Colorado lawmakers drop planned overhaul of RTD’s elected board

Colorado lawmakers are abandoning plans to overhaul the Regional Transportation District’s governing board and change how its members are selected after transit officials blasted the plan. Reps. William Lindstedt and Meg Froelich said Wednesday that they are still set to pursue other RTD reforms through House Bill 1447. But they said they plan to drop … Read more

Gov. Jared Polis signs bill barring most occupancy limits in cities

Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill into law Monday that officially eliminates most restrictions on how many unrelated roommates can live together in Colorado. House Bill 1007 prohibits local governments from enacting occupancy limits, which Polis and other critics of the policy have derided as discriminatory and outdated. Roughly two dozen Colorado cities have such … Read more

Colorado House passes bill to ban sale, purchase of “assault weapons”

For the first time in Colorado history, House Democrats passed a bill Sunday to ban the sale, purchase and transfer of so-called “assault weapons” in the state, setting the measure on a collision course with the state Senate. House Bill 1292 passed on a 35-27 vote, two votes past the threshold needed to pass. All … Read more

Colorado lawmakers plan return of criminal justice commission

Colorado legislators are working to launch two commissions that will help shape criminal justice policy statewide into the near future, an effort that’s drawn the praise of policymakers while reigniting the same simmering tensions that helped sink a predecessor last year. Under recommendations issued last month by a working group convened by Gov. Jared Polis, … Read more

Colorado lawmakers bow to fire chiefs on single-stair apartments bill

Facing a wall of opposition from fire officials, Colorado lawmakers on Wednesday killed a bill that would have allowed taller apartment buildings to be constructed in a single-stair style that’s common in Europe. House Bill 1239, had it passed, would have allowed developers in Colorado to build five-story buildings around a single stairway, rather than … Read more

Police use of “prone restraint,” supervised drug sites

Colorado House passes bill allowing supervised drug-use sites, but it still faces roadblocks A bill to allow supervised drug-use sites to open in willing Colorado cities cleared the state House for the second time in two years on Friday, but it faces a significant uphill battle in the face of opposition in the Senate and … Read more

Colorado agency steps up to buy Stanley hotel after sale falls through

A deal for the state of Colorado to purchase the famous Stanley Hotel in Estes Park that inspired Stephen King’s “The Shining” is officially on the table. The Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority stepped up with a plan to buy the haunted hotel after a deal to sell the Stanley to an Arizona nonprofit … Read more

Colorado House passes supervised drug use bill but obstacles remain

A bill to allow supervised drug-use sites to open in willing Colorado cities cleared the state House for the second time in two years on Friday, but it faces a significant uphill battle in the face of opposition in the Senate and from Gov. Jared Polis. House Bill 1028 is Rep. Elisabeth Epps’ second attempt to … Read more

Faith Winter, Colorado Senate leader, enters treatment for alcohol use

State Sen. Faith Winter, a Broomfield lawmaker and the third-ranking Democrat in the chamber, said Thursday that she has entered substance-use treatment for alcohol abuse after appearing intoxicated at a community event this week. Winter apologized for her behavior at the Northglenn event Wednesday night, where she appeared to slur her words when she spoke … Read more

Budget week part 2, tax credits, prone-restraint bills in Colorado legislature

Colorado legislators will work through Budget Madness Part 2 this week, as the state’s spending plan for next year is set to pass the House on Monday before crossing over and restarting the process in the Senate. The House worked all day and into the night Thursday (before taking Good Friday off) to give initial … Read more