Colorado
As Colorado legislative session winds down, property tax reform is still in the air, but progress on other fronts
For the second year in a row, the sounds of Cinco de Mayo echoed into the Capitol as lawmakers toiled on a Saturday to find common ground on proposed reforms to state land use and property tax policy.
The 120-day legislative session ends Wednesday, and lawmakers are still wrestling with some of the marquee proposals of the session, though with some breakthroughs on issues that had threatened to chew up valuable time — while other potential hot spots emerged.
The Senate passed Saturday a significantly narrowed ban on minimum parking requirements, one of the proposed land use reforms that emerged from the failure of last year’s omnibus proposal. The original bill had aimed to ban parking minimums throughout many of Colorado’s cities and suburbs. To tone down opposition, sponsor Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, a Pueblo Democrat, limited the ban just to areas along transit corridors. (Senators also ribbed Hinrichsen by offering an amendment that would remove his parking spot at the Capitol.)
“It will save a lot of money for builders, and they’ll be able to offer more product in the form of affordable housing, to actually build housing, as opposed to building parking and housing for folks that don’t necessarily want any parking,” Sen. Kevin Priola, a Henderson Democrat and bill sponsor, said.
The proposal, House Bill 1304, will now need to return to the House for reconsideration. Meanwhile, two other major land use proposals — one to boost the number of accessory dwelling units through the state and another to increase density along transit corridors — still need to formally pass the Senate after passing the House. Some senators have raised concerns about both as possibly stepping on local control.
Meanwhile, lawmakers negotiating a proposed long-term reform to property taxes continued to run around the Capitol to find a deal in the waning days. It needs to be introduced on Monday at the latest to have enough time to clear the building before the end of the regular session — and stave off another potential special session on property tax.
In addition to filling a gap in tax policy left by the repeal of the Gallagher Amendment and giving property owners a break on rising property taxes, they’re trying to head off ballot initiatives that would severely cap property tax collections. Backers of the initiatives argue it’s about keeping the government from growing faster than paychecks and keeping homeowners solvent. But state officials, including some elected Republicans, warn it would lead to draconian cuts to state and local government services.
Parties on all sides of the negotiation say they’re closing in on a deal, but it is still being tuned — and not guaranteed.
“We’re pushing really hard,” said Dave Davia, president of Colorado Concern, a business group backing some of the initiatives, adding that they’re hoping for a legislative solution.
Other priority bills for Democratic leadership continued apace Saturday.
The Senate formally passed a pair of bills to reduce emissions from oil and gas production and levy a per-barrel fee to pay for transit and wildlife habitat. The bills were introduced this week to ease simmering tensions between environmental groups, legislators and the industry and end dueling legislation and ballot initiatives affecting the industry. They will now go to the House for consideration.
Another bill, to put a 6.5% excise tax on guns and ammo in Colorado, also cleared a key Senate committee after concerns about its movement through the chamber boiled over into the public. The tax would raise an estimated $39 million a year and go to victim services and behavioral health programs.
The Democratic Women’s Caucus of Colorado publicly accused Sen. Kyle Mullica, a Thornton Democrat, of holding up the bill and threatening to kill it. He called the letter full of “falsehoods” and said the bill was merely going through standard amendment negotiations. He praised advocates and bill sponsors before voting yes on the bill in committee.
Meanwhile, the amended bill raised the hackles of Sen. Kevin Van Winkle, a Highlands Ranch Republican, because it removed school security as a possible use for the excise tax. He promised “vigorous” debate on the Senate floor if it isn’t replaced — a potent threat as lawmakers race against the Constitutionally required end of the session.
Voters will also have the chance to remove defunct language in the Colorado Constitution defining marriage as between a man and woman, after the House approved a referred measure Saturday. It already cleared the Senate. Referred measures to amend the state Constitution need at least two-thirds support in each chamber to pass. It passed with bipartisan support in the Senate, but near party lines in the House, where Democrats hold a supermajority.
The proposed amendment would remove a ban approved by voters in 2006. It has been unenforceable since 2015, when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide with its ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. A majority of voters will need to approve the proposal this November for it to take effect.
Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter, The Spot.
Colorado Avalanche (10-9-0) @ Washington Capitals (13-4-1)
5 p.m. MT | Capital One Arena | Watch: Altitude, 9News, My20, Altitude+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)
For the second time in six days the Colorado Avalanche will faceoff against the Washington Capitals. Colorado will battle to split the season series after a 5-2 loss at Ball Arena on November 15.
Latest Result (COL): COL 3, PHI 2
Latest Result (WSH): WSH 6, UTA 2
Soaring Past the Flyers
The Avalanche beat the Flyers 3-2 at Wells Fargo Center on Monday. Cale Makar posted his 10th-career multi-goal game and Casey Mittlestadt added a goal. Additionally, Mikko Rantanen recorded two assists and Justus Annunen made 24 saves. Following a scoreless first period, Makar opened the scoring with a wrist shot from the slot at 8:30 of the second period after receiving Nathan MacKinnon’s set-up feed. Makar thought he had his second of the game at 10:44 of the middle frame, but the goal was taken off the board due to a successful Flyers challenge for goaltender interference. However, Makar would eventually double Colorado’s lead on the power play with his eighth tally of the season at 15:08 of the middle frame with a shot from the point that deflected off a Flyers player on its way in. The Burgundy and Blue took a 3-0 lead at 8:34 of the third period when Mittelstadt dispatched the rebound created by Rantanen’s shot into the net for his seventh goal of the season. The Flyers answered with goals from Owen Tippett at 11:48 and Tyson Foerster at 13:32 to cut their deficit to one, but the Avs held on to secure their 10th victory of the season.
Leading the Way
MacKinnon leads the NHL in points (34) and assists (27).
Makar leads NHL blueliners in goals (8), assists (19), and points (27). He’s tied for seventh among NHL skaters in points and tied for fifth in assists.
Rantanen is tied for sixth in the league in goals (12) and tied for seventh in points (27).
History
The Avalanche are 18-20-4 in 42 previous regular-season games against the Capitals. Colorado is 4-1-0 in its last five matchups against Washington dating back to the 2022-23 season.
Winning Out West
The Capitals beat the Utah Hockey Club 6-2 at the Delta Center on Monday. Alex Ovechkin scored twice, and Charlie Lindgren made 24 saves. Utah opened the scoring with a goal by Jack McBain at 3:05 of the first period but the Capitals responded with tallies from Dylan Strome at 7:46, Nic Dowd at 7:56, and Ovechkin at 11:05. Ovechkin extended Washington’s lead to three with a goal at 5:38 of the second period before Nick Bjugstad scored for Utah at 11:44 to make it 4-2 in favor of Washington entering the third period. Ovechkin did leave the game midway through the third period with a lower-body injury and has been placed on injured reserve and ruled week-to-week. The Caps added two more goals in the third period from Brandon Duhaime at 7:30 and Aliaksei Protas at 9:56 to win 6-2.
Putting Up Numbers on the Potomac
MacKinnon has posted 28 points (11g/17a) in 20-career matchups against the Capitals including 11 points (5g/6a) in 10 road matchups against them.
In eight previous meetings with Washington, Makar has recorded six points (2g/4a).
Rantanen has registered 19 points (8g/11a) in 14 previous games against Washington including eight points (4g/4a) on the road.
Capitals’ Contributors
Strome leads the Capitals in points (28) and assists (22).
Connor McMichael is second on the team in goals (12) and third in points (19).
Aliaksei Protas is fourth on the team in points (18), third in goals (7), and tied for third in assists (11).
A Numbers Game
10
Makar became the first defenseman in franchise history to record 10 multi-goal games.
3
The Avalanche have three players (MacKinnon, Makar, and Rantanen) in the top 10 in points. No other team has more than one.
165
The Avs have registered 165 high-danger shots on goal, which ranks sixth in the NHL.
Quote That Left a Mark
“Juice is great. I think he’s been great all year. [He made] some big saves, especially at the beginning there…So [it was a] heck of a job from Juice for sure.”
— Casey Mittelstadt on Justus Annunen’s performance on Monday
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Hundreds of Colorado Springs residents showed up at the Pikes Peak Library District Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday night in a last-ditch effort to save the Rockrimmon Library.
The library is set to close December 1. This comes after the board voted to not renew the library’s lease due to financial issues.
In a statement posted on their website on November 8, the board called the decision to close Rockrimmon a difficult one.
“A library provides access to resources and materials to everyone in the community, so considering a closure goes against the grain of our hopes for PPLD. However, our District provides access to nearly 700,000 people across El Paso County. We must make decisions that sustain the entire District.”
More than 250 community members showed up to Wednesday’s board meeting to show their support for keeping the Rockrimmon location open with another 119 tuning in virtually.
Former Rockrimmon Library manager Steve Abbott said he was glad to see the turnout.
“It shows that the community will not give up and they are going to fight to keep this library open,” he said.
For most of the almost five-hour meeting, 43 speakers took turns pleading with board members to postpone the library’s closure, extend the lease another year, and reconsider their decision to close the library in the first place.
One of those who spoke before the board, Abbott said closing the library will leave a massive gap for the 30,000 people who live in the area.
“It leaves a big library desert in the Rockrimmon area,” he said. “For a child to use a library now, they’ll have to go over I-25, under I-25, over Academy, under Academy to get to a library, and it’s six miles away from where Rockrimmon was.”
Speaker and Rockrimmon resident Jennifer Walker said closing the library would also deprive the area of a much-needed community center.
“There is no YMCA, there’s nothing else,” she said. “This is where we meet other moms when we’re desperate to talk to another human being that’s not a toddler, this is where we go to work when we need a quiet space, this is where the elderly come to use the computer or to check out books.”
The fate of the Rockrimmon Library was not on the board’s agenda and those who left the meeting tell 11 News the meeting ended with no resolution.
Walker said residents are still exploring their legal options.
Copyright 2024 KKTV. All rights reserved.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released a breakdown Wednesday of five potential paths forward for the fragile state-to-state negotiations surrounding Colorado River operating guidelines that must be updated by 2026.
The Colorado River, which is Southern Nevada’s primary source of water, holds a precarious future as the basin experiences historic drought and state leaders disagree on how to deal with shortages. The range of alternatives is possibly the last major announcement about negotiations to come from the Bureau of Reclamation under the Biden-Harris administration.
“We have worked tirelessly over the past several years to bring Colorado River Basin stakeholders together for a transparent and inclusive post-2026 process,” Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said in a statement. “Today, we show our collective work. These alternatives represent a responsible range from which to build the best and most robust path forward for the Basin.”
What to know heading into 2025
The breakdown between two coalitions of states, the Upper and Lower Basins, centers around whether the Upper Basin — Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming — should be required to take cuts to its water allocation past what’s known as the river’s “structural deficit,” or the 1.5 million acre-feet lost to evaporation and transport. The Upper Basin has argued that it takes too many cuts already because of its reliance on snowpack instead of big reservoirs.
The Lower Basin also has called for smaller reservoirs in the Upper Basin states to be included in discussions about cuts in water usage across the system.
Notably, one of the five alternatives is based on proposals from Native American tribes, calling for the government to account for undeveloped tribal water.
The acknowledgement of the ongoing duel between the Upper and Lower Basins is the “Basin Hybrid” alternative, which appears to fall somewhere down the middle of the two coalition’s proposals.
In a statement, Upper Basin Commissioner and Colorado negotiator Becky Mitchell said it’s too early to speak directly about the five alternatives from the Bureau of Reclamation.
“Colorado continues to stand firmly behind the Upper Division States’ Alternative, which performs best according to Reclamation’s own modeling and directly meets the purpose and need of this federal action,” she said.
The Lower Basin states of Nevada, California and Arizona didn’t immediately release a statement when the announcement was released at 1 p.m.
All seven state negotiators will convene in Las Vegas in early December at the Colorado River Water Users Association conference, where experts and officials will discuss what’s to come from negotiations under President-elect Donald Trump.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X.
Opinion: Who's the vice-president elect? Elon Musk or JD Vance?
Freddie Freeman grand slam ball to be auctioned. Could bring 'life-changing money' for Venice family
ICC issues arrest warrant for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu
UK imposes sanctions on Isabel dos Santos, Ukrainian oligarch Firtash
This year's FAFSA is officially open. Early review says it's 'a piece of cake'
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Why Marjorie Taylor Greene was ‘kicked out’ of the Freedom Caucus according to Rep. Buck
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
UK imposes sanctions on Isabel dos Santos, Ukrainian oligarch Firtash
This year's FAFSA is officially open. Early review says it's 'a piece of cake'
Read the Verdict in the Civil Case Against Amber Guyger
Democrat Tammy Baldwin details recipe for running in a swing state after victory in Trump-won Wisconsin
Are users deserting Elon Musk’s X en masse and where are they heading?
-
News1 week agoHerbert Smith Freehills to merge with US-based law firm Kramer Levin
-
Business1 week ago
Column: OpenAI just scored a huge victory in a copyright case … or did it?
-
Health1 week agoBird flu leaves teen in critical condition after country's first reported case
-
Business4 days agoColumn: Molly White's message for journalists going freelance — be ready for the pitfalls
-
World1 week agoSarah Palin, NY Times Have Explored Settlement, as Judge Sets Defamation Retrial
-
Politics4 days agoTrump taps FCC member Brendan Carr to lead agency: 'Warrior for Free Speech'
-
Science2 days agoTrump nominates Dr. Oz to head Medicare and Medicaid and help take on 'illness industrial complex'
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25739950/247386_Elon_Musk_Open_AI_CVirginia.jpg "Inside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI")
Technology3 days agoInside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI
