Education & Resources
POLICY UPDATES AND EDUCATIONAL ARTICLES TO HELP ORGANIZATIONS THRIVE
 Introduction
A lot of people are celebrating right now. Lobbyists and legislators alike are celebrating the General Assembly not being in session today. Christians are celebrating Good Friday and Easter this weekend. Jews are celebrating Passover, which also ends this weekend. NBA and NHL fans are celebrating the playoffs starting this weekend. Stoners are celebrating 420 on Sunday. Skiers are celebrating a fresh blast of April snow. And everyone in Colorado is celebrating the legislative session crossing the 100 day mark. Today is day 101 for the 2025 session and when everyone descends on the Capitol again on Monday there will only be two and a half weeks left until sine die! Lest this newsletter take away from your time celebrating this weekend; here’s an update on what to watch out for in the final weeks of session, an update on more 2026 announcements, and the first veto (and potential override) of the session. What To Watch For In Final Weeks There’s light at the end of the tunnel and we’re just weeks out from Sine Die. Even though the end of session is in sight, the General Assembly still has quite a few big bills on their to-do list. Although most of these have already been introduced, there’s still at least one big bill awaiting introduction – a bill to address concerns raised by stakeholders about Senate Bill 205, a sweeping bill dealing with artificial intelligence that was passed last year. When Governor Polis signed Senate Bill 205 last year, he signed it on the condition that conversations would remain ongoing and that fixes to the bill would be made through legislation this year. What exactly will be included has been shrouded in mystery, though. The much anticipated bill should finally be released next week. Senate Bill 71 and Senate Bill 124, both bills dealing with the federal 340B drug pricing program, are also among the outstanding big issues on the General Assembly’s to-do list. This has been one of the most lobbied issues of this year’s legislative session, and will continue to be one to watch when the bills come up in the House. Senate Bill 5, a contentious labor bill that Governor Polis has encouraged compromise on, is inching closer and closer to Polis’ desk for signature – without a compromise yet. This bill has been an ongoing fight between labor unions and the business community throughout the session, as it would remove a key requirement for unions to be able to negotiate with employers. Although Governor Polis has reiterated that he hopes both sides can reach a compromise, there has yet to be a compromise agreed upon by both sides. The bill is currently awaiting its second and third reading in the House, and would be sent to Polis from there upon passage. House Joint Resolution 1023 is also awaiting debate on the House floor, which is also likely to be a topic of hours long discussion. The resolution would direct the General Assembly to file a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of Colorado’s Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights (TABOR). In recent years, Democrats have voiced issues with TABOR but this has more recently been a topic of conversation due to the state’s budget deficit. Another controversial bill that’s expected to be highly debated is Senate Bill 276, which would shield illegal immigrants from various federal policies that could impact them. Typically, the Senate takes substantially less time than the House takes to debate a bill. This week, the Senate debated Senate Bill 276 for nearly nine hours, so House members might need to pack their sleeping bags when it’s their turn to debate the bill. More 2026 Announcements JBC Chairman Jeff Bridges Announces Run for State Treasurer On Tuesday, Senator Jeff Bridges announced his run for state treasurer in 2026. So far, three other Democrats have announced campaigns for state treasurer as well, including state Representative Brianna Titone. Bridges’ announcement came with several endorsements, including endorsements from Senate President James Coleman, as well as previous and current fellow JBC members that served on the committee with Bridges. Read more – Colorado Democratic Sen. Jeff Bridges announces bid for state treasurer in 2026 Potential Rematch in the 8th Congressional District Also on Tuesday, former U.S. Representative Yadira Caraveo announced another run for Colorado’s 8th Congressional District. Caraveo won the seat in 2022 when the district had been newly drawn, but was unseated by Republican Congressman Gabe Evans in 2024. This time around, Caraveo may have to win the Democratic primary before a rematch with Evans is in order for 2026. In January, current state Representative Manny Rutinel, who is much more progressive than Caraveo, also announced his run for the 8th Congressional District and reported just over $1 million in fundraising for this year’s first quarter. If Rutinel doesn’t bow out ahead of the primary, Caraveo would have to beat him (and any other candidates in the Democratic primary) to challenge Evans in November. Given Rutinel’s fundraising, it’s unlikely he’d drop out of the primary at this point but it’s still too early to tell. This seat will be a huge priority for Democrats trying to take back the House at the federal level. Since its first election in 2022, this congressional district has easily been one of the most expensive and competitive seats in the country. Read more – Former Rep. Yadira Caraveo launches bid to win back Colorado’s 8th District seat Third Time’s a Charm for Greg Lopez? Michael Bennet and Phil Weiser aren’t the only ones who have officially announced gubernatorial bids for 2026. This week, Republican Greg Lopez also announced plans to run for governor… for the third election cycle in a row. In 2018 and 2022, Lopez ran for the Republican nomination for governor but didn’t make it through the primary. Last year, Lopez briefly served in Congress to finish out the rest of former U.S. Representative Ken Buck’s term. Read more – Republican Greg Lopez is running for a third straight time to be Colorado’s governor First Veto of 2025 On Thursday, Governor Polis issued the first veto of the 2025 legislative session. The bill he vetoed dealt with public records laws so it isn’t necessarily that exciting of a veto but it does set up something rare – a potential attempt by legislators to override the Governor’s veto. It takes two-thirds of each chamber to override a Governor’s veto. That kind of bipartisan rebuke of a Governor doesn’t happen often. The last successful veto override was in 2007, and the last one before that was in 1988. Senate Bill 77 passed with veto proof majorities but the Governor is likely to lobby hard against the override. And the whole skirmish is over a bipartisan bill that just modified time frames and procedures for responding to open records act requests. Essentially, the bill sought to give small local governments a little more time to respond to requests that weren’t from the media, and did not shield anything from public view. Polis did in fact sign a bill earlier in the session that blocked the public from being able to view the records of what public colleges pay student athletes, and when he signed that bill he delivered a warning that he would carefully review future legislation that limited access to public records. Apparently as with racing, in legislating it also pays to finish first. Read more – Gov. Jared Polis, in first veto of year, rejects bill changing public records law — setting up potential override vote Next Week Needless to say, the General Assembly is full speed ahead with just weeks to go. The Joint Budget Committee completed all of the conference committees on the budget and next week all of the bills will be re-passed in both chambers. As bills are quickly making their way through the legislative process, next week will likely be a big week for floor work and long debates on some of the more controversial bills. Have a good weekend. It’s probably the last “good” weekend until the end of the session. Comments are closed.
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