Colorado Politics

 Rural Reckoning | Colorado highways are crumbling, and so is the funding to fix them

With the build of a football lineman and the grit of a rancher, Republican Sen. Byron Pelton gripped the steering wheel of his truck and pointed toward the highway ahead — a stretch of road that runs through the heart...

 Advance Colorado calls on Gov. Jared Polis to address public safety concerns in special session

A special session of the Colorado legislature is expected to convene in late August to address artificial intelligence regulation and Medicaid cuts — but public safety should also be on the docket, according to a self-described “action-based organization focused on reversing...

 6 suburban mayors sue state over zoning and parking laws in effort to protect Home Rule authority

The mayors of six suburban cities are suing the state over a pair of laws passed during the 2024 legislative session, arguing they infringe upon the rights granted to them under the state constitution’s Home Rule provisions.  More than 100 local governments...

 GOP House members from Colorado call on Polis to end health care funding for ‘illegal immigrants’

Three Republican members of Colorado’s delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives are urging Gov. Jared Polis to work with legislators to end state spending on health care coverage for undocumented immigrants — or risk losing hundreds of millions of...

 Colorado GOP: Governor can’t ‘cry foul’ about federal funding cuts after ignoring warnings

Colorado’s House Republican leaders criticized Democratic Gov. Jared Polis for not heeding their advice against enacting legislation that they argued could lead to the state losing federal funding. Earlier this week, Polis announced that the state created a dashboard to...

 Colorado leaders condemn ‘politically motivated’ attacks in Minnesota, will review security protocols

Colorado politicians are speaking out following the weekend shooting of two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses that left one couple dead.  Vance Boelter, 57, was arrested on Sunday following a two-day manhunt in the northern Minneapolis suburbs. He is...

 Gov. Jared Polis finishes bill signing tour with 476 bills signed into Colorado law

Gov. Jared Polis has completed his statewide bill signing tour, having signed over 450 pieces of legislation into law. According to the Governor’s Office, Polis signed 476 bills this session, 87.5% of which received bipartisan support.  “This session we continued...

 Governor signs mandate requiring Colorado schools to teach Black history curriculum

Gov. Jared Polis has signed a bill requiring the state’s Department of Education to develop a statewide K-12 curriculum on Black history and cultural studies. House Bill 1149, sponsored by Colorado Springs Democrats Rep. Regina English and Sen. Tony Exum,...

 Colorado legislature creates grant program to tackle sexual assault kit delays

Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday signed a bill to address the growing backlog of sexual assault kit testing in the state.  Senate Bill 304, sponsored by Sen. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora, and Reps. Jenny Willford, D-Northglenn, and Meg Froelich, D-Englewood, creates...

 Colorado governor signs bill increasing family leave for parents of NICU babies

Gov. Jared Polis has signed a bill providing 12 additional weeks of paid family leave for parents with infants in intensive care units. Colorado’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program, passed through a ballot initiative in 2020, allows workers...

 Governor signs bill adding protections for IVF, rolling back disclosure requirements for gamete donors

Gov. Jared Polis has signed a bill barring state and local governments from limiting physicians’ ability to providing certain reproductive health services, including in-vitro fertilization.  House Bill 1259, sponsored by Reps. Meg Froelich, D-Englewood, and Kyle Brown, D-Louisville, and Sens. Lisa...

 Gov. Jared Polis signs bills increasing penalty for gun theft in Colorado

Gov. Jared Polis on Monday signed a pair of gun bills passed during the recent legislative session to crack down on stolen guns. Senate Bill 205, sponsored by Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, D-Pueblo, and Reps. Cecelia Espenoza, D-Denver, and William Lindstedt,...

 Governor signs bill authorizing $350M for law enforcement training, officer death benefits

Gov. Jared Polis on Monday signed a bill implementing a voter-approved ballot measure that allocates $350 million in state funding for law enforcement training, recruitment, and retention, along with a $1 million death benefit for the families of fallen officers....

 Governor vetoes measures on self-driving vehicles, copays for inmates, ambulance costs

Gov. Jared Polis vetoed several bills on Thursday, including a pair of bipartisan measures aimed at regulating autonomous commercial vehicles and ground ambulance services. A third bill, supported by the General Assembly’s Democrats, would have prohibited the Department of Corrections...

 Jared Polis vetoes bill that would have banned algorithmic rent pricing

For the second consecutive year, Gov. Jared Polis has vetoed a bill that would have prohibited landlords from using specific algorithms to determine rent prices and occupancy levels. House Bill 1004, sponsored by Reps. Steven Woodrow, D-Denver, and Javier Mabrey,...

 El Paso County Sheriff urges Colorado governor to address funding shortages as inmate numbers rise

The El Paso County Sheriff is calling on Gov. Jared Polis and state legislators to address a backlog and funding shortages within the state’s Department of Corrections. In a May 29 media release, Sheriff Joseph Roybal said 139 sentenced inmates...

 New Colorado laws boost home-care wages, establishes $60 million safety net provider fund

Gov. Jared Polis signed two bills on Wednesday aimed at increasing wage requirements for Colorado’s home care workers and a $60 million stabilization fund for “safety net” providers. The first bill, House Bill 1328, implements a number of recommendations made by...

 Law gives San Luis Valley control over disruptive fences

SAN LUIS • Residents of this rural San Luis Valley community, who have been fighting for decades for access to a mountain landscape guaranteed to their ancestors, celebrated a significant victory Tuesday. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis visited San Luis to sign into...

 Governor signs new law aimed at preventing wage theft for Colorado workers with increased penalties

Gov. Jared Polis has signed a bill that aims to crack down on wage theft in Colorado by increasing penalties and requiring the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics to publish offenders’ names online.  House Bill 1001, sponsored by Majority...

 Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signs bill banning gun ownership for car theft convicts

Gov. Jared Polis on Monday signed a bill prohibiting anyone convicted of car theft in the first degree from owning a gun during a visit to the Pueblo Chamber of Commerce. In Colorado, motor vehicle theft in the first degree...

 Gov. Jared Polis to local governments: Comply with housing laws or lose funding

Gov. Jared Polis on Friday effectively threatened to pull millions of dollars in funding from local governments that have balked at the difficulty of implementing zoning, building codes, and other housing changes pushed by the General Assembly over the last...

 Odd couples | Unlikely Colorado legislative pairs unite on key issues in 2025 session

During the 2025 Colorado legislative session, Democrats and Republicans formed unexpected pairs as their interests aligned, including lawmakers who had served together for years without sponsoring a bill. Here’s a look at some of the work the unlikely pairs did:...

 Gov. Jared Polis signs law to allow state treasurer to invest $50M in bonds for affordable housing

Gov. Jared Polis has signed a measure into law supporters hope will bring more affordable housing to Colorado by directing the State Treasurer to invest in bonds to buy down construction and mortgage costs of for-sale housing that otherwise would...

 Labor urges Gov. Jared Polis to sign bill on choosing doctors for injuries sustained at work

Labor groups and a nonprofit organization focused on workers’ compensation reform are urging Gov. Jared Polis to sign a bill allowing individuals injured at work to choose the doctor to treat them for their injuries without restrictions. House Bill 1300,...

 Lyft urges Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to veto rideshare bill

Lyft is urging Gov. Jared Polis to veto a measure establishing further safety regulations on rideshare companies.  Passed by the legislature, House Bill 1291 would require rideshare companies to conduct criminal background checks on drivers at least once every six months and...

 Labor groups, allies urge Gov. Jared Polis to sign union bill into law

Labor groups, along with allies in the Colorado legislature, gathered outside the Governor’s Mansion on Tuesday to press Gov. Jared Polis to sign a bill that would eliminate a key requirement before unions can negotiate over imposing fees on non-union...

 Colorado Democrats, governor tout passing bills toward ‘more affordable, safer, stronger Colorado’

Democratic leaders from the Colorado House and Senate joined Gov. Jared Polis in Denver on Thursday afternoon to tout what they see as their biggest successes of the 2025 legislative session.  Despite a $1 billion shortfall, Polis said the legislature...

 Tech industry and unions clash over self-driving trucks in Colorado, governor to make final call

Tech companies and workers are at odds over a proposal to require a human to be inside some self-driving commercial vehicles while they are in operation. House Bill 1122, which received bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, is on...

 Colorado businesses, labor coalition, governor fail to reach deal on union bill, sources say

After months of negotiations, business, labor and Gov. Jared Polis failed to reach a compromise on a bill seeking changes to Colorado’s 80-year-old law that governs a key requirement before unions can impose fees on non-union members, sources said. The sources...

 Campaign to override Gov. Jared Polis’ veto of social media regulation bill fails

After failing to secure the votes required to overturn Gov. Jared Polis’ veto of a bill regulating social media platforms, the House voted on Monday to postpone tackling the measure until after the session, ending efforts to override the governor....