house bill
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Colorado expands access to DNA testing after criminal convictions
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A new state law took effect on Sunday, increasing eligibility for people convicted of felonies to receive DNA testing. Before Sunday, only people who are actively incarcerated could receive DNA testing. Now, it’s open to people on felony parole, registered sex offenders, people who have completed their sentences, and people who were found not guilty…
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Colorado Community College System honors sponsors of free college program
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The Colorado Community College System honored four state legislators as “legislators of the year” for sponsoring a bill to create a free college program for high-demand careers. House Speaker Julie McCluskie, Rep. Rose Pugliese, Sen. Janet Buckner and Sen. Perry Will were recognized during the CCCS’s state board meeting on Wednesday. The annual award celebrates legislators…
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Colorado lowers cost of phone calls for prisoners, will make calls free in 2025
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Colorado is moving to make phone calls free for prison and jail inmates, as a new law goes into effect on Friday. The Colorado Department of Corrections currently charges 8 cents per minute for phone calls to and from prisons. If an inmate makes a 15-minute phone call everyday, that adds up to $438 each…
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Colorado bans local housing growth caps
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Local housing growth caps will soon be banned in the state of Colorado after Gov. Jared Polis signed a new law on Wednesday. Beginning in August, House Bill 1255 prohibits local laws that limit annual housing construction or residential permits, and erases those that currently exist in several cities in Colorado, such as Boulder, Golden and Lakewood.…
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Colorado elected officials can now block constituents on social media for any reason
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Be careful what you comment on an elected official’s social media page. If they don’t like it, they might block you – thanks to a new state law. Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 1306 into law on Monday, giving all elected officials in the state the power to block someone from viewing or interacting with an…
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32 bills died without votes in the Colorado legislature this year. Here’s what they’d do.
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Some bills end not with a bang but a whimper. In Colorado’s 2023 legislative session, 32 bills died on the calendar. That means the bills failed not because lawmakers voted to reject them, but because they never got around to holding a vote in the first place. Lawmakers often choose to kill bills in this…
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Conservative groups form coalition against reducing TABOR refunds
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A dozen conservative organizations formed a coalition Thursday to advocate against legislative efforts to reduce refunds from the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. This announcement comes one day after Gov. Jared Polis signed a new law asking for voter approval to provide property tax relief by dipping into the TABOR surplus, which pays for the refunds. The groups…
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Polis vetoes bill requiring driver’s education for Coloradans under 21 to get a license
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Gov. Jared Polis shot down a bill Tuesday that would have required Coloradans under the age of 21 to complete driver’s education and training to be eligible for a driver’s license. Under the bill, Coloradans younger than 18 would have had to finish a 30-hour driver’s education course and receive six hours of behind-the-wheel training…
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Bill to ban evictions without ‘just cause’ dies in Colorado Senate
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An effort to prohibit landlords from evicting residential tenants without “just cause” met an unceremonious end in the last days of Colorado’s 2023 legislative session. House Bill 1171 would have only allowed evictions or lease terminations if the tenant does something wrong, such as failing to pay rent or violating lease agreements. It would have also required…
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Rewritten bill strips out Colorado’s effort to increase minimum age to criminally charge kids
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For the second year in a row, Colorado legislators passed a proposal originally intended to stop charging children under 13 with most crimes. But the legislation is once again heading to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk without that key provision. The minimum age for criminal prosecution in Colorado is 10. As drafted, House Bill 1249 sought to raise the…
