COLORADO LEGISLATIVE STRATEGIES NEWSLETTER

Introduction

It’s March Madness! Both in basketball and at the Capitol… But you’d probably rather be watching games than reading this so we’ll keep it brief this week. And there was already a long newsletter on Monday about the March Economic & Revenue Forecast. 

Your bracket is likely already busted (or at least will be soon) but the state budget – and the normal budget process – is definitely busted after this week. Every year the budget has a certain process – the Governor’s budget proposal, staff briefings, department hearings, figure setting hearings, and comebacks. All of which culminates in the JBC making final difficult decisions and closing out the budget for the Long Bill to be introduced the next week, which was supposed to happen today.

It’s official enough to have a specific date in the General Assembly’s deadline schedule. “Monday, March 24 – Introducing the Long Bill in the Senate.” But instead of that, the Chair of the JBC announced today that the Long Bill will be introduced the following week. 

Get ready for a big time crunch to get everything done by the end of the session. Today is the end of the 11th week of session. Next week the JBC will finally close out the budget (12th week). After that the Senate will spend a week debating the budget (13th week). After that the House will spend a week debating the budget (14th week). After that the JBC will reconvene to conference committee on the budget and both chambers will pass the final budget (15th week). 

There are only 18 weeks in the session. And the last week is just a few days. That means that after Easter there are really just two and a half weeks to clear all the legislation that normally moves after the budget. 

Nobody envies the difficult task the JBC has, but the lack of urgency to make all the hard decisions and close out the budget this week is wild considering the calendar. But hey, it’s March Madness and anything can happen this time of year. 

And the deadline schedule isn’t even like a one seed going down (the majority plays with deadlines all the time), the budget getting pushed back a week is like a 12-5 upset – it’s still an upset but you knew something like that would happen.

Capitol News This Week

The Construction Defects Saga Continues

On Tuesday, the House Transportation, Housing, and Local Government committee took a big step toward resolving the years-long construction defect battle. House Bill 1272, a “compromise bill” that would address liability issues for homebuilders, was passed out of committee on a vote of 12-1. Several amendments were added that incorporated pieces of a competing bill, House Bill 1261, which was postponed indefinitely by sponsors after amendments were added to 1272. 

Read more – Construction-defects reform decisively clears major hurdle 

Senate District 17 Vacancy Appointment

On Tuesday evening, a vacancy committee selected Boulder Democrat Katie Wallce to replace former state Senator Sonya Jaquez Lewis, following her resignation last month. The appointment process included eight other candidates, but Wallace prevailed with over 58 percent of the first (and only) vote from the committee.

In her comments during the committee meeting, Wallace outlined some of her priorities including addressing climate change, housing, and preserving funding for Medicaid.

Read more – Boulder County Democrats choose Katie Wallace to replace former Sen. Jaquez Lewis 

Teachers Rally at the Capitol

On Thursday, hundreds (and possibly more) teachers across Colorado gathered at the Capitol to protest funding cuts to education amidst the state’s $1.2 billion state budget deficit. Several major school districts in the area canceled classes for the day due to so many teachers attending the protest. Of Denver Public Schools, about two thirds of schools canceled classes.

In response to concerns from educators, House Speaker Julie McCluskie described a school funding proposal that she has been in the process of drafting, which would slow the implementation of a new funding formula for schools that was passed last year. Governor Polis has also offered a school funding proposal to increase year-over-year education spending, but has been met with criticism due to the state’s budget deficit. 

Read more – Hundreds of teachers rally to protect schools at the Colorado Capitol as lawmakers look for cuts 

Contentious Gun Proposal Approaches Final Steps to Passage

Senate Bill 3, the controversial bill that would restrict sale, distribution, or manufacturing of guns that take detachable magazines, is being debated on the House floor for second reading this afternoon (and likely well into the evening). Originally, Governor Polis expressed concerns over the bill unless significant amendments were added. Because those amendments were added in the Senate, it’s likely Polis will sign the bill once it gets through second and third reading (and lengthy filibusters) in the House. 

Read more – Democrats’ sweeping gun-control proposal is up for debate Friday in the Colorado House

Next Week

Among some of the big bills scheduled for committee next week is House Bill 1300, which changes how workers receive workers’ compensation benefits when injured, and House Bill 1286, which requires employers to implement additional safety measures for employees related to extreme temperatures. 

And of course, there should be a lot of big budget news too…

Have a good weekend.