Welcome to Briefly, Colorado Politics‘ daily news briefing. Here’s what’s going on today:

Boebert condemns Biden-Harris administration’s “Western land grab”

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, joined Arkansas Republican Rep. Bruce Westerman, and Western Slope Oil & Gas Association Executive Director Chelsie Miera in issuing a joint statement condemning what they call a “land grab” by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM). 

Last week, the Bureau finalized its plans to further protect the habitat of the endangered Gunnison sage-grouse, which is native to Colorado and Utah. These plans include designating new backcountry conservation areas and areas of “critical environmental concern,” as well as imposing new restrictions on surface disturbances, such as oil and gas development, in sage grouse habitats on BLM land. 

“Once again, the Biden-Harris Administration and the radical progressives in charge of BLM are attempting to lock up our public lands from critical uses like oil & gas exploration,” said Boebert. “Instead of putting Coloradans first, they’re continuing to bend the knee to Green New Deal worshippers who want to destroy Colorado’s oil & gas industry and the tens of thousands of good-paying jobs that support families across the state. I will fight this newest land grab just like I’ve done for every ridiculous attempt from the Biden-Harris Administration and BLM to damage our economy.”

Bennet announces opposition to Prop. 131

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet issued a statement outlining his opposition to Proposition 131, which would establish top-four primary elections and ranked-choice voting in the state. 

“In my view, we are being asked to throw out our excellent system without any persuasive reason to believe the new one will actually be better and with real risk that dark money will play an even more destructive role in our democracy,” Bennet said of the proposition, which is backed by former DaVita Dialysis CEO Kent Thiry. 

“Colorado has spent decades building our exceptional voting system on principles of security, accessibility, and transparency. Prop 131 adds significant complexity and uncertainty to our elections, which is why many Colorado county clerks and election administrators oppose it. These officials have borne the brunt of election turmoil and security threats in recent years. The last thing they need is to absorb a radical overhaul of our elections without their having been adequately consulted.”

Bennet said that ranked-choice voting, in certain forms and elections, could be beneficial, but said he wasn’t convinced that the “untested, extreme version” as of ranked-choice as outlined in Prop. 131 would work for Colorado. 

“Colorado, with its excellent existing system and strong voter turnout, should not be the guinea pig for interests pursuing their own experiments,” he said. “The proponents of Prop 131 should practice on a different state with a broken election system, not Colorado. Then, we could at least learn from their experience before being asked to transform our own elections.”

Gov. Jared Polis celebrates leadership in education, new mobility hub, and launch of state Hospital Price Finder: 

Gov. Jared Polis made several stops around Northern Colorado today, including Poudre High School in Fort Collins, where he celebrated the school receiving the Ninth Grade Success Showcase grant. The grant, which is funded by the Colorado Department of Education, will help freshmen learn the skills they need to successfully transition to 10th grade. 

Polis also stopped at Fort Collins’ Zach Elementary to celebrate its designation as a Blue Ribbon School, an award given to the top-performing schools in the country.    

Polis then traveled to Loveland, where joined U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg and CDOT Director Shoshana Lew to celebrate the grand opening of three new mobility hubs on the I-25 corridor. These hubs are designed to integrate multiple modes of transportation to allow for quick transitions between routes along the corridor.

Later in the afternoon, Polis joined PatientRightsAdvocate.org founder and chairman Cynthia Fisher at the Capitol to announce the official launch of the Colorado Hospital Price Finder. The online tool is powered by data made available through HB22-1285, which required hospitals to comply with federal hospital price transparency laws by February 2023.