judy amabile
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Democrats eye new taxes on alcohol, marijuana to fund Colorado mental health spending
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Facing hundreds of millions in budget shortfall, Colorado lawmakers are searching for ways to fund mental health services in a state that, advocates say, has consistently ranked among the worst in the nation for mental health outcomes. Several proposals this session aim to generate new revenue for treatment and hospital beds. The ideas — including…
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Colorado lawmakers hear from chief justice about security needs, new judges
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Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez asked members of the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee on Tuesday to stay the course and fund the 10 new trial judgeships that Colorado lawmakers approved last year, and also explained her vision for enhancing judicial branch security. Responding to questions generated by committee members after a hearing last month on…
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Judicial fees, furniture under scrutiny as Colorado lawmakers consider budget request
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Members of the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee expressed concerns last week about aspects of the judiciary’s requested $845 million budget for courts and probation, while also hearing about the Judicial Department’s relatively restrained spending over time. “If you adjust for inflation, spending has actually gone down” for the trial courts, said staff analyst Amanda Bickel.…
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Federal judge blocks Colorado law requiring social media platforms to provide warnings to children
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A federal judge on Thursday blocked Colorado from implementing a requirement that social media companies notify users younger than 18 of the effects to their mental and physical health from using the platforms. Lawmakers enacted House Bill 1136 by wide margins in 2024, with a goal of providing “research-based education and interventions” about minors’ use…
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Lawmakers overturn Colorado Supreme Court decision on juvenile competency evaluations
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Colorado lawmakers overturned a recent decision of the state Supreme Court in the final days of the legislative session, clarifying that the government cannot re-evaluate a juvenile defendant’s competency to proceed without a judge’s order. On April 14, the Supreme Court decided People in the Interest of J.D., in which an El Paso County juvenile defendant was deemed…
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Divided appeals court takes no issue with lack of child welfare services to incarcerated father
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that even if a child welfare caseworker could have rehabilitated a father by facilitating visitation time and drug treatment while he was incarcerated, the lack of services was excusable because the man likely would not have taken advantage of them anyway. By 2-1, a three-judge panel of the Court…
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Colorado lawmakers begin to tackle major housing bills, including occupancy limitations
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Major measures on housing are starting to move at the state Capitol this week, which saw the first hearings on some of the roughly 260 bills introduced in this session so far. Colorado faces an acute housing shortage. One study puts the deficit in metro Denver region alone at 45,025 to 115,012 housing units. As…