Colorado Legislative Strategies Updates 3.11.23

COLORADO LEGISLATIVE STRATEGIES NEWSLETTER
 
March 11, 2023

​Introduction
 
Today was the first Saturday session this year. Saturday sessions used to be rare but have occurred in each of the last few sessions. However, those Saturday work days were much later in the session and this is a first with over eight weeks left to go before the end of the term. 
 
And if that isn’t enough fun for you this weekend, you’re also going to lose an hour of sleep tonight. Daylight saving time, which runs from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, adjusts the clocks forward one hour. You are about to essentially time travel forward an hour for the next half of the year so there will be more sunlight later in the day.
 
The biannual tradition of moving our clocks around and trying to readjust is not without controversy, and there have been many bills introduced over the years on the topic. Generally speaking, most people want to stop changing clocks around, with fewer people preferring to be on year-round standard time, and more people preferring to be on year-round daylight saving time. But the problem is federal law allows states to go all standard time (Arizona and Hawaii do this) but there needs to be an act of Congress to allow states to go to all daylight saving time.
 
After many failed attempts to enact both year-round standard time and daylight saving time, last year Governor Polis signed a bill to move Colorado to all daylight saving time once Congress allows. There are now 19 states who have passed those laws over the last five years since Florida was the first state to enact legislation to permanently observe daylight saving time.
 
However, since Congress often moves at a pace more closely aligned with geologic time when it comes to needed legislation, you’re still going to have to lose an hour of sleep once a year in order to get more sunlight for part of the year. What a system we have. 
 
And speaking of effective and efficient government, back to the Colorado legislature this week. Both the House and the Senate spent all kinds of absurd amounts of hours on several gun bills, working late into the night, literally all night long, and culminating in the first Saturday session of the year. 
 
But before we dive into all of the loquacious news from this week, here a look at where we are at this point in the session. 

​Halfway Through Session
 
We are now over halfway through the legislative session! Today was the 62nd day of the 120-day session, which means we’re officially over the hump and it’s all downhill from here. Depending on your perspective, that downhill ride can be thrilling, terrifying, or both. 
 
Here’s a look at where we are at this point, by the numbers:
 
There have been a total of 429 bills introduced this session, 239 in the House and 190 in the Senate. Nearly 10 percent of those 429 bills (42 bills) have already made it all the way through the Colorado School House Rock and have now been signed by the Governor.
 
Another 63 bills have been postponed indefinitely, the prim and proper legislative speak for killed bills. That’s another nearly 15 percent of all the bills so far that have been disposed of. 
 
But that means that over 75 percent of all the bills that have been introduced (324 bills) are still working their way through various parts of the legislative process. Plus, the history of the last few sessions tells us there will also be about 200 more bills introduced.
 
Keep in mind, some of those roughly 200 additional bills will be part of the Long Bill budget package, just like many of the bills in the 42 that have already been signed were supplemental budget bills. But that still leaves a whole lot of late bills, some of which will be amongst the most controversial of the year, that are still coming. Terrified yet?
 
The budget is one of the biggest things that will happen in the second half of the session. The Joint Budget Committee will be finalizing all of their budget decisions and accompanying legislation in the next couple weeks, and the budget package is scheduled to be introduced in the Senate on Monday, March 27. Each chamber then has their budget week. 
 
An important milestone for the budget is the March Economic and Revenue Forecast, which is next Thursday and will tell us exactly how much money the state will be able to spend. Make sure to watch out for more information on all of that next week. Indications from the last forecasts are that it will be a very tight budget year but little money to spend on legislative bills. 
 
The fiscal notes of many bills, and even the Governor’s priorities (to a certain extent), will have to bend to the pressure from the economic and revenue forecast. Unlike the federal government, the state government has to have a balanced budget, and Colorado uniquely has to set aside large amounts of otherwise spendable government money as taxpayer refunds. 
 
The second half of the session will have a lot of action. From everything dealing with the budget, to all of the bills (controversial and not) currently in the system and still yet to come, and all the late nights and possibly more Saturdays in between. Buckle up for a wild ride to the finish line. 
 
This Week
 
This was a long week full of a lot of words. Not only were there many hours spent on several gun bills but there were also many press conferences on various topics this week too. Plus there was some other work that the legislature did this week with some high-profile,  controversial bills passing out of committee. Here’s a rundown of all the overly loquacious and other political news this week.
 
Guns, Guns, Guns 
 
On Monday, the first of four bills included in the Governor’s gun violence prevention package was heard in the House State Affairs committee. House Bill 1219 would require a three-day waiting period before purchasing a gun. Several witnesses testified, sharing stories of loved ones whose lives might’ve been saved if a waiting period had been in place. After hours of testimony, the bill passed out of committee 7-4 with one Democrat voting no.
 
On Wednesday, the Senate State Affairs committee heard the other three bills included in the Governor’s gun bill package, including  Senate Bill 170, which would expand Colorado’s red flag laws, Senate Bill 169, which would increase the minimum age to purchase a gun from 18 years old to 21 years old, and Senate Bill 168, which would enable those affected by gun violence to take legal action against a gun manufacturer. The committee spent roughly four hours on each of the three bills, and finally adjourned a little after 9:00 P.M. All three bills passed out of committee on a party-line vote, and passed second reading on Friday after a long debate. 
 
On Thursday afternoon, the House settled in for their first (and probably not last) all-nighter of the session. Republicans were armed with several amendments that would ease the three day waiting period outlined in the bill. House Bill 1202, which would enable local governments to authorize safe injection sites, was also brought to the floor for second reading very early on Friday morning. Not as many amendments were offered on the safe injection sites bill as there were on the three day waiting period bill, but the Republicans made sure we’d have to work on a Saturday there was extensive discussion on safe injection sites as well. 
 
The busy week for Republicans didn’t end on Friday, when the House finally adjourned around 7:30 A.M. As a result of Thursday’s all-nighter, the House went to the floor on Saturday morning to continue working through the calendar. Saturday morning’s agenda included the three-day waiting period bill and the safe injection site bill on third reading, among several others. The problem with that timing is that House Republicans were expected to be in Loveland to cast their vote for Colorado’s new state GOP Chair on Saturday. However most were able to vote by proxy and former Representative Dave Williams was elected the new chair. Not that there were any moderates in the race, Williams represents the even further-right side of the party.
 
Press Conferences
 
As if there weren’t enough words spilled during the gun debates, this week was full of press conferences too. Topics included education, energy, reproductive healthcare, and a message for Republicans. Here’s an overview of all the press conferences this week:
 
First up was education, specifically more support in math instruction. On Tuesday, legislators from both sides of the aisle joined Governor Polis for a press conference to announce the introduction of legislation that would provide tools to strengthen math instruction and engagement for students, from preschool through twelfth grade. 
 
Ironically, during the press conference on education the Governor misspelled the word “educator” (he missed the “c”). A quick text alert from a reporter in the crowd was sent to the Governor’s staff, who then sent a text to Governor Polis himself during the press conference to correct it. Still during the press conference, the Governor suddenly said, “I’m being told that I didn’t draw the ‘c’ dark enough,” and pretended to fill it in. Even Jared Polis can have a Dan Quayle moment.
 
On Wednesday, Governor Polis held a press conference with several legislators to introduce a clean energy bill package and a review of the climate bills that have already been introduced. The administration’s priority bills will continue to expand the effort toward 100% clean energy by 2040 through increasing access to electric vehicles, bikes, and heating/cooling technology. Some highlights of bills mentioned include transitioning away from gas utilities by increasing access to thermal energy, electric vehicle charging/parking requirements, and incentivizing production of green hydrogen. 
 
On Thursday, Democratic lawmakers announced the introduction of three bills to expand on last year’s Reproductive Health Equity Act (RHEA). One of the bills mentioned would protect abortion patients and providers from interstate investigations, and expand this protection to patients and providers of gender affirming care as well. Other initiatives announced at the press conference would expand insurance coverage for abortion care and restrict deceptive advertising from what Republicans call “crisis pregnancy centers,” and what Democrats call “anti-abortion clinics”. 
 
Also on Thursday, not wanting Governor Polis and the Democrats to have all the fun, Republicans gathered for a press conference of their own to review the first half of the legislative session. Leadership and members of the caucus urged Democrats to engage in bipartisan, pragmatic discussions that seek solutions to issues such as public safety, rather than take an ideological approach. 
 
Other News 
 
Lastly, the Joint Select Committee on Rising Utility Rates convened for their first meeting on Tuesday afternoon, and heard from energy experts on rising utility rates in Colorado. The experts provided general information on the utility rate setting process, consumer representation, and mitigating rate increases as Colorado’s work toward clean energy continues. Several bills of note advanced this week. Senate Bill 093, which would cap medical debt interest rates, passed the Senate and is on its way to the House. House Bill 1224, which would expand the Colorado Option, and House Bill 1225, which would expand Colorado’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board, both unsurprisingly passed out of the House Health and Insurance committee on Friday afternoon on party-line votes. 
 
Next Week
 
Next week will be another busy week under the Gold Dome. Several business bills are scheduled for floorwork next week, including Senate Bill 058, or the Job Application Fairness Act, and Senate Bill 017, which expands use of paid sick leave for employees. Additionally, a catastrophic bill for access to health care, House Bill 1215, will be heard in committee on Friday.
 
Plus next Friday is St. Patrick’s Day! The Denver St. Patrick’s Day Parade and accompanying festivities were actually going on downtown simultaneously to members of the House working in the Capitol today. No comment on any festivities that might have been going on inside of the Capitol.
 
Have a good weekend (at least what’s left of it), and to the extent you still have clocks that are manually adjusted, don’t forget to change your clocks.