Author: Kara Mason
-
Millenial Democrats tilt toward Sanders at Denver Super Tuesday caucuses
—
by
If Rep. Alec Garnett, D-Denver, hadn’t been sporting his legislative name tag and a suit at Byers Middle School in Denver Tuesday evening, it might not have been obvious he is an elected official. He fit the demographic that showed up to caucus in central Denver to a tee. Young professionals, ages 23 to around 35, dominated the…
-
Crowder remains lone Republican wolf open to hospital fee change
—
by
State Sen. Larry Crowder didn’t need to hear the news that Colorado Republican Attorney General Cynthia Coffman believes it would be constitutional to reclassify the state’s hospital provider fee as an enterprise fund. He was already on board. “I didn’t really need anything other than (the opinion) of John Suthers,” Crowder, R-Alamosa, told The Colorado…
-
Senate rebuilds, passes Neville ‘right-to-work’ bill gutted by Ulibarri
—
by
Republicans fully restored Littleton Republican Sen. Tim Neville’s “Right to Work” bill, SB16-70, following a surprise turn in debate when an amendment submitted Friday by pro-labor Sen. Jessie Ulibarri, D-Westminster, was mistakenly approved unanimously by the Republican majority. The Ulibarri amendment turned Neville’s bill upside down, stripping it of its anti-union provisions and transforming it…
-
Senate green-lights Neville concealed-carry bill, extending 2016 gun debate
—
by
Monday was another gun-policy day at the Colorado Capitol. At the center of a second-reading back-and-forth in the state Senate, U.S. Senate candidate Tim Neville, R-Littleton, defended his proposal to lift the requirement that Coloradans who wish to carry concealed firearms apply for a permit and take training classes. “Coloradans shouldn’t have to go begging…
-
Vigil hopeful, not holding breath, for more rural broadband
—
by
A photo of the San Luis Valley town of Fort Garland hangs on the wall in the office of Democratic state Rep. Ed Vigil’s third-floor office at the Capitol. He lives outside the town, population 443, in the southern Colorado region known for hosting a band of wild horses that run free along the Colorado-New…
-
Senate Shenanigans: Ulibarri amendment momentarily guts Neville ‘right to work’ bill
—
by
An anti-union right to work bill sponsored by state Sen. Tim Neville, R-Littleton, was briefly turned on its head Friday in the Republican-controlled Senate when an amendment submitted by pro-labor Sen. Jessie Ulibarri, D-Westminster, gained unanimous support even though it stripped Neville’s bill, SB16-070, of all the crucial right-to-work language that defined it. Neville, speaking…
-
Candidate Carroll, and her tracker, see college lender bill stifled by Senate GOP
—
by
Megan Hanson, a young woman in a purple button-down Oxford shirt, came early to the Senate State Affairs Committee hearing Wednesday afternoon, sat along the wall by the door and set up a small video camera on a tripod. One of the measures being considered by the committee was SB 43, a “Know Before You…
-
Q&A: Donovan on serving a diverse district by building alliances
—
by
Sen. Kerry Donovan, D-Vail, represents SD-5, one of the state’s most competitive districts. It’s a rural mountain part of the state, home to sometimes hard-pressed mining and drilling towns, but also to global vacation destinations such as Aspen and Vail. It’s a narrowly divided Republican-Democratic district in terms of voter registration, and she won her…
-
Koncilja PUC appointment seen as a win for Pueblo, rural Colorado
—
by
Frances Koncilja, candidate for the state’s Public Utilities Commission, received a strong thumbs-up from the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee Monday. Koncilja, a Denver-area attorney with ties to Pueblo, was appointed by Gov. John Hickenlooper and won confirmation from six of the seven members of the Business Committee. Both chambers of the Legislature will…
-
Will new bill ‘research notes’ win lawmaker hearts?
—
by
Legislative Services at the Capitol is adding research notes to select bills throughout the 2016 session. It’s a pilot program the non-partisan analysis office has undertaken based on similar programs being run in legislatures around the country. The short research notes include a summary on estimated fiscal impacts and limited background information on the bill topic. Staffers…
