julie gonzales
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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…
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State Senate panel mirrors House, approves abortion bill in another late-night hearing
Just one week removed from a 14-hour hearing in the House Health & Insurance Committee, it was the Colorado Senate Judiciary Committee’s turn for a late-night hearing on House Bill 1279, the Reproductive Health Equity Act. The Senate hearing was only minutes shorter, wrapping up just after midnight Friday morning. More than 200 witnesses signed up…
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Sponsors pull bill on racial bias in jury selection after opposition from DAs
The Democratic sponsors of a bill to combat implicit racial bias in jury selection have opted against moving forward with their proposal, asking instead that the Colorado Supreme Court exercise its rulemaking power before the next legislative session. Sens. Pete Lee, D-Colorado Springs, and Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, had initially sought to address the concerns of…
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Reproductive Health Equity Act seeks to expressly codify abortion right in state law
Democratic state lawmakers want to put a final stamp on the right to an abortion by expressly codifying it some 55 years after it became legal in Colorado. Opponents are already gearing for a legal challenge, should it become law. Members of the majority party introduced House Bill 22-1279, the Reproductive Health Equity Act, on Thursday. Sponsored…
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Senate Democrats to pick next leader Wednesday
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new information that shakes up who’s likely to be at the top of the race to become Senate President. Senate Democrats are poised to settle the Capitol intrigue over who will succeed Senate President Leroy Garcia, D-Pueblo, and potentially fill other leadership positions when they meet at…
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Lawmakers give bill allowing hospital visits another chance after heartbreaking testimony from families affected by COVID
Richard Gillham, a resident of Peetz in northern Logan County, was a farmer all his life. Rim Ranch, which his family owns, is one of Colorado’s Centennial farms, a designation awarded to farms that have been in the same family for at least 100 years. He loved his wife of 48 years, Nita, and adored…
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Colorado Democratic lawmakers to sponsor bill upholding women’s right to abortion in 2022 session
The prospect that the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade is pushing Colorado’s Democratic women legislators to act, long before a decision from the court is likely. The nation’s highest court is reviewing Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a 2018 Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks.…
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ENDORSEMENT WATCH | EMILY’s List gets behind Democratic legislative candidates
EMILY’s List, a national group that backs pro-abortion-rights Democratic women candidates, has endorsed 14 Colorado legislative candidates, including a half dozen running for seats that could determine which party has the majority in the state Senate. The group’s president, Stephanie Schriock, said the group’s picks “have the backbones and experience to fight for Colorado’s women…