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

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...

The 2022 General Assembly session came to its constitutionally mandated conclusion shortly before midnight Wednesday, May 11, bringing forward 657 bills during its 120 days. What remained on lawmakers’ agendas until the very last day included...

The 2022 General Assembly adjourns for the year on Wednesday, May 11, having worked on 655 bills, including 100 introduced in the session’s final month. Among the actions in the last full week: the House reviewed Senate Bill 230, a bill that would...

Senate Democrats, faced with a threat of more than 24 hours of debate on a bill on collective bargaining, watered the bill down on April 29th to one that puts more control into the hands of county commissioners. That debate came two days after...

A bill to help students with severe behavioral issues and other needs shows just how caught in the middle kids are: on one side, parents who are frustrated with the lack of available medically necessary services for their children with disabilities...

Should illegal ponds be tapped to combat wildfires? A month ago, the answer was a clear “yes,” but when Senate Bill 114 came to the House Agriculture, Livestock and Water Committee last week, it wasn’t so clear. The bill is now raising...

The Senate wrapped up its work on the 2022-23 State budget, adding a whopping $783 million in new spending, but the bulk of those changes are unlikely to make it to the final version. The biggest change was an amendment from Senators Barbara...

Senator Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, won a surprising 23-10 vote on Senate Bill 53, which would allow a patient in a hospital or nursing home to have a family member visit during a pandemic. The March 29 vote was bipartisan, with 13 Democrats and...

Emotional stories from Democratic lawmakers who lost loved ones to COVID-19 was enough to garner a preliminary voice of approval on March 25 on a hospital visitation bill from Senator Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, Senate Bill 53 was approved on a...

Representative Rod Pelton, R-Cheyenne Wells, scored a bipartisan victory in the House Finance Committee on March 17, with approval of House Bill 1129. The bill sets up a one-time income tax credit of surplus general funds — the dollars the state ge...