Colorado lawmakers are racing against the calendar — or, depending on one’s outlook — wielding time like a weapon against disfavored policies — to finish their business for the 2024 regular session of the General Assembly.
The legislature must adjourn by the end of the day on May 8, giving them 10 final days. With that deadline pressure, here’s a look at votes and other action at the State Capitol Monday.
Updated at 4:37 p.m.: Gov. Jared Polis and Democratic lawmakers this afternoon announced new fees on oil and gas production that are part of a legislative package negotiated in an attempt to stem intense legislative and ballot fights between environmentalists and the energy industry.
The package, which would depend on the legislature to pass several bills, could take time to implement, according to a news release issued by the governor’s office. But it’s aimed at providing “regulatory certainty” for the oil and gas industry while “putting Colorado on a path to achieve climate goals.”
Senate President Steve Fenberg said the new fees on production, if approved, would raise an estimated $138 million per year, with 80% of the proceeds going to improve public transit. The governor’s office said land conservation and habitation protection efforts also would benefit from the “modest fees.” (Read more about the deal here.)
Earlier this session, lawmakers rejected a bill that would have phased out new oil and gas drilling in the state by the end of the decade. Other legislation and proposed ballot initiatives have been pursued by various interests.
“Leading our state often means pulling together people with different viewpoints to work together and forge the best path forward for Colorado,” Polis said in a statement. “This important agreement does just that by taking important steps to improve air quality, transition away from emissions-causing transportation systems, and protect our lands, while also pulling down opposing ballot initiatives.”
Groups cited as joining the agreement include Earthjustice, Conservation Colorado and Western Resource Advocates, among several environmental advocacy groups, and, on the industry side, the producers Occidental, Civitas and Chevron.
Updated at 2:25 p.m.: Gov. Jared Polis signed the $40 billion-plus budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. And with his signature, Colorado is in constitutional compliance for the first time in more than a decade.
The budget zeroes out the so-called negative factor, or the gap between what the state pays into education and what the Colorado Constitution requires. It equals about $737 more per student across the state, Polis said.
“It can’t be overstated how crucial it is that this is the first time in over 10 years — probably 14 years — that we have been constitutionally compliant in our funding for K-12 public schools,” Rep. Shannon Bird, a Westminster Democrat and chair of the Joint Budget Committee, said.
This year marked a return to normal, limited budgets compared to the topsy-turvy budgets of the COVID pandemic, when the state faced deep cuts before then receiving a flood of federal money, budget writers said.
But they still found cash to boost auto theft prevention, increase higher education funding, add more than 120 beds for intellectual and developmentally disabled Coloradans, and increase the number of days people can stay at behavioral health facilities. Still other increases include creating a stipend program for homeless youth to pay for college tuition and related costs that might be barriers to higher education.
Updated at 1:23 p.m.: After lengthy debates, the House passed two gun-reform bills. One, Senate Bill 131, would prohibit people from taking firearms into the state Capitol and certain other government buildings or offices; onto school and university campuses; and to licensed child care facilities.
Senate Bill 3 directs more than $1 million to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to investigate illegal gun sales, plus nearly $400,000 more for other purposes.
Both bills previously passed the Senate but have undergone changes in the House, meaning their sponsors will now decide what to do with those changes before sending the measures to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk.
Republicans opposed both measures (as did a some moderate Democrats). They argued that the bill limiting where a gun could be carried would make those spaces less safe.
Rep. Jennifer Bacon, a Denver Democrat, countered that the violence should not be solved solely through more violence, and legislators said they feel unsafe because some Republican colleagues carry firearms. Earlier this month, Republican Rep. Don Wilson left a loaded gun in a Capitol bathroom. Last year, two firearms were stolen from Republican Rep. Ron Weinberg’s car outside of the Capitol. The year before that, Republican Rep. Richard Holtorf dropped his gun in a public area while running to vote.
Updated at 11:50 a.m.: The Colorado Senate voted 29-5 to let voters amend the Colorado Constitution to remove a defunct provision that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The provision hasn’t been enforceable since the landmark 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
Republican Sens. Mark Baisley, Byron Pelton, Rod Pelton, Kevin Van Winkle and Perry Will voted against the measure. It still needs approval in the House — where Democrats hold a supermajority — before it goes to voters for approval.
Republicans hold a minority of seats in the Senate, as well, but have enough seats to stop proposed constitutional amendments, which require two-third support, if they unify against them. They used that margin earlier this session to stop a proposed amendment to allow people to bring civil claims of childhood sexual assault regardless of when that assault happened.
But Monday’s vote included several Republicans joining with Democrats, easily clearing the two-thirds threshold.
Because it would remove language from the Constitution, the ballot measure would need only a simple majority from voters to be enacted.
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