The Haxtun-Fleming Herald - What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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 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...

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...

Farmers don’t have the luxury to wait for their equipment to be fixed, so a bill approved by the House Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources Committee will give them leeway to do their own repairs, or at least take the equipment to an independen...

The looming crisis on the Colorado River, which supplies water to seven states and feeds the billion-dollar agricultural industries in California, Arizona and Colorado, is prompting Colorado lawmakers to ramp up their attention to water issues. That...

Members of the Colorado National Guard, who are called out by the governor to help with natural disasters, should not have to use vacation time from their jobs when they’re out for longer periods of time, under a bill approved by the General...

Governor Jared Polis, in a 70-minute State of the State address Jan. 17, outlined his priorities for the upcoming legislative session and what he wants Colorado to look like when he finishes his second term in 2026. The item that got the...

The first week of the General Assembly saw Republican House members trying to upset the apple cart on the vote for Speaker of the House. House and Senate leaders gave opening day speeches on Jan. 9 that outlined their priorities for the next 120...

The Colorado General Assembly began its 2023 session next Monday, Jan. 9. With dozens of new lawmakers joining the legislature, out of 100 total, the session promises to be a little more chaotic than usual. In the State House, there will eventually...

The 100 members of the Colorado General Assembly returned to the State Capitol on Mon. Jan. 9, with leadership from both parties laying out their priorities for the next 120 days. Governor Jared Polis also gave a hint about his priorities in a...

Friday, June 10 marked 30 days since the end of the 2022 General Assembly session and the deadline for all bills sent to the governor to be signed, vetoed or become law without his signature. The General Assembly introduced 657 bills during its 120-d...

State Representative Rod Pelton, R-Cheyenne Wells, will continue to represent the Eastern Plains come 2023, but it will be a district (and a seat) very different from the one he currently covers.  Pelton has been the representative for House...

As he readies himself for the next phase of his career in public service, Senator Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, recently reflected on the policies and people who have been a part of that journey at the State Capitol.  Ten of the 13 Senate bills Sonn...

Sixteen years. That’s the maximum any Coloradan can serve in the Colorado General Assembly, at least consecutively, with four two-year terms in the House and two four-year terms in the Senate. What does that mean? It means seniority, respect, and t...