COLORADO LEGISLATIVE STRATEGIES NEWSLETTER - Session Week 2

Introduction

The General Assembly made it through week two of the legislative session and now has a long weekend because the Capitol will be closed on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. But did you know it was a hard fought battle at the Capitol to establish this state holiday?

Legislation to establish the holiday died in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, and 1983. Finally, in 1984 the bill passed and established Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a state holiday. The last four attempts were sponsored by Wilma Webb and afterward the Speaker of the House, who was an opponent of establishing MLK Day, actually refused to appoint her to her seat on the Joint Budget Committee. She had to sue him to get her seat on the JBC and won. 

That’s certainly not a good look for Colorado, but at least it didn’t take us until the year 2000 like the last state (South Carolina) to establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a state holiday.

Now here’s the big news to know from this week – quick hits with some links to read more if you’re interested. Then there will be a regular update on what’s going on with the budget, since that will be looming over everything this year, and what to watch out for next week.

News To Know From This Week

On Tuesday, Senate Republicans rolled out a bill package that Republicans say would save Coloradans $4,500 annually. The bills seek to repeal fees and regulations as a result of legislation from recent years such as modifying Colorado’s construction defect law, repealing fees on paper bags at retailers, repealing a recently implemented cage-free egg mandate, and repealing a fee on utility bills. 

Read More – Senate Republicans roll out package to save Coloradans $4,500 annually (Colorado Politics)

Colorado has continued to see declining enrollment in public schools according to recent data from the Department of Education. Given the budget situation, this could mean school districts with declining enrollment could be on the receiving end of budget cuts next year. That being said, Governor Polis has proposed a new method to count students in districts by averaging enrollment numbers over a five year period, which could help districts with declining enrollment from receiving bigger cuts.

Read More – More than 100 Colorado school districts have declining enrollment. State funding cuts could come next. (Colorado Sun)

On Wednesday, the joint House and Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources committees met to hear presentations from the Department of Natural Resources, as well as Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The discussion from lawmakers was largely focused on the gray wolf reintroduction and included heavy criticism of the reintroduction from both sides of the aisle. This comes on the heels of more wolves arriving in Colorado earlier this week and being released the same day as the hearing 

Read More – Colorado lawmakers grill officials about wolves' continued impact on ranching community (Colorado Politics)

A recent poll from a research group out of Washington, D.C. indicated that more than two-thirds of Colorado voters would oppose the controversial Senate Bill 5, which would make it significantly easier for workers to negotiate a union security agreement with employers. Interestingly, the poll showed Democrat voters to be split evenly between supporting and opposing the concept, which is somewhat similar to the theme among Democrat lawmakers at the Capitol. This will be a huge issue to watch for this session.

Read More – Poll: Colorado voters oppose bill to eliminate second union election (Colorado Politics)

This week the House Health and Human Services committee advanced House Bill 1063, which legalizes medication using synthetic psilocybin for certain conditions if approved by the FDA. The bill has bipartisan sponsorship and was almost unanimously voted out of committee. The bill sponsors reiterated that this is not to be confused with “magic mushrooms,” which were legalized in Colorado in 2022. Rather, this is to treat psychological conditions such as PTSD.

Read More – Colorado House committee advances psilocybin bill, pending FDA approval (Colorado Politics)

As this year’s session gets underway, we’ve already seen some familiar bill titles from last year be introduced for another shot at passage this year. Among the highlights are bills dealing with nuclear energy, a single payer healthcare system, insurance coverage for diabetes prevention, whistleblower protections in law enforcement reporting, and firearm theft. 

Read More – Back for More | Colorado legislators bring last year's failed measures back in 2025 session (Colorado Politics)

What’s Going On With The Budget

The Joint Budget Committee was busy this week presenting at joint House and Senate committee hearings. Pursuant to a joint rule the JBC members present on the budget items for each department in conjunction with the department SMART Act hearings. There are just a few of those left to get through next week. 

The JBC has also been meeting to go through supplemental budget requests. Supplementals are adjustments to the current year’s budget. And just like what’s going on with next year’s budget, it’s mostly about cuts. The state budget for this year is facing a shortfall of roughly $200 million below the 15 percent statutory reserve requirement for the year. 

Supplementals will take up the next two weeks and the JBC will turn to figure setting for next year’s budget at the beginning of February. 

Next Week

Normally the first few weeks of the session are relatively light on bills being heard in committee and the ones that do get scheduled are usually less controversial. Well that all goes out the window on Tuesday when the Senate Business, Labor, and Technology committee will hear Senate Bill 5, the highly controversial bill on changes to the Labor Peace Act.

Additionally, expect another big tranche of bills to be introduced next week.

Conclusion

​Stay warm and have a nice long weekend; the session is about to shift into the next gear.