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Secretary of State announces $894K in grants directed to six county governments
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Secretary of State announces $894K in grants directed to six county governments

By Rocky Mountain Voice Staff Six counties have been awarded $894,411 in grant funding by the Colorado Secretary of State's Electronic Recording Technology Board, a release received by Rocky Mountain Voice reads. The counties being funded are Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Clear Creek, Dolores, Pueblo and Yuma for indexing and digitizing of county records and to improve public accessibility to historical documents. “The grant money we’ve awarded to Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Clear Creek, Dolores, Pueblo and Yuma Counties represents an investment in Colorado’s future," the release announcing the awards reads. "It’s a privilege to be able to support these counties in their commitment to preserving historical records and making documents more accessible for their constituents.” Government grants ge...
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Want real property tax relief? Stay tuned for ballot initiatives in November.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Want real property tax relief? Stay tuned for ballot initiatives in November.

By Rocky Mountain Voice Staff A bill passed yesterday, touted as the answer to skyrocketing property taxes, does NOT cut property taxes. Instead of paying an effective rate of 6.3% this year, you'll be paying 6.8% next year.  Colorado lawmakers wrapped up their 2024 legislative session Wednesday evening by sending Gov. Jared Polis a last-minute property tax relief bill, Senate Bill 233. Introduced on Monday after months of negotiations, this was one of the final bills to pass before the Assembly adjourned for the year. Lawmakers hope the measure will dissuade voters from backing property tax measures on the November ballot that could significantly impact state and local government budgets.  Colorado Concern, the group ready to push a ballot initiative, didn’t get on board.  S...
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Smrz: Thirty-seven 1st Amendment advocates denied a voice at Colorado Capitol 
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Commentary, State

Smrz: Thirty-seven 1st Amendment advocates denied a voice at Colorado Capitol 

By Jimmy Smrz | Guest Commentary DENVER, COLORADO—On May 1, 2024, The state House Education Committee hearing for Colorado Senate Bill 24-158 proceeded without calling for testimony from any of the 37 opponents who had registered to speak against the bill. Insiders were struck by the one-sided monopolization of the hearing, where only testimony in support of the proposed legislation was heard. This raises concerns about legislative protocols and stakeholder engagement.  Following its introduction in February, "Social Media Protect Juveniles Disclosures Reports'' garnered significant legislative support. The bill passed out of the state Senate Business, Labor, and Technology Committee hearing on March 28 unanimously, and encountered only one dissenting vote in the full state Sena...
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‘Hostile and discriminatory’: 10th Circuit slams CU for treatment of religious vaccine exemptions
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coloradopolitics.com, State

‘Hostile and discriminatory’: 10th Circuit slams CU for treatment of religious vaccine exemptions

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics In a fiery opinion on Tuesday, the federal appeals court based in Denver tore into a pair of COVID-19 vaccination policies the University of Colorado imposed on medical staff in late 2021, concluding they discriminated against certain religions and affected plaintiffs were consequently entitled to exemptions. By 2-1, the all-Republican panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit directed unusually sharp barbs at each other and at the trial judge who initially declined to block the university's mandates. Judge Allison H. Eid, writing for the majority, believed the policies governing religious exemptions at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus were "permeated with animus." CU "has not even attempted to explain why its interest is served by...
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Property tax bill on track to reach governor’s desk by final day of session
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Property tax bill on track to reach governor’s desk by final day of session

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics With just one day left in the legislative session, an eleventh-hour property tax deal has unanimously cleared two House committees and secured approval at its second reading on the floor.  The bipartisan Senate Bill 233, announced the day before, marks the culmination of months of conversations between the governor, legislators and groups like Colorado Concern, Colorado Counties Inc. and the Bell Policy Center.  This bill gradually decreases commercial property assessment rates from 29% to 25% over three years and introduces two reductions in residential property valuations: from 6.8% to 6.7% for multifamily units and from 7.06% to 6.7% for all other residential properties. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Gaines: Colorado Democrats skirt asking your approval to take your money, bristle at attempts to rein them in
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Commentary, State

Gaines: Colorado Democrats skirt asking your approval to take your money, bristle at attempts to rein them in

By Cory Gaines | Colorado Accountability Project I think that, among other things, one-party dominance in this state has led to an arrogance on the part of the ruling party.  The idea that they know best.  That the values that their political base along the Front Range ought to by right be the template for the state.  That the special interests they represent have the one true vision for things here.   READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT THE COLORADO ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT
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Colorado lawmakers reach last-minute bipartisan property tax deal that averts cuts to K-12 funding
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State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado lawmakers reach last-minute bipartisan property tax deal that averts cuts to K-12 funding

By Jesse Paul and Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun Colorado’s property tax code would be reimagined — with long-term rate cuts for homeowners and businesses and a local revenue cap — under a fiercely negotiated, last-minute bipartisan bill introduced in the legislature Monday that aims to provide tax relief while protecting funding for K-12 schools.  The measure, Senate Bill 233, comes with just three days left in Colorado’s 2024 legislative session — the minimum amount of time needed to pass a bill. And it was the product of negotiations with Colorado Concern, a nonprofit representing CEOs in the state that was working on a plan to ask voters on the November ballot for an even bigger property tax break.  Lawmakers, Gov. Jared Polis’ office and interest groups we...
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Bill to ban purchase, sale and transfer of so-called assault weapons in Colorado will be shelved
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State, The Colorado Sun

Bill to ban purchase, sale and transfer of so-called assault weapons in Colorado will be shelved

By Jesse Paul | Colorado Sun A Colorado bill that would have banned the purchase, sale and transfer of a broad swath of semiautomatic firearms, defined in the measure as assault weapons, will be shelved at the request of one of its main sponsors. Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat and one of the lead sponsors of House Bill 1292, announced Monday that she would ask for the measure to be killed Tuesday in the Senate State, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. “After thoughtful conversations with my Senate colleagues, I decided that more conversations need to take place outside of the pressure cooker of the Capitol during the last weeks of the legislative session,” Gonzales said in a written statement. “In that spirit, I look forward to renewing and continuing those disc...
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Retiring Republican Doug Lamborn endorses Jeff Crank as his replacement in Colorado’s 5th CD
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Retiring Republican Doug Lamborn endorses Jeff Crank as his replacement in Colorado’s 5th CD

By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn on Monday formally endorsed Republican Jeff Crank as his successor. Calling the political operative and former talk radio host "a man of integrity, conviction and solid family values," Lamborn said he's throwing his "total endorsement and full support" behind Crank, one of two Republicans running for the El Paso County-based congressional seat Lamborn has held for nine terms. Lamborn, who announced in January that he wouldn't seek reelection in the heavily Republican 5th Congressional District, said he decided to make the endorsement after watching the GOP primary unfold between Crank and Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams. Both candidates have lost hard-fought primaries to Lamborn over the years:...
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Adams, Arapahoe Republicans to jointly host 4th District forum Saturday in Bennett
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Adams, Arapahoe Republicans to jointly host 4th District forum Saturday in Bennett

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice The six candidates appearing on the Republican Party's primary ballot in the 4th District congressional race each will appear Saturday, May 11, in a two-county forum. Adams and Arapahoe County Republicans will co-host a forum at Bennett Middle School, 455 8th St in Bennett, with the forum beginning at 3 p.m. and scheduled to last two hours. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. "This is an opportunity for the voters of U.S. Congressional District 4 to meet the Republican candidates in an informal forum setting where their questions and concerns can be addressed directly by the candidates," reads a press statement jointly released by Adams County Republican Party Chairman Daniel Belfontaine and Arapahoe County Republican Party Chairwoman Anne Rowland. Th...
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