Colorado

Republican candidate Nikki Haley, who has vowed to keep fighting presumptive nominee Donald Trump, is hosting a rally in Colorado next week.

Colorado voters began receiving presidential primary ballots last week.

Haley, a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, will host a rally at Wings over the Rockies Exploration of Flight at 13005 Wings Way in Centennial on Feb. 27 at 1:30 p.m.

Colorado lawmakers advance bill requiring driver deactivation policy, disclosure by rideshare firms

A bill that would require companies like Uber and Lyft to disclose how rideshare fares are distributed and clarity on where drivers are headed cleared its first committee hurdle this week.

With Republicans on the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee wondering whether the state should step into the issue, bill sponsors agreed the bill will need fine-tuning before it advances to the Senate floor.

Senate Bill 075, sponsored by Senators Kevin Priola, D- Aurora, and Robert Rodriguez, D- Denver, requires transportation network companies, or TNCs, such as Uber and Lyft, to disclose specific information to their drivers about the distribution of fares between the driver and the company.

Q&A with Heather Graham | Pueblo's new mayor aims to set narrative for Colorado city

Heather Graham was sworn in as only the second mayor of Pueblo in more than a century on Feb. 1, following the first-term, at-large city council member’s nearly 25-point win in a runoff against the incumbent mayor, Nick Gradisar.

A Pueblo native and registered Republican, Graham traces her political awakening to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when she organized protests over city policies that restricted operations at her three restaurants — Ruby’s Wine Bar and two Graham’s Grills.

Known for its namesake Pueblo chile and as the Home of Heroes — it’s the hometown of four Congressional Medal of Honor recipients — Pueblo is Colorado’s ninth-largest city, with a current estimated population of just over 110,000 putting it behind Westminster and slightly ahead of Greeley. After voters approved changing the former city manager-council form of government to a strong mayor system in 2017, they elected Gradisar as the first mayor under the new arrangement in 2019.