mike foote
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Colo. civil rape shield law gets first state Senate hearing today
DENVER – In Colorado, victims’ sexual past cannot be used to discredit them in a criminal case alleging rape. A bill to be heard Monday in the state Senate Judiciary Committee would extend the same protections in civil court. In the Senate, the bill is sponsored by Sen. Don Coram, R-Montrose, and Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora.…
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Colo. House approves $29 billion state budget bill on bipartisan vote
DENVER – The Colorado House of Representatives this morning approved the 2018-19 budget as contained in House Bill 1322 on a 42-22 vote, sending it on to the Senate. All House Democrats voted in favor of the $28.9 billion measure, along with six Republicans, including state Rep. Bob Rankin of Carbondale, who represents the Republican…
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Fracking bills die predictable deaths in Colorado’s House and Senate
The fracking war in the Colorado legislature continued to be one of attrition, as a Republican bill to force communities to pay up if they ban oil-and-gas operations was killed by Democratic majority in the House. The Republican majority in the Senate returned the gesture by killing a Democratic bill to give more regulatory control…
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Colorado House expels Rep. Steve Lebsock, 52-9
The Colorado House voted to expel Rep. Steve Lebsock, a Democrat from Thornton, Friday, the first such move since a member was found to take a bribe on a floor of the chamber in 1915. Lebsock left the Capitol as soon as the vote was taken without speaking to the press. Within an hour before…
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Democrat Michael Dougherty kicks off campaign for Boulder County district attorney
Days after learning he’d been appointed to the office and just a week before precinct caucuses, Democrat Michael Dougherty, a former candidate for attorney general, declared Tuesday he’s running for Boulder County district attorney. Gov. John Hickenlooper last week named Dougherty to replace Stan Garnett, who is stepping down after 10 years in office to…
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In the shadow of another school shooting, ‘teachers with guns’ bill fails in Colorado
In the wake of a Columbine-style school shooting in Florida last week, Colorado lawmakers again weighed a trio of bills aimed at loosening up the state’s gun laws. All three failed on a partisan vote, as they do each year, including one that would have allowed school staff to carry firearms with an existing concealed…
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Michael Dougherty appointed to replace Stan Garnett as Boulder district attorney
Gov. John Hickenlooper on Wednesday appointed veteran prosecutor Michael Dougherty, a former Democratic candidate for attorney general, to replace Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett, who is stepping down at the end of the month to take a job with a law firm. At the same time, state Rep. Mike Foote, D-Lafayette, the other finalist…
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Insights: When did knowing too much become so political?
Normally it’s Democrats who want the public to know more about the effects of energy production near people, flora and fauna, but not so much on wind energy. That irony came to visit when Rep. Paul Lundeen brought a bill this session to create a state-approved online clearinghouse of credible information – about the public’s…
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Insights: CU political report suggests it’s a chilly year to be too conservative
Editor’s note: Scott Adler, the director of the American Politics Research Lab, contacted Colorado Politics to say the staff reversed the racial makeup of one of its questions. The original column is below. The headline from the newly released Colorado Political Climate Survey is that Sens. Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet, as well as the governor…