Colorado legislators are working to launch two commissions that will help shape criminal justice policy statewide into the near future, an effort that’s drawn the praise of policymakers while reigniting the same simmering tensions that helped sink a predecessor last year. Under recommendations issued last month by a working group convened by Gov. Jared Polis, … Read more
Facing a wall of opposition from fire officials, Colorado lawmakers on Wednesday killed a bill that would have allowed taller apartment buildings to be constructed in a single-stair style that’s common in Europe. House Bill 1239, had it passed, would have allowed developers in Colorado to build five-story buildings around a single stairway, rather than … Read more
Politicians and news outlets expressed outrage Monday over the expulsion from a Republican gathering of an experienced politics reporter who was told the state party chairman believed her reporting was “very unfair.” Journalists and elected officials, including the former chair of the Colorado Republican Party, came to the defense of Colorado Sun reporter Sandra Fish. … Read more
Low-income Coloradans with mental illnesses are poised to receive longer hospital stays after state legislators set aside money to expand a decades-old Medicaid rule. Federal law requires that Medicaid patients hospitalized in psychiatric facilities be discharged after 15 hospital days in a month or the facility doesn’t get paid. The rule was intended to prevent … Read more
Update, March 26: The for-cause evictions bill passed the Senate on Tuesday. Democrats in the Colorado Senate fought off a challenge from within their own party Monday and advanced a bill that would increase displacement protections for tenants — clearing that hurdle nearly a year after the legislative death of a similar proposal. The bill … Read more
The couple sat on the edge of the bed in their Denver home, tightly holding hands, as the minutes slowly ticked by. A lot was riding on that moment on an early April morning. Kristina Turczyn and her wife, Mindy Taylor, had decided that this would be their last round of in vitro fertilization — … Read more
Colorado lawmakers are poised to ban occupancy limits in cities and towns across the state, clearing the way for more roommates to live together as part of Democrats’ push to reform local zoning regulations and address the state’s housing crisis. Roughly two dozen cities and towns in Colorado have the type of occupancy limits that … Read more
Colorado’s U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse was elected Wednesday by his colleagues to serve as the assistant Democratic leader in the House. Neguse, a third-term congressman representing Boulder and north-central Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District, is now fourth in the leadership pecking order, behind Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the Democrats’ whip and caucus chair. Neguse replaces … Read more
After last week was disrupted by the snowpocalypse, the Colorado Capitol is back on track this week, and it’s kicking off the latter half of March with what will almost certainly be the longest committee hearing of the session. A bill to ban the purchase and transfer of so-called assault weapons (HB24-1292) is set for … Read more
Coloradans would have an easier time repairing cellphones and other personal electronic devices under a bill passed by the state House on Tuesday, the latest in a slew of “right-to-repair” legislation considered in recent years here. House Bill 24-1121 would require manufacturers of various personal electronic equipment — like cellphones and video game consoles — … Read more
