Today is March 21, 2024, and here’s what you need to know:

Legislators push to reintroduce wolverines in Colorado

The North American wolverine — the animal, not the X-Men character — could return to Colorado.

Lawmakers are pushing a proposal to authorize the reintroduction of the animal, maintaining it is a completely different set of circumstances than program that brought back wolves to Colorado.

The proponents behind Senate Bill 171 also said wolverines would be less destructive.

The bill authorizes the reintroduction contingent upon the federal government designating wolverines as a nonessential “experimental population” under what’s called the 10(j) rule. In the case of the wolves, state officials have said the 10(j) designation would help Colorado Parks and Wildlife to “follow all of the conflict mitigation plans we accounted for in the final” restoration plan.

Colorado school meals program faces $50 million funding shortfall

A 2022 ballot measure passed by voters mandates that grade-school students get free breakfast and lunch, regardless of income; however, after a year of implementing the program, financial analysts warn unforeseen circumstances have resulted in millions of dollars in insufficient funds.

The Healthy School Meals for All program, which began as HB22 1414, became Proposition FF after it cleared the House and Senate and was placed on the ballot during the 2022 election, garnering over 55% support from voters. Originally, the program was projected to cost up to $115.5 million for Fiscal Year 2023-2024, and anywhere from $71.4 to $101.5 million the following year. However, the actual numbers have surpassed expectations, coming out to over $166 million for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 and over $131 million for Fiscal Year 2024-2025.

The plan was to fund the program, which also intends to make upgrades to school kitchens, increase wages for cafeteria staff, and provide grants for schools to purchase local produce, by limiting state income tax deductions for taxpayers who make more than $300,000 in annual income.

Fears of a recession are fading as the nation’s — and Colorado’s — economy continue to beat expectations.

Looking forward into 2024, Colorado’s Office of State Planning and Budget (OSPB) forecasts national economic growth to be better than originally thought based on strong consumer spending at the end of 2023.

The economy is expected to make a “soft landing” and the risk of a recession within a year is at 30%, the governor’s budget office said in its quarterly economic forecast released Friday, which is used by lawmakers to set the state’s spending plan.

But Colorado’s economy isn’t completely out of the woods, according to the governor’s office.

Colorado's Joe Neguse wins election to No. 4 spot in House Democratic leadership

U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse won election Wednesday as assistant Democratic leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, making the Colorado lawmaker the highest-ranking member of the state’s congressional delegation since the 1930s.

The 39-year-old takes over the position from South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, who announced in February that he was stepping down to make way for younger Democrats to advance in party leadership.

Elected without opposition, Neguse moves up from chairman of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, which runs the party’s messaging in the Republican-controlled chamber, a post the third-term lawmaker from Lafayette has held since late 2022.

4 Colorado Democratic Party officers seek removal of Sheena Kadi from position

A petition started by four members of the state Democratic Party’s central committee seeks to remove Sheena Kadi, the party’s vice chair of public relations and marketing, from her elected position.

Kadi has held the state party position since last year.

The petition is tied to the recent court ruling that granted Rep. Leslie Herod, D-Denver, a protective order against Kadi.

Kadi had been granted a temporary restraining order against Herod in January — but a Denver judge vacated that order in February, concluding that Kadi’s allegations were “incredible” and unsubstantiated.

10th Circuit judges weigh in on low number of trials, AI during law school appearance

Three judges on the Denver-based federal appeals court fielded questions from an audience of students on Tuesday about the low number of cases that ever make it to trial and the potential influence of artificial intelligence on the judiciary.

Senior Judge David M. Ebel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit said he was “troubled” by the many federal cases resolved on motions to dismiss or motions for summary judgment, which permit judges alone to end a dispute without a jury trial.

“It means, to me, people are being partners in significant firms in the litigation department and are never having full trials,” he said. “That’s not what motivates me. What motivates me is whether people who really are entitled to trials aren’t getting them. It’s a cloud on the horizon for me.”

Ebel and Judges Timothy M. Tymkovich and Veronica S. Rossman traveled to the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law to hear oral arguments in five real cases, and then held a question-and-answer session with attendees. The 10th Circuit has jurisdiction over federal appeals from Colorado and five neighboring states, and all three judges hold Colorado-based seats.