julie gonzales
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Colorado Senate approves rewritten construction defects bill, which faces uncertain future
A watered-down version of the Senate’s “construction defects” bill won preliminary approval on Wednesday after four hours of debate and over two weeks of delays, as bill sponsors worked with multiple amendments. A final 25-8 vote Thursday sends to the bill to the House. With just a few provisions remaining from the original version, Senate Bill…
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Judicial discipline proposal draws Colorado lawmaker skepticism
During a legislative oversight hearing on Friday, judicial leaders revealed that a man who broke into the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center earlier this month caused $35 million in damage, resulting in several offices being off-limits for months to come. Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright told members of the House and Senate judiciary committees…
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Colorado expands access to DNA testing after criminal convictions
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’s Catholic bishops defend crisis pregnancy centers, abortion ‘reversal’
Colorado Catholic bishops pushed back against a slew of abortion-rights legislation Democrats introduced at the state Capitol this week, arguing the proposals “eliminate choice” for women. In particular, the Archdiocese of Denver and Colorado Catholic Conference contended that Senate Bill 190, which seeks to ban “abortion reversal,” removes “the choice of a woman to sustain her…
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Democrats push 3 bills to bolster abortion rights in Colorado
Democratic lawmakers moved closer toward making Colorado a sanctuary state for abortion access on Thursday, announcing the introduction of three bills that seek to bolster abortion-right laws. If passed, the bills would shield abortion patients and providers from interstate investigations, expand insurance coverage for abortion care, and prohibit what supporters claim to be deceptive advertising…
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Q&A with Sen. Julie Gonzales | Democratic whip on legislating for marginalized communities
Sen. Julie Gonzales is one of the Colorado Democratic Party’s top political heavyweights going into her second term in the state Senate. After spending more than a decade advocating for progressive policies from the streets of her Denver community, Gonzales was elected to the Senate in 2018 – earning a whopping 83.1% of the vote.…
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Colorado Democratic lawmakers huddle with White House ahead of legislative session
Several Colorado state lawmakers traveled to Washington D.C. this week to meet with White House officials ahead of the 2023 legislative session. State Sen. Julie Gonzales and state Rep. Meg Froelich visited the White House Wednesday to discuss their work protecting reproductive rights. Gonzales and Froelich are among around 50 Democratic state lawmakers who visited the White House,…
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Colorado Senate panel approves sweeping fentanyl bill on narrow vote
A Senate panel on Thursday evening narrowly approved what policymakers hope is a robust response to Colorado’s spiraling fentanyl crisis. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted, 3-2, to advance House Bill 1326, after reviewing 19 amendments for several hours. The measure is the General Assembly’s sweeping attempt to confront fatal overdoses, which have surged nationwide over…
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Lawmakers urge Supreme Court committee to address racial bias in jury selection
Four Democratic lawmakers have written to the Colorado Supreme Court’s criminal rules committee urging it to address racial bias in jury selection following resistance from prosecutors to a legislative proposal on the subject. Last month, the sponsors of Senate Bill 128 declined to move forward with their legislation after all 22 elected district attorneys registered…
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Colorado Senate Democrats pass abortion bill on party-line vote, send bill to Polis
After 13 hours of debate Tuesday and another two hours on Wednesday, the state Senate passed, on a party-line 20-15 vote, House Bill 1279, which would enshrine in Colorado law the unequivocal right to an abortion. The bill was not amended during its passage in the Senate and heads directly to Gov. Jared Polis, who is expected…