Colorado Politics

 Colorado Senate committee advances bill increasing overtime threshold for farmworkers

The struggle to balance farmworker protections with the survival of Colorado’s family farms took center stage Thursday as senators debated two competing overtime bills. The Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee held a rare double-bill hearing that led to a...

 Colorado bill to fund mental health by raising alcohol taxes defeated in House committee

Colorado legislators on Wednesday narrowly rejected a second measure that would raised taxes on alcohol products in order to fund mental health care treatment in the state. Proponents said the new revenue is necessary to help pay for mental health...

 Lawsuit alleges Polis administration is holding juveniles after court‑ordered release

Colorado officials are facing a lawsuit alleging the state kept minors in juvenile detention for days or months after judges ordered them released, largely because appropriate foster or community placements were not available. Two minors facing juvenile delinquency charges sued...

 Federal judge advances lawsuit seeking overtime compensation for Aurora firefighter trainees

A federal judge gave preliminary approval earlier this month to a class of Aurora firefighter trainees who may sue the city over allegations that they were denied overtime pay in violation of federal law. Joseph Elias, who attended Aurora’s fire...

 Appeals court says jury not obligated to apply discounts to determine value of stolen merch

Colorado’s second-highest court concluded on Thursday that it was up to a Douglas County jury to determine the value of stolen merchandise at a defendant’s theft trial, after both sides presented different estimates of the items’ value. Under state law,...

 Trump switches endorsement back to Jeff Hurd, says Hope Scheppelman is ending run in Colorado’s 3rd CD

In a surprise twist, President Donald Trump on Friday said he is again endorsing Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd after pulling his support from the Grand Junction Republican last month and instead backing his primary challenger in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional...

 Highway 115 fire blows up, road closed south of Colorado Springs

A fast-moving fire burning along Colorado 115 south of Colorado Springs blew the containment line Thursday, spreading farther east onto Fort Carson and scorching nearly 700 acres, officials said. The blaze, known as the 24 fire, was fully uncontained as...

 Public figures have limited path to sue over accusations of criminality, says appeals court

Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week that a public figure cannot sue for defamation solely because a person publicly accuses them of committing a crime, as the statement may be constitutionally protected opinion. A three-judge Court of Appeals panel narrowed...

 Proposed data center regulation in Colorado draws critics, backers

A packed marathon hearing at the state Capitol in Colorado highlighted the sharp divide between two competing approaches to the effects of data centers, one of America’s fastest-growing technology sectors. Data centers are the physical facilities that host the servers,...

 Conservation Colorado proposes measures aimed at oil and gas companies

A group has introduced four ballot measures it says are meant to counter an initiative that aims to enshrine Colorado businesses and consumers’ right to purchase and sell natural gas in the state’s constitution. Filed with the Secretary of State’s...

 Colorado revenue forecast worsens, pushing budget shortfall to nearly $1.5B

The latest revenue forecasts from economists at the state Capitol show that the state’s budget predicament has worsened — by hundreds of millions of dollars more. That, in turn, means cuts programs and services in next year’s fiscal budget will...

 Federal judge to consider sanctioning ex-Colorado judicial discipline director

A federal judge ordered Colorado’s former head of judicial discipline on Wednesday to explain why she should not sanction him for making inaccurate statements about the defendants in his lawsuit against the Colorado Supreme Court and related entities. U.S. District...

 With jails overcrowding, Gov. Jared Polis asks for new prisons as lawmakers face budget shortfall

The Polis administration is asking for hundreds of millions of dollars to expand the state’s prison system, just as Colorado’s legislators are bracing for a worsening fiscal outlook. The request sets up a clash over priorities at a time when...

 Costs explode for Colorado program covering pregnant women and children living in the U.S. illegally

A state program providing health care to pregnant women and children living in the country illegally is costing far more than lawmakers expected, with expenses nearly tripling in just a year and threatening to squeeze Colorado’s budget amid a nearly...

 Costs explode for Colorado program covering pregnant women and children living in the U.S. illegally

A state program providing health care to pregnant women and children living in the country illegally is costing far more than lawmakers expected, with expenses nearly tripling in just a year and threatening to squeeze Colorado’s budget amid a $1...

 Universities sue to block dismantling of Boulder’s NCAR

A consortium of universities filed a federal lawsuit Monday, alleging the Trump administration’s plan to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research is unlawful retaliation against Colorado. The group also argued that the move violates federal law. The University Corporation...

 Colorado Title Board advances competing redistricting proposals, revised Pinnacol measure

With just two meetings left before an April 15 deadline, the state’s Title Board on Wednesday pushed through a slate of ballot measures, including a revised proposal to privatize Pinnacol Assurance and dueling plans to redraw Colorado’s congressional map. The...

 SAVE America Act showdown relished by GOP and Democrats alike

Both political parties have found rare agreement in a divided Washington, convinced that the GOP’s federal voter ID and election bill is a slam-dunk messaging opportunity. But that’s where the bipartisanship quickly ends. The two sides are diametrically opposed over...

 Senate panel advances bill to tighten Colorado sports betting rules amid youth addiction concerns

A divided panel of lawmakers on Tuesday narrowly advanced a bill to impose new restrictions on Colorado’s booming sports betting industry, as lawmakers cited worries about youth gambling and addiction, while online operators warned the changes could drive bettors to...

 Federal judge green-lights trial against Denver officer over race-based enforcement

A federal judge green-lit a jury trial last week on a man’s claim that a Denver police officer engaged in racially selective enforcement of the law by arresting him for video recording at a police station, while not arresting a...

 Federal judge says 8 years in solitary confinement not grounds to reduce man’s sentence

A federal judge concluded earlier this month that a man’s eight years allegedly spent in solitary confinement did not justify granting his request for a sentence reduction. However, U.S. District Court Senior Judge William J. Martínez signaled his willingness to...

 Democrat Matt Cavanaugh ends campaign in Colorado’s 5th CD, says petition firm came up short

Democratic congressional candidate Matt Cavanaugh said Wednesday that he was ending his bid to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank in Colorado’s 5th District because the firm his campaign hired to gather petition signatures failed to deliver. Cavanaugh, an Army...

 Colorado voters to decide whether to ban gender surgeries for minors

Colorado voters will decide this November whether to prohibit gender surgeries for minors and bar public funding or insurance coverage for procedures that alter children’s biological sex characteristics. The measure qualified for the ballot amid a push by the federal...

 Democrats want to bar use of consumer data to set Colorado prices, employee wages

A closely divided House committee advanced a bill aimed at curbing the use of personal data to set individualized prices and wages, reviving a proposal that failed last year and setting up a broader debate over how far the state...

 10th Circuit rejects ‘potential for violence’ when police arrest vehicle occupant’s romantic partner

The Denver-based federal appeals court rejected the idea on Tuesday that a vehicle occupant poses a danger to police solely because they are romantically involved with another occupant who officers are arresting. By 2-1, a three-judge panel of the U.S....

 Colorado justices grill debt collector about compliance with law

The Colorado Supreme Court repeatedly pressed a debt collection company last week to explain how its lawsuit against a Boulder woman for an unpaid credit card balance complied with the specific requirements that state lawmakers have created. Portfolio Recovery Associates,...

 Artificial intelligence working group agrees on framework to replace Colorado law

A group that has been working on artificial intelligence policy has reached an agreement on a framework that would replace the regulations adopted by Colorado legislators two years ago. The agreement has the backing of Gov. Jared Polis, who reluctantly...

 Proposal to levy new fees on alcohol products in Colorado dies

The proposal to collect millions in new fees on alcohol products — dollars to be earmarked for Colorado programs aimed at addressing the behavioral and physical health effects of alcohol abuse — died on Tuesday. House Bill 1271 sought to...

 The numbers that Republicans say show Democratic midterm targets are a ‘political hallucination’

Democrats keep expanding their battleground map of midterm target seats, but do they really have any chance in some of the districts they claim they can win? Of the 44 districts listed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as targets,...

 Pam Bondi subpoenaed for April 14 House deposition on Epstein files handling

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform issued a subpoena Tuesday compelling Attorney General Pam Bondi to sit for a deposition on April 14 as part of an ongoing investigation into the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein...