“Let’s Do This!”

With that, Senate President James Coleman wrapped up his opening remarks with the catchphrase that marked his time in the state Senate.

Coleman began by thanking his family and trailblazers, as well as the 35 members of the Senate.

“You will often hear me call us a family. When I say that, I mean it,” he said. “None of us can do this alone.”

Coleman, who spoke at the opening ceremonies for the first day of the legislative session, talked about his opportunities to visit some of his fellow senators’ districts to better understand them and their constituents’ priorities. The Republican leader, Sen. Paul Lundeen, also spoke, focusing on what he described as policies that are suffocating ordinary Coloradans and which, he said, need to be repealed. 

Coleman’s efforts to learn more about his colleagues included a week-long visit to 900-acre ranch of Sen. Cleave Simpson, R-Alamosa, a trip to the Colorado State Fair, and a visit with Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, D-Pueblo.

“I learned that many of us share many of the same goals,” Coleman said. “We share the desire to build a Colorado where if you work hard you will have the ability and opportunity to earn a good living and support your loved ones.”

Senators can agree, he said, that more needs to be done to meet Coloradans’ economic needs, such as a safe, affordable place to live, a well-funded school, and health care that won’t break the bank.

He told the Senate that though they may disagree on how to get there, they all share a commitment to building a Colorado where everyone can thrive.

Coleman acknowledged what described as some angst about the November election and what would happen in the next four years.

Coloradans will stand up against hate “and any efforts to scare us or divide us,” he said.

“Our diversity makes us stronger, and in Colorado, we can, and we will get in the way of threats to our neighbors’ safety,” he said — to applause from Democrats.

As for the challenges ahead, Coleman said they have their work cut out for them, noting the high costs of housing, health care and basic necessities. He pledged to continue efforts to cut costs, from increasing affordable housing options to expanding access to high-quality health care.

He spoke of bills that would be introduced on modular housing, child care centers, and helping local governments address housing challenges in the high country.

And while Coleman said they would work to ensure the state is a great place to do business, he also mentioned what will likely be the hottest bill of the session and one opposed by the business community — removing a second election requiring a 75% “yes” vote in order to require non-union members to pay union fees. 

Democrats also intend to continue their gun control campaign with a bill to “better enforce” the existing law on high-capacity ammunition magazines. That 2013 law led to the recall of two Democratic state senators, including the Senate President, and the resignation of a third.

Coleman said that education has been a bipartisan issue in the last few years.

“There are pockets of our state where we have a lack of high-quality options that I think of as ‘education deserts.’ Families shouldn’t be waiting to get into a great school. We must be doing all that we can to ensure that they are in one now. They have waited too long! That will change with us,” he said. 

Those efforts also include defending gains from 2024, when the legislature paid off the decade-long “debt” to K-12 education. That’s tied into the state budget, which faces a shortfall of at least $700 million.

It’s not glamorous work, he said of policymaking.

“Grandstanding isn’t going to balance our budget. We have no choice but to work together to do what’s best for Coloradans and protect the critical services so many rely on,” he said. 

Coleman also addressed anxieties in some quarters over the incoming Trump administration, which, he said, “ran on division and fear, and promises that could turn our systems and our communities on their heads.”

“We do not yet know how this will manifest in federal policy. But we know we are prepared to respond,” he said. 

He said that means defending the freedoms of diversity, clean air and water, abortion, and the right to vote. A bill from Sen. Julie Gonzales, which will be introduced on Wednesday, would shield Colorado from any effort to dismantle the Voting Rights Act, he said.

Returned to his original theme of learning about each other, he urged his colleagues to “slow down, be deliberate in our policymaking and thoughtful in our conversations.”

“We must not give into the desires of vitriol and division,” Coleman said. “I know that we can elevate the work above our egos and spend every day we have here with intention.”

Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen: America is wrestling with its ‘very soul’

Sen. Paul Lundeen began by delivering a joke — “I have the unenviable position of standing between you and your lunch” and immediately turned to the serious matter at hand. 

Colorado and the nation, he said, are “wrestling with its very soul,” with questions about what the state hopes to become.

He called on lawmakers to review and repeal policies that suffocate Coloradans and their businesses. These policies, he said, “wrap themselves around our economy, our communities, and our people like a wet blanket, stifling dreams, and snuffing out ambitions.”

They also include regulations, fees, and “disguised taxes” that collectively weigh heavily on Coloradans, he said. 

The General Assembly has passed policies that overreach and are without discernible benefit, be it on where people live, travel, heat their homes, or cook their meals, he said.

Lundeen said Colorado families are crying out for help — and lawmakers must respond.

His vision, and that of his caucus, is to cut down on what he called wasteful fees, such as the retail delivery fee or the grocery bag fee.

“These may seem small, but they are daily reminders to Coloradans that their government is nibbling away at their hard-earned money,” he said.

He said that vision also includes eliminating regulations that overburden businesses in a state the Colorado Chamber of Commerce said is the sixth most regulated in the nation. Lundeen said 45% of the state’s 200,000 regulations are excessive or duplicative, creating barriers to growth and prosperity.

He said Colorado is now less competitive for business, and when businesses struggle, it means no raises, smaller paychecks, or even lost jobs. 

He said cutting back on red tape would position Colorado “as a beacon for entrepreneurs and investors. “

“Colorado’s affordability crisis is not just a talking point; it is a moral imperative,” he said, listing crippling housing costs, high energy bills, and childcare that is unaffordable as a few of the issues that demand real solutions.

Lundeen asked senators to resolve to give Coloradans “what they deserve: trust restored in their institutions, freedom to pursue their dreams, and cash back in their pockets.”

Lundeen said his proposals for his caucus would save every Colorado family $4,500.

“Let us give Colorado families reason to believe in us, in this chamber, and in their future,” he concluded.