Articles written by Marianne Goodland

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 By Marianne Goodland    News    March 13, 2024 

Two funeral home bills win unanimous support

By Marianne Goodland Legislative reporter Two bills designed to put oversight into the funeral home industry won unanimous committee approvals in the past week. House Bill 1335, which won approval from the House Business Affairs & Labor Committee, is...

 

Ag & Natural Resources committee gives appointees thumbs down

Two of Governor Jared Polis’ three appointees to the State Parks and Wildlife Commission got a thumbs-down from the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Feb. 29. The committee, with chair Senator Dylan Roberts, D-Summit County,...

 

Judiciary Committee approves harsher penalties for human trafficking

Senator Byron Pelton’s bill to enhance the criminal penalties for human trafficking won a 4-1 vote last week from the state Senate Judiciary Committee and now heads to the full Senate for debate. The measure, Senate Bill 35, makes human...

 

Demoratic sponsored HB 1178 to give local control to pesticide regulations

Democratic lawmakers at the State Capitol have started their efforts to allow local governments to regulate pesticides, despite testimony from farmers and their allies that pests and weeds don’t respect county boundaries. House Bill 1178,...

 

Legislature looks at mental health programs for farmers & ranchers

By Marianne Goodland Legislative reporter The State Senate this week took on the issue of behavioral health in rural Colorado, with two measures designed to help farmers and ranchers with mental health programs and providers. Senator Perry Will,...

 

Raw milk sales tops legislative agenda

Farmers who want to sell raw milk directly to consumers are one step closer to being able to do it legally. A bill co-sponsored by Senators Byron Pelton, R-Sterling, and Dylan Roberts, D-Frisco, recently won a unanimous vote from the Senate...

 

CPW comes under fire following release of depredatory wolves

Lawmakers had strong criticism for the staff of Colorado Parks and Wildlife over their handling of the release of the first five wolves under the Front Range voter-approved wolf restoration plan.  The comments about how the release was mishandled...

 

Colorado's lawmakers to begin 2024 bills hearings this week

This week marks the beginning of bills hearings at the Colorado legislature and among the bills lawmakers will consider is one dealing with “de-Brucing.” Currently, 51 out of 64 counties, including the counties in northeastern Colorado, have obta...

 

Legislative leaders open 2024 legislative session with hopes of civility

Lawmakers have returned to the State Capitol for the 2024 legislative session. The first two days were full of pomp and circumstance and drama. Legislative leaders led off day one with remarks on how they’d like to see the 2024 session progress...

 

74th General Assembly convenes; lawmakers set priorities for 120-day session

The 2024 General Assembly session began on Wednesday, Jan. 10, with an election looming just 10 months away that could determine whether Republicans gain lost ground in the House or keep Democrats from a super majority in the Senate. The two...

 

General Assembly convenes for special session called by Polis

Just days after voters delivered a stinging defeat of Proposition HH, a Democratic-backed proposal from the General Assembly and Governor Jared Polis, the governor called lawmakers back to the State Capitol to come up with property tax relief that wo...

 
 By Marianne Goodland    News    May 24, 2023

Sen. Byron Pelton wraps up first year in Colorado State Senate

First-year State Senator Byron Pelton of Sterling had big shoes to fill when he was sworn into office last January.  Succeeding 16-year lawmaker Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, now a Logan County commissioner, Pelton was immediately part of a coalition of ne...

 
 By Marianne Goodland    News    May 17, 2023

House Republicans walk out in final days of session over HB 1311

The Colorado General Assembly wrapped up its 2023 work on Monday, May 8, after 120 days of what’s been called one of the most contentious sessions in recent memory. The last day was capped by a walk-out by House Republicans over the rush by...

 
 By Marianne Goodland    News    May 10, 2023

School Finance Act passes; bill contains $300,000 for mascot replacement

The School Finance Act is headed to the Governor, although not without some last-minute protests from progressive Democrats who argued against the money set aside in the measure for schools that shelled out thousands of dollars to replace mascot...

 
 By Marianne Goodland    News    May 3, 2023

200+ bills face lawmakers as days of General Assembly wind down

The Colorado General Assembly is in its final days of the 2023 session, with adjournment to take place no later than midnight, Monday, May 8. Lawmakers have at least 200 bills to complete in the final week, including the Governor’s housing plan as...

 

SB 287 to give schools nearly $1,000 more per student next year

The school finance act, the legislative measure that funds public schools, is well on its way to passage through the General Assembly in the waning weeks of the session. Senate Bill 287 funds each student at $8,076.41, an eight percent increase over...

 

Final approval of budget given without funding for Yuma schools

The back and forth in the General Assembly over whether to send $356,701 to the Yuma school district to pay for mascot replacement is back to “no,” after lawmakers gave their final approval to the 2023-24 budget. Senate Bill 214 is the budget...

 

Costs of Yuma Schools mascot change included in 2023-24 budget

State House lawmakers wrapped up their work on the 2023-24 State budget as contained in Senate Bill 214, with Republicans winning some key concessions that added amendments to the budget. Among the amendments added: $354,701 to pay for the costs of...

 

Proposed budget increases $85.5 million over last year's budget

The 2023-24 State budget is now in front of lawmakers at the State Capitol. During the past week, the Senate worked on the $38.5 billion budget, adding $85.5 million in additional spending that included $354,000 in funding for the Yuma school...

 

Trio of firearm bills dominate debates at State Capitol

The Colorado State House spent the weekend working on a trio of gun bills, with approval largely along party-lines, although there were a few Democratic defections along the way. Majority Democrats also invoked a rarely used rule to limit debate,...

 

Senator Lewis abandons agreement

A bill to ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption, which hasn't been available in the United States since 2007, fell by the wayside in the State Senate this week when the bill's Democratic...

 

Pelton and Mullica seek to stiffen penalties for drug deals resulting in death

Senators Byron Pelton, R-Sterling, and Kyle Mullica, D-Thornton, won approval from a Senate committee last week for a measure that will impose higher penalties for those who deal in Schedule I or II drugs that result in death.  The bill mirrors the...

 

Assault weapon bill introduced last week

Rumors of a bill banning so-called “assault weapons” have been circulating at the State Capitol (and outside of it) since before the 2023 session started. Up until a week ago, Democrats were downplaying the chances that the bill would be...

 

Democrats introduce firearm bills; assault weapon bill excluded

Democrats at the State Capitol have rolled out a package of four bills they claim will reduce gun violence. But a bill that has already seen several drafts, on banning so-called assault weapons, wasn’t among them and it may not surface in the 2023...

 

Holtorf opposes adopted bills on right to repair and firearms

The Colorado State House adopted three bills in the past week dealing with prisons, right to repair for agricultural equipment and firearms, and on the latter two, with vigorous opposition from Representative Richard Holtorf, R-Akron. Lawmakers...

 

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