Education & Resources
POLICY UPDATES AND EDUCATIONAL ARTICLES TO HELP ORGANIZATIONS THRIVE
 Introduction
You made it to the end of January! The month of January is named after Janus, the Roman god of doors, gates, and transitions. Janus had two faces – one looking back to the past and one looking forward to the future. So on this final day of January remember to look back to the good times before session started and the triumph that will come on May 8 when the session is over. Today marks the 24th day of the session, which means we are 20 percent of the way to the end of the 120-day session. There have now been 247 total bills introduced, with the House introducing 68 new bills this week and only one new bill from the Senate. For a little perspective, over the past decade the General Assembly has averaged 659 bills introduced each session. Last session was slightly higher at 705 bills. So while 247 is a lot of bills, there’s still a whole lot left to come. Here’s the big news to know from the Capitol this week. News To Know From This Week The Trump Factor This week started off with chaos surrounding President Trump’s order to freeze federal financial assistance programs. The order on Monday sent states scrambling to understand the fallout, the attempt to pull back the order on Tuesday did little to help, and by Wednesday the order was blocked by a judge and then rescinded. But confusion and fear remain over how President Trump’s orders will affect Colorado. This isn’t a newsletter about national politics but the potential impact on the state was top of mind for several legislators this week. Here’s some news on that topic for your awareness:
Controversial Gun Bill The other big news this week was the first committee hearing on Senate Bill 3, which would ban the manufacture or sale of guns that accept detachable magazines. Sponsors said this bill is an attempt to enforce the magazine limit that was passed in 2013 after the Aurora theater shooting, while opponents argue that this is a right protected under the Second Amendment. The bill was heard in the Senate State, Veterans, and Military Affairs committee until nearly midnight on Tuesday, and passed on a 3-2 party line vote. The bill is now pending debate on the Senate floor. Read more: Proposal to ban guns with detachable magazines clears first hurdle at the statehouse Put Your Phone Away On Wednesday there was a press conference to announce a new bill to combat cell phones in schools. The bill is sponsored by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and is backed by the Attorney General’s office. The bill wouldn’t impose a full ban on cell phones in schools, but it would require all school boards to adopt a cell phone usage policy. Currently, nineteen other states have laws related to cell phone usage in schools, and eight of those ban cell phones in schools entirely. Read more: Colorado lawmakers introduce bipartisan bill to require cellphone policies in schools Paying Student Athletes Also on Wednesday, House Bill 1041 had its first committee hearing. The bill seeks to allow higher education institutions to directly pay students for their name, image, and likeness (NIL). The bill is being criticized for a lack of transparency, including a provision in the bill that restricts public disclosure of contracts between student athletes and their higher education institution. The bill was laid over for action and is scheduled to be back up for a vote next week. Time is of the essence on this bill, as the deadline for providing back pay to students for use of their NIL rights is in April. Read more: Colorado legislature begins debate over paying college athletes, with transparency questions looming large Graveyard of Bills This week several bills were postponed indefinitely, which is a nice neutral legislative term for the bill dying. Some of those bills now in the dustbin of legislative history include:
Next Week Next week all of the supplemental budget bills that the Joint Budget Committee has been working on the past couple of weeks will be introduced in the Senate; and they will work their way through committee, floor debate, and final vote by the end of the week. Committee hearings to watch out for include House Bill 1010, a controversial bill on prohibiting price gouging in the sale of necessities; Senate Bill 2, a high-priority housing bill this session on regional building codes for factory-built structures; and the bill you’ve been waiting for – House Bill 1091, concerning the designation of the Agaricus julius mushroom as the state mushroom. Conclusion Bye-bye January. Forward onto the rest of the session, mushrooms and all! Have a good weekend. Comments are closed.
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