bob rankin
-
Colorado Senate Republican put Barbara Kirkmeyer on Joint Budget Committee
—
by
Colorado Senate Republicans on Friday unanimously chose Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer to be the caucus’s representative on the Joint Budget Committee. Kirkmeyer, a Brighton Republican who is halfway through her first term, replaces Sen. Bob Rankin. The Carbondale Republican was the committee’s longest-serving member, having been on JBC since 2014. He announced Dec. 1 he would…
-
Candidates line up to replace Rankin, both on JBC and in SD5
—
by
Sen. Bob Rankin, R-Carbondale, who announced he would resign his western slope Senate district seat on Jan. 10, is leaving the Joint Budget Committee as of Monday, prompting the Senate GOP caucus to scramble to find a replacement to join the influential panel. The committee is already well into its work on the 2023-24 budget…
-
Lawmakers roll out payback for unemployment insurance trust fund
—
by
Federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars will play a major role in paying back a $1 billion federal loan the state had to take out to cover unemployment insurance checks during the pandemic. Senate Bill 234, if signed into law, will take $600 million in pandemic relief funds to allow the state to pay back…
-
Colorado lawmakers take preliminary action on PERA repayment
—
by
Despite concerns around gubernatorial opposition to making up a missed 2020 payment to the Public Employees Retirement Association, the House Finance Committee took first action this week on House Bill 1029. That measure would not only make up the $225 million payment due in 2020 that was suspended due to the recession, but also add…
-
COVER STORY | Unsustainable? Colorado’s government keeps growing
—
by
Proponents of Colorado’s TABOR designed the constitutional amendment to curb government’s voracious appetite for more spending. But Colorado’s most recognizable tax law, which turns 30 this year, hasn’t stopped the state government from growing. Not even close. Consider this: lawmakers propose to spend $36.4 billion in the next fiscal year, an amount that funds 62,928…
-
Robert Werthwein to step down from state Office of Behavioral Health
—
by
Robert Werthwein, the director of the state’s Office of Behavioral Health since Sept. 2017, will resign at the end of February next year, he announced in an email Tuesday. Axios Denver, which first reported his resignation, said he did not cite a reason for his resignation, only that he intended to pursue other opportunities. A spokesperson…
-
With mental health needs in crisis, will a new state agency help?
—
by
Mental health services, far outstripped by the need for both youth and adults, are the focus of a new state agency being created within the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS). The new agency, which will be known as the Behavioral Health Administration (BHA), is to be housed, until at least 2024, within CDHS. The…
-
With new state House and Senate maps, let the games begin
—
by
The wait is over. And the scramble has begun. Now that the Colorado Supreme Court has approved new state House and Senate maps, candidates are crafting designs to run for more competitive seats that also appear to shrink the influence of rural communities at the state Capitol. The new maps will reshape Colorado’s political landscape, and,…
-
Colorado lawmakers hope winter-driving bill gains traction
—
by
Winter driving this year has been a little trickier, with (thank goodness) more snow this year. But that means that motorists have to be a little more in tune with what’s on their vehicles to get them through winter driving conditions. Three state lawmakers want to tighten up the rules around the equipment on people’s…
-
Committee fills vacancy in northwest Colorado’s House District 57
—
by
A month after the Colorado General Assembly opened its session, we now know who all the legislators are. Perry Will of New Castle, an area wildlife manager for the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife, was chosen Tuesday by a Colorado House District 57 vacancy committee to replace now-state Sen. Bob Rankin of Carbondale. That’s the…
