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Polis signs substance use prevention bill but warns against future health insurance mandates
With a bipartisan bill that Gov. Jared Polis signed into law Monday, state legislators forced state-regulated insurance plans to provide optional alternatives to prescription opioids. The law is aimed at preventing addiction and overdose. Polis, however, expressed concern that the legislation — along with recent and future laws that mandate coverage for specific health care […]
Gov. Polis notes funding concerns with bill banning American Indian mascots
Starting June 1, 2022, Colorado public schools must stop using American Indian mascots or face steep fines, under a bill Gov. Jared Polis signed into law Monday. But Polis, a Democrat, wrote an accompanying letter to state lawmakers that cited concerns about the bill. “I am proud of Colorado for this landmark legislation, and am […]
Six months after Congress passed COVID relief, shuttered venues still await payouts
As part of the coronavirus relief package passed in December 2020, Congress directed $16 billion in grant funding to the concert halls and theaters that were forced to close during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, or SVOG, program was meant as an answer to pleas from artists and business owners nationwide, who […]
Douglas County schools alum defends equity policy that parents call ‘critical race theory’
Facing parent pushback over a new educational equity policy, Douglas County School District leaders have insisted the policy doesn’t affect the district curriculum. That’s true: While the equity policy has been labeled by some parents as a covert attempt to teach aspects of critical race theory — the academic framework for examining how systems like […]
Polis signs bill giving agricultural workers new protections
Advocates for Colorado’s agricultural workers rejoiced Friday as Gov. Jared Polis signed sweeping legislation that grants those workers new rights. Senate Bill 21-87 extends many of the same worker protections that already exist for other industries to agriculture. “SB87 will only strengthen our local food system and local immigrant communities,” Nayda Benitez, an organizer with […]
Car registration with a state parks pass on the side? Coming to Colorado in 2023.
Starting sometime in 2023, Coloradans registering their cars, motorcycles, lightweight trucks and sport utility vehicles can purchase an annual state parks pass for a $40 discount. The forthcoming “Keep Colorado Wild” pass is thanks to Senate Bill 21-249, which Gov. Jared Polis signed into law on Monday. Proponents expect it will raise more money for […]
Q&A: Rep. Naquetta Ricks, first African immigrant elected to Colorado Legislature
This week, States Newsroom outlets including Colorado Newsline featured refugees from around the country in honor of World Refugee Day. Colorado state Rep. Naquetta Ricks, a Democrat who represents Aurora and a Liberian refugee, was among those featured. Ricks — whose family fled political persecution in Liberia in 1980 — became the first African immigrant to […]
Post-Trump, refugee resettlement agencies ramp up services
As a member of the Denver Immigrant and Refugee Commission, Yusuf Hassan hears lots of stories from area refugees yearning for their family members abroad. In many cases, those family members have been screened and approved to enter the U.S. as refugees, but are waiting on the final OK from immigration authorities that would let […]
Colorado third in the nation to pass sweeping data privacy legislation
With COVID-19 accelerating global digital activity — and amid recent high-profile hacks of major companies — more Coloradans may be thinking about where their personal data lives online. Coincidentally, state lawmakers from both parties helped pass major new data privacy protections this year. With Senate Bill 21-190, Colorado would become the third state in the country […]
Polis signs Colorado Option bill into law, along with bill meant to reduce prescription drug prices
Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday signed two bills that increase government regulation of health care in an attempt to lower prices for consumers. Originally, House Bill 21-1232 would have established a public health insurance option if private insurance carriers failed to lower premium rates for plans on Colorado’s health insurance exchange, Connect for Health Colorado. […]
Mobile home company hit by hackers must pay $25,000 to Colorado attorney general
For nearly a year, hackers who got inside a national company’s email accounts had access to hundreds of Coloradans’ confidential personal information, according to a statement from state Attorney General Phil Weiser. The company, which manages mobile home parks, allegedly took 10 months to notify the employees and customers whose information was exposed. Weiser announced […]
Restaurants, bars can skip paying state sales taxes through August under bill signed by Gov. Polis
Colorado’s bars and restaurants may have been slammed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but they’re about to get three months of additional relief from state sales taxes. House Bill 21-1265 — which Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, signed into law Monday — would extend sales tax relief that passed during the Colorado General Assembly’s December 2020 […]