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

With the state’s spending plan completed and on its way to the governor, along with funding for K-12 education, lawmakers are turning their attention in the final weeks of the legislative session to tax credits and bills totaling billions of dollars that will likely tap into the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights surplus.

And tapping TABOR directly affects how much in refunds taxpayers would get not just in the next fiscal year but also in the foreseeable future. Colorado voters have zealously guarded that refund mechanism, rejecting measures that would redirect significant amounts to state programs, while approving some with limited spending figures.

Democrats with spending plans face a quandary this 2024-25 budget year, which is tight.

Consider this: The “set-aside” — general fund dollars that pay for bills still working their way through the process — is only about $22 million, according to the budget narrative. About $3 million is already committed to sunset bills that reauthorize state programs.

For second year in a row, Colorado lawmakers kill proposal permitting 'safe injection sites'

For the second year in a row, a Senate committee at the state Capitol ended the legislative path to allow facilities where people can use illegal drugs under the supervision of medical professionals.

The Senate Health & Human Services Committee on Thursday night voted, 5-4, to postpone House Bill 1028 indefinitely.

The same committee also killed the 2023 version of the bill, albeit on a 6-3 vote. Two of the three Democrats who voted against it in 2023 were the deciding votes to end the 2024 bill, as well: Sens. Kyle Mullica of Northglenn and Joann Ginal of Fort Collins.

Under HB 1028, drug users would have been allowed to bring and use “controlled substances” under the supervision of medical providers at these facilities, which would also provide “life-saving care,” including access to drug paraphernalia, kits to test for fentanyl, counseling and treatment referrals.

Colorado House passes three gun bills following late-night debate

House Democrats voted to pass three gun bills late on Saturday night, including one that would require gun owners to obtain a liability insurance policy for their firearms.

The bills all drew criticism from Republicans, who claimed they would violate the Second Amendment, while supporters argued they would enhance public safety.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signs 'for cause' eviction bill into law

Gov. Jared Polis has signed into law a proposal that would prohibit landlords from evicting tenants unless they can show “cause,” as defined by the new statute.

Democrats have advocated for the measure for two years. In the last session, a similar measure died in the Senate after Polis said he wouldn’t endorse it.

This year’s House Bill 1098 narrowly made it through the Senate last month in a 19-15 vote.

Supporters said the legislation would curb needless evictions in Colorado, while critics argued it would negatively affect landlords and infringe upon the rights of landowners to use their property however they want.

Under the bill, landlords are prohibited from evicting tenants without justifiable “cause,” which includes “unlawful detention” of a property or a tenant causing a nuisance in the community.