Colorado Legislative Strategies Updates 3.26.23

COLORADO LEGISLATIVE STRATEGIES NEWSLETTER
 
March 26, 2023

​Introduction
 
This newsletter is coming to you late on Sunday because the House worked all Saturday and Sunday this weekend. It’s the second time in March the House worked on Saturday, and now they’ve added Sunday too. Per the constitution, the legislature could work every day of the week for 120 straight days, but legislative leaders usually stick to a regular Monday through Friday schedule. Normally, weekends only come into play very late in the session, not in March. 
 
There are a little more than six weeks left in the session, and we’ll cross the two-thirds milestone next week. Problem is, there is still a whole lot left for that final third. Plus all the Republican filibustering, can’t forget about that (even though you might want to).
 
But before we get into all of the legislative fights that are happening and those still to come, we should start with something good. Monday this week marked the first day of spring. The vernal equinox, the day with equal amounts of light and dark as we transition from cold winter to the summer sun. It’s a reminder that we are now in a season of renewal, that even after the coldest and darkest of winters the promise of new life and growth is always just around the corner.
 
So here’s to hope and optimism in these final six weeks of madness. Now let’s dive into the big news this (long) week at the Capitol.

​This Week
 
Long debates were a big theme this week. The House is off in their own world and spent multiple days this weekend debating just a few gun bills, and the Senate, who doesn’t normally play those games like the House (as much), even stayed until midnight one night this week debating abortion bills. Guns and abortion, nothing else fires up long debates like those issues.
 
There are now over 500 bills that have been introduced, and except for fights over the relative few that are controversial, this session had been somewhat friendly among the General Assembly… until this week. There was no shortage of conflict between Democrats and Republicans (and even Democrats and Democrats) this week, and divisions within both parties are starting to take shape. Grab your popcorn, because the gloves came off this week.
 
On Monday, Senate Bill 109, a bipartisan bill that seeks to increase penalties against drug dealers,  caused some tension on the Senate floor among Democrats. The bill would make it a Level 1 felony if a drug dealer distributes a substance that contains fentanyl and results in a death. Democrats have a history of being divided on the fentanyl issue, with the far-left arguing against increasing penalties. Senate President Fenberg and Majority Leader Moreno voted with the far-left members of their caucus against the bill, but the bill finally passed third reading on a vote of 19-16 and is on its way to the House. 
 
Moreover, on Tuesday the House Democrats showed a similar dynamic in the House Judiciary committee. The committee heard House Bill 1135, which increases penalties for indecent exposure in front of a minor. Although the bill is sponsored by all Democrats, only four of the nine Democrats on the committee voted with Republicans in favor of the bill. The bill passed out of committee on a 8-5 vote. Increasing criminal penalties of any kind, no matter how reasonable they might be, are always a fight with the far-left these days.
 
On Wednesday, the Senate debated a trio of abortion bills for more than 11 hours. The bills would shield abortion patients and providers from interstate investigations, expand insurance coverage for abortion care, and prohibit what supporters call "deceptive" advertising from crisis pregnancy centers. All three bills passed 22-13, with Kevin Priola, who switched parties before the session, the lone Democrat voting no with the Republicans. 
 
This week everyone finally got to see the highly anticipated bills from the Governor on land use. Governor Polis held a press conference on Wednesday to roll out two new bills and they’re already drawing quite a bit of controversy. It would be an understatement to say local governments are “strongly opposed” to the governor’s proposals. More on that below.
 
East High School, which is no more than a mile from the Capitol, had shooting incident this week in which a student brought a gun to school and shot two administrators. This is just weeks after another shooting incident where a student was shot and killed in front of the school. By Thursday morning, the Capitol was filled with hundreds of high school students, their parents, and teachers to advocate for policy action to prevent gun violence. On Friday morning, they held a rally with legislators outside the Capitol and again swarmed the building to talk to legislators. 
 
On Friday, the House Health and Insurance committee heard House Bill 1215, the bill that would ban hospitals from charging facility fees. The proponents of the bill that would have catastrophic consequences for access to healthcare if passed, acknowledged ahead of the hearing how extreme the bill was and “pivoted” to doing a study. The bill was amended in committee to include a study and only ban facility fees for telehealth, preventative services, and primary care. The bill passed out of committee on a 8-3 party-line vote and will likely face more revisions. 
 
Lastly, on Friday the House Republicans began what became an all-weekend filibuster on the gun violence prevention bills. More on that at the end.
 
Land Use.
 
As we mentioned earlier, Governor Polis’ two land use bills make for an interesting political dynamic that will play out over the next six weeks. Here’s a closer look at each of the proposals and what both sides have to say on the issue. 
 
The first of the two, Senate Bill 213, is a whopping 105 pages of plans to change land use policies in municipalities. The bill lays out categories with different requirements to follow, depending on a municipality’s population, location and housing needs. It would also restrict municipalities from zoning, which is traditionally a local government issue, not a state issue.
 
The second, House Bill 1255 bans municipalities from using growth caps, which allows a municipality to control its growth by limiting development. It requires municipalities to come up with housing plans that meet minimum standards outlined in the bill and preempts any current local ordinance with a growth cap. If the municipalities don’t create their own plans, the default would be a state standardized zoning plan. 
 
On one hand, the business community has been pretty vocal in their general support of the efforts outlined in the bills. The efforts could point Colorado’s growth in a more economically competitive, pro-business direction by developing more housing. 
 
On the other hand, these are huge changes that would affect how local governments develop and enforce their own housing policies. Zoning and growth caps are tools for municipalities that don’t have the same capacity for fast paced development that urban cities have, like Denver. 
 
Local governments argue that the measures benefit developers rather than communities. To make their stance on what the Governor is trying to do perfectly clear, the head of the Colorado Municipal League recently said about the Governor’s proposals, “respectfully, get off our lawn”.
 
Guns (again)
 
And finally we get to the reason why you are getting this newsletter about this week so late on a Sunday, the House Republican filibuster on several gun violence prevention bills. 
 
First off, here’s a quick recap of what the bills that drew this long filibuster actually do. Senate Bill 168 allows individuals who have been affected by gun violence to sue gun manufacturers, Senate Bill 169 increases the minimum age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21 years old, and Senate Bill 170 expands Colorado’s existing red flag laws to allow medical providers, educators, and district attorneys to file a report. Proponents argue that these are not an assault on gun rights in Colorado although many Second Amendment advocates disagree.
 
Late Saturday night, Democrats even had to take the extraordinary step of using the rules to limit debate, which is the first time in at least the last decade that such a move has been needed. This is sure to exacerbate the already heightening tension among opposing lawmakers. 
 
Then the debate continued into Sunday, a real rarity even as weekend work-days become more common in the last few years. In the end, two of the three bills made it through second reading (the long debate) and third reading (the final vote that is supposed to be short but can be filibustered too); the third bill only made it through second reading and will still need to be voted on before going over to the Senate with the other two bills. 
 
Next Week
 
Next week will be another busy week. The Long Bill budget package will make its way through the Senate. Budget debates are often full of shenanigans with members trying to get their amendment on the budget. Plus several big bills will be up in committee. The House will have hearings on the abortion bills, so that’s sure to be a quick… 
 
Have a good weekend (at least what's left of it).