Opinion Editorials
Opinion editorials written by Senators and staff do not necessarily reflect the position of the entire caucus.
HISEY: A special session called by the governor
Finally! When the Senate Republicans called for a special session on July 28 to address COVID-19’s impact on schools, the students and their parents, it was called a “political stunt to try to score cheap points.”
COOKE: Is crime getting worse in Colorado?
Colorado is under the grip of two concurrent epidemics; COVID-19, and crime. Both are taking their toll in terms of irrevocable financial loss and lives severely disrupted or even cut short; but only one – the crime epidemic – is largely self-inflicted.
CORAM: Tri-State leaders pulled a sneaky move; the PUC should stop them
Many of our constituents have been customers of Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association, La Plata Electric Association and Delta-Montrose Electric Association for many years, far too many of which have been filled with higher-than-necessary bills, largely a result of suspect decisions out of Tri-State Generation and Transmission’s metro-Denver corporate offices.
SONNENBERG: Governor escalates his War on Rural Colorado
Elections are fast approaching, and this governor is making political appointments that appear to be furthering his “War on Rural Colorado.” Polis’ latest appointment, to the State Board of Veterinary Medicine, is a self-proclaimed “vegan activist” whose response to the outcry against this absurd move was to attack one of Colorado’s premier youth organizations on social media. Ellen Kessler claimed that 4-H clubs – known as one of the first kids’ clubs in America, with a focus on leadership, citizenship, and life skills – “teach children that animal lives don’t matter.”
HISEY: Now it is up to the voter
With the session over, the decision-making shifts to the voters who will decide at the ballot box. The legislature referred three measures to ballot, two constitutional changes and one tax increase. None of which does the legislature have the authority to implement on its own. Charitable Bingo and Raffles Amendment is the working title to an amendment that allows charitable organizations to obtain a charitable gaming license after three years as opposed to the current five-year rule and to hire a manager so long as they are paid no more than minimum wage. Yes, bingo is regulated in the Colorado Constitution.
HISEY: Some good news in the final week
First – good news for parental rights and homeschoolers, as well as a mea culpa from me. I wrote earlier that there was a homeschool exemption in SB20-163 as it left the Senate for the House. Turns out I was incorrect and several people let me know. Thank you, I do read the comments you send back. Given our interrupted session and as the bill was still working its way through the House, it seemed prudent to wait for the final vote to report back.
SONNENBERG: Northeast Colorado suffering from metro area decisions
King Jared and Dean Williams have failed to protect Sterling Correctional Facility, leaving the residents of Northeast Colorado vulnerable. Safe in their ivory towers, the governor and his executive director of Colorado’s Department of Corrections sit congratulating themselves while the citizens of Northeastern Colorado are left to correct the mess of their colossal failures.
SONNENBERG: We can defeat this virus — without shuttering businesses and killing jobs
We have a saying in the country when someone is getting a bit too rambunctious: "Hold yer horses!" When learning of these new and ever-more drastic restrictions, is there a point at which you would say enough is enough? At what point is the solution worse than the problem?
COOKE: More price controls are the wrong Rx for health care in Colorado
While impeachment dominates the national news cycle, one policy debate lingers just below the surface: how to deal with “surprise medical bills.” One proposal would use the heavy hand of government to impose price controls on treatments subject to surprise billing.
LUNDEEN: No more kicking the can down the (potholed) road
For years — decades even — Coloradans have called upon the General Assembly to prioritize Colorado’s outdated transportation infrastructure. Our elected officials have for so long kicked this proverbial can down the (potholed) road that the Colorado Department of Transportation now has a backlog of anywhere from $7 billion to $9 billion in projects. To put that in perspective, that’s nearly a fourth of Colorado’s entire budget this year.
GARDNER & LUNDEEN: All is not well at the Colorado Civil Rights Division and Commission, as suspected
By Senators Bob Gardner and Paul Lundeen The recent audit of the Colorado civil rights division and the commission was nothing short of damning. Failure to properly abide by state law by holding all deliberations and votes behind closed doors, a lackluster ability to...
NAUMANN: Colorado’s economic success doesn’t need a nudge from the guv
In 1996, a young Colorado entrepreneur had the foresight to take his parents’ greeting card business online and the charming if not annoying e-cards were born. That entrepreneur, Jared Polis, was just 24 years old when that company was sold for over $700 million. Alas, there was no Office of Domain Registration, no Office of Graphic Design, and certainly no Office of the Future of Work — yet the governor still seemed to make it in such a confusing economic environment.