barbara kirkmeyer
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Colorado Senate passes bill to create 15 new judgeships
The Colorado Senate approved legislation on Wednesday that would add 15 new judgeships over the next two years, a scaled-back version of the original proposal for 29 additional judge seats across the state. Senate Bill 24 passed by a vote of 26-7, with all Democrats who were present voting in favor and all no votes coming from…
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Colorado Senate committee advances scaled-back bill to add judgeships, with more cuts looming
Colorado’s Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill to create roughly two dozen new judgeships by a vote of 5-2 on Friday, in a slightly scaled-back effort to address high judicial workloads in many areas of the state. However, with the legislation now heading to the full Senate, one of its sponsors intends to propose cutting…
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Senator criticizes Judicial Department for seeking budget increase and offering no cuts
A member of the powerful Joint Budget Committee criticized Colorado’s Judicial Department on Tuesday for seeking an increase to its budget without offering suggestions for cuts. “I think some people are misinformed or just don’t truly understand the situation that we’re in,” said Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton, at a joint hearing of the House and…
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‘Running on empty tanks’: Chief justice addresses legislature with plea for more judges
Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez delivered her plea for more judges to the entire legislature on Friday, saying workloads are more demanding and well-meaning legislative changes have contributed to the burdens on the bench. “We cannot ask our judges, day in and day out, to make consequential decisions impacting people’s lives when they are running on…
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Colorado lawmakers suggest chief justice’s request for new judges may be nonstarter
Some members of the legislature’s powerful budget committee cautioned Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez on Tuesday that it would be difficult to justify a spending increase for new judgeships in light of substantial cuts to be made elsewhere. Márquez appeared before the Joint Budget Committee to field questions about the Judicial Department’s $813.2 million budget request for the…
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Americans are exhausted with high-stakes election described in apocalyptic terms, experts say
“Exhausted.” That’s how Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly summed up how he believes voters are feeling about how politics is affecting society. The Republican sheriff said his deputies have not really dealt with many calls arising out of political disputes. (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:11095963150525286,size:[0, 0],id:”ld-2426-4417″});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src=”//cdn2.lockerdomecdn.com/_js/ajs.js”;j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,”script”,”ld-ajs”); But the tension exists, he said. And he hears it from the…
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Independent expenditure committee invests $1 million in Colorado primary races
An independent expenditure committee tied to former DaVita CEO Kent Thiry has invested $1.08 million in state House and Senate races in the past few days, backing more moderate Democrats and Republicans in a dozen races. The committee Let Colorado Vote Action was filed just one week ago, on June 17. On June 19, the…
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Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signs bills aimed at boosting Colorado affordable housing efforts
Gov. Jared Polis this week signed three bills related to affordable housing into law. These measures gained the sought-after support from local governments that had eluded the administration up until now. All three measures received bipartisan support, differentiating them from most affordable housing legislation that succeeded this year and failed in 2023. Senate Bill 174…
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Colorado lawmakers introduce 705 bills in 2024 session, 525 approved
Final statistics on the bills offered by lawmakers during the 2024 session are in. As previously reported by Colorado Politics, lawmakers introduced 705 bills. That’s the most since 2019 when 721 bills were introduced, but far short of the record set in 2003, at 735. Here’s what happened to them. (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:11095963150525286,size:[0, 0],id:”ld-2426-4417″});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src=”//cdn2.lockerdomecdn.com/_js/ajs.js”;j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,”script”,”ld-ajs”); The General…
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Colorado faces budget deficit as lawmakers consider $2 billion more in spending
Colorado lawmakers this month began reviewing the state’s spending plan for the next fiscal year in the face of tight revenues and a budget deficit — even as policymakers are pushing for hundreds of millions of dollars in funding requests. Only a tight sliver of those requests will likely get funded, if at all, once…