Tag: #colorado legislature
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GUEST OPINION: Homeowners can use low-water landscaping to save money, enhance home’s value
Swapping grass for drought-tolerant plants won’t just save water. It could add tens of thousands of dollars to your home’s value. Across Colorado, millions of gallons of treated drinking water are poured onto unused front yards and planting strips of bluegrass and fescue every summer. Water researchers have a name for this kind of turf:…
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Will Colorado courts curb lawmakers’ backdoor taxes
During its August special session, the Colorado General Assembly passed several bills to raise tax revenue and partially fill the growing chasm between federal tax policy and progressive Democrats’ insatiable spending. Although the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR) in our state constitution requires a public vote on any “tax policy change directly causing a net…
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Q&A with Colorado lawmaker Barb Kirkmeyer | Republican says she’ll be a governor who ‘knows how to govern’
State Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer says her decades of experience in government — as a county commissioner, director of a state department and state legislator — have prepared her to be a “really great governor,” and the Brighton Republican argues that’s what it’ll take to pull Colorado out of the tailspin she says it’s in. The…
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Here are three of the six Colorado cities supporting strong home rule powers | Bob Loevy
Let’s take a closer look at the six Colorado cities that are suing Governor Polis and the state legislature for enacting two new laws that limit the home rule powers of cities on the Front Range of Colorado. These two new laws deny cities the power to require off-street parking for new apartment buildings. They…
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State task force recommends overhaul of Colorado’s education accountability system
A task force composed of state officials, district school board members, superintendents and parents agrees Colorado’s education accountability system needs a major overhaul. The Accountability, Accreditation, Student Performance, and Resource Inequity Task Force released its report Friday, recommending various improvements to better address the needs of students and schools. The 26-member task force that included parents,…
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Ranked-choice voting would mark the end of person-to-person democracy | Vince Bzdek
The most significant vote many Coloradans will take this election, besides picking a new president, is whether to completely change the way we practice democracy in this state. Proposition 131 would substitute our state’s 100-year-old system of “one-person, one vote” for a nonpartisan primary and “ranked-choice” voting. Lots of pros and cons have been flying…
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Q&A with Colorado Education Association President Kevin Vick
Kevin Vick’s history in education naturally led him to being a leader. Starting with a successful tenure at Doherty High School in Colorado Springs more than 20 years ago, he has spent the better part of his career advocating for his fellow educators. Starting first as a member of the Colorado Springs Education Association, Vick…
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Q&A with new Colorado Education Association President Kevin Vick
Kevin Vick’s history in education naturally led him to being a leader. Starting with a successful tenure at Doherty High School in Colorado Springs more than 20 years ago, he has spent the better part of his career advocating for his fellow educators. Starting first as a member of the Colorado Springs Education Association, Vick…
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Sen. Rachel Zenzinger’s final bill aims to boost Colorado’s higher education
Education has been Sen. Rachel Zenzinger’s top priority since she took her seat in the state Senate over nine years ago. Wednesday is Zenzinger’s last legislative session day, as she is term limited. Zenzinger, D-Arvada, was first chosen to represent the 19th Senate district in December 2013. She replaced a Democratic senator who resigned after…
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Colorado law enforcement groups object to bill requiring officers to report colleagues’ alleged misconduct
House Democrats have introduced a bill they say will increase protections for law enforcement members who report the alleged misconduct of their peers, but opponents said the sponsors never consulted public safety organizations, arguing it singles out the “law enforcement” profession for possible prosecution. House Bill 1460 requires law enforcement agencies to investigate any allegations of…