Today is March 7, 2024, and here’s what you need to know:

Colorado House Republicans push move to impeach Jena Griswold after SCOTUS keeps Trump on ballot

Colorado House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese and a fellow Republican legislator on Wednesday called on the chamber’s Democratic speaker to bring to the floor a resolution to impeach Secretary of State Jena Griswold, arguing that Griswold’s “partisan political ideology” has prevented the Democrat from carrying out her duties.

In a letter delivered late Wednesday to House Speaker Julie McCluskie by Pugliese and state Rep. Ryan Armagost, nearly every member of the House Republican caucus insisted that Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision keeping Donald Trump on Colorado’s presidential primary ballot underlines the urgency of their impeachment resolution, which the lawmakers say was submitted to the speaker’s office nearly a month ago.

Griswold, an attorney, expressed support in recent months for a December ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court that removed Trump from the state ballot in response to a lawsuit filed by Republican and unaffiliated voters, who alleged the former president was ineligible under a constitutional provision that bars certain federal officials from holding office if they have “engaged in insurrection.”

Colorado River basin states offer divergent plans to govern operations after 2026

The seven states of the Colorado River — four in the Upper Basin and three in the Lower Basin — released divergent plans on Wednesday on how to maintain water levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell when the current river operation guidelines expire in 2026.

The ideas submitted by the Upper Basin states of Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah differed dramatically from what the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada have in mind.

The difference between the two proposals appears to hinge on about 2.4 million acre-feet of water that could shore up water levels at Lake Mead, which provides water to the three Lower Basin states. The Lower Basin states believe it should be a shared sacrifice if water levels at Mead dropped to a crisis point, while the Upper Basin states believe they’ve given up all the water they should.

Winners and losers stack up in Colorado's Super Tuesday presidential primary

As the dust settles on Colorado’s fifth-ever presidential primary, a few clear winners and losers have emerged, led by the top-ticket candidates, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, who clinched their respective party’s 2024 nominations on Super Tuesday by romping to wins across the country, while at the same time exposing cracks in their coalitions that could spell trouble in November.

Reporter Ernest Luning took a look at what’s up and what’s down after more than 1.36 million votes were counted in Colorado on March 5, capping a brief and mostly uneventful primary.

Appeals court says TABOR-compliant contract lets Kit Carson health district off hook for millions in damages

Thanks to a contractual provision meant to ensure compliance with the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR, a Kit Carson County special district does not have to pay roughly $8 million to a healthcare provider after terminating their multiyear agreement, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week.

However, a three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals partially reinstated the Center for Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Medicine’s claim against Kit Carson County Health Service District, determining it was unclear whether the district’s cancelation six months into 2021 entitled the center to money owed during the rest of the year.

Enacted as an amendment to the Colorado Constitution in 1992, TABOR places restrictions on government spending and taxation, notably requiring voter approval for new taxes and refunds of “excess” revenue to taxpayers. However, TABOR also mandates that government entities, when entering into a multiyear financial obligation, either obtain voter approval or set aside enough money to cover costs.

Federal judge weighs Children's Hospital Colorado challenge to Defense Department payment cuts

At the same time, U.S. District Court Judge Nina Y. Wang appeared reluctant to grant Children’s Colorado the full relief it requested and overturn the rule nationwide. The government’s lawyers cautioned her that the 2023 rule, while reducing payments to Colorado’s facilities, increases reimbursements to other children’s hospitals across the country.

“You would imagine the implications of entering a nationwide injunction, for a district court sitting in Colorado, are significant,” Wang observed.