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DENVER, CO – House Speaker Julie McCluskie today delivered remarks to open the First Session of the 75th General Assembly.
Speaker’s Opening Day Remarks as Prepared for Delivery:
Good morning! It is my great privilege to welcome you all to the opening day of the 75th General Assembly!
A special welcome to our newly elected members, the fresh faced stars on the House stage. New members, please rise and give a wave!
I would also like to welcome the former Speakers of the House: The honorables Alec Garnett, KC Becker, Crisanta Duran, Mark Ferrandino, Terrance Carroll, Frank McNulty, and Russ George. We are so grateful for your public service and leadership, both back then (and for some of you, way back then!) and now.
I am pleased to recognize State Treasurer Dave Young! Thank you for your dedication and service to our state.
And my deepest love and appreciation to my family - my husband Jamie, my children Ian and Cait, my parents Bob and Etta, Sister Susan, Brother and Sister in law David and Vicki, and their daughter Jaclynn.
Members, let’s all thank our families who have been integral to our journeys in public service.
I also want to thank our sensational team who work their magic behind the scenes - our clerks, sergeants, custodial staff. To our nonpartisan and partisan staff, including our legislative aides, thank you all so much for your dedication and commitment to the institution.
This session is also the first for our new Chief Clerk, Vanessa Reilly! Please give her a warm welcome to this new role.
There’s also a new President over in that lower chamber - if you see President Coleman today, make sure you give him a big High Five and a “Let’s Do This!”
Now let us pause and give honor to our veterans - for everyone with us today, members and guests alike, please rise or give a wave if you are currently serving in the military or are a veteran of the US Armed forces. We are forever in your debt.
Finally, I am proud of the experience and dedication of our majority and minority leadership teams. Will the leadership teams from both sides of the aisle please stand and be recognized. It is truly an honor to serve with all of you.
And I am especially grateful to Majority Leader Duran. I know members appreciate your partnership & leadership. Happiest of Birthdays, Majority Leader, this must be the best and craziest birthday party ever.
With campaigns in the rear view mirror, election 2024 behind us, our responsibility to govern is now front and center.
Good governance calls us all to listen to one another, hear the stories of our constituents and work together to craft lasting policy that meets the demands of the moment.
On policies big and small, I know Democrats and Republicans will work together, as we have so many times before.
Just look at school finance formula reform, property tax cuts, higher education investments, workforce initiatives, and of course, uncertified potatoes. (While some say the idea for that policy was only half BAKED, eventually you all HASHED it out and it was a SMASHING success. )
With each new session, we have an opportunity to start fresh, and that includes how we manage debate. When relevant to the topic at hand, chairs will uphold members’ rights to free speech. At times, this will be uncomfortable for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
The right to free speech coexists alongside our obligation not to spread hatred.
I know with the work that lies ahead, Colorado will lead the way. The national spotlight is on us. This is our moment to demonstrate what good, responsive governance and leadership looks like for our country.
But folks, our work this year will not be easy. We will need to trim nearly $1 billion from our state budget in a way that ensures strong safety net services for the most vulnerable among us and protects our bipartisan investments in early childhood, schools, colleges and universities.
As a result, there may be some unpopular decisions ahead - choices that put truly deserving efforts and priorities in competition with each other for funding.
The Joint Budget Committee has a track record of working across party lines to deliver a balanced budget, and it is now more important than ever to continue in this tradition. My thanks to Representatives Bird, Sirota and Taggart in advance for your hard work and those enduring sleepless nights.
Even though our budget situation is challenging, I know this body remains committed to investing in our public schools. We will not bring back the budget stabilization factor, and we will implement the new, equitable school finance formula on time that our kids deserve. Thank you Governor Polis for your strong commitment to public education investing in our children year over year.
Like too many special education students in Colorado, Jeremiah, who is twelve, needed additional learning supports in school. Not every public school has the resources they need to adequately teach students with Down syndrome.
But when his parents found a special education program designed for his abilities, Jeremiah excelled. His academic achievement improved, as did his self-esteem. He found his calling.
If you haven’t heard of him yet, you soon will. His calling, it turns out, is acting, and he’s very good at it. Jeremiah is the star of the film “Color Book,” which tells the story of a single father raising his young son with Down syndrome.
The power of Jeremiah’s personal story, and his magnificent portrayal of Mason, help shape our understanding of the challenges we see in gaining access to a high quality education and safety net services in our communities. Exciting news! He has been nominated for the NAACP’s outstanding youth performance in a motion picture award.
I’m overjoyed that Jeremiah and his family are here with us today. Please give him a round of applause.
My goal this session is to protect the progress we’ve made for students like Jeremiah, by increasing funding for special education, at-risk students, English language learners, and rural schools.
The hard truth is that we will need to grapple with declining student enrollment. We will navigate this issue carefully while listening to our partners in public education. Our guiding principle must be to keep equity for our students at the heart of our decision making.
We wouldn’t be Colorado without our beautiful mountains, brilliant forests, and clean air. Let’s take our water for example.
Water is a part of our Western identity, essential to our nearly $50 billion agricultural economy, as well as Colorado’s iconic outdoor recreation and tourism industries.
I took a five day ride down the Yampa River this past spring. What a thrill! And I learned one important lesson - that’s how to play defense against those roaring rapids. There’s a saying in the rafting business, “Be sure you Rig to Flip”. That means making sure everything stays secure when your raft guide flips the boat and you’re taken for a swim - it’s all about being ruthlessly prepared, so you protect the people and things you love most.
This year, I expect we will continue to face threats to our water resources, and we may have to play defense. But, thanks to leaders from both parties, we have already taken significant steps to protect our state’s most precious resource - yes folks, we are prepared and we are “rigged to flip.”
We should be particularly thankful to the many farmers and ranchers doing everything they can to reduce their water use, embrace innovative technologies and help lead us through this drought. Colorado Agriculture truly makes us proud.
I also want to mention that soon, we will be creating a new bipartisan Outdoor Recreation Caucus that will put Western Voices at the table on the issues that impact the economies of our communities.
We are equally committed to protecting Colorado’s pristine environment, reaching our climate goals and making energy costs more affordable. We’ve made important progress funding transit, front range and mountain rail, and eliminating dangerous pollution.
We are so grateful for the work of Representatives Willford and Bacon and all the lawmakers who have prioritized improving our air quality.
Like many of you, when I visit my district, the stories I hear most often at town halls, in the grocery store or at neighborhood gatherings continue to be about how hard it is to get ahead.
That’s why, this session, we will redouble our efforts to make Colorado more affordable.
Inflation is down. Unemployment is low. Home prices and rents are leveling off, and we are starting to see signs that our aggressive multi-year agenda to lower costs for families is bearing fruit.
Reinsurance and the Colorado Option are saving Coloradans nearly half a billion dollars this year on health insurance premiums.
We cut property taxes for businesses and homeowners, and we cut taxes for middle and lower-income families.
Thanks to last year’s refundable tax credit initiative, the cost of tuition and fees at community colleges is now covered for the vast majority of students.
Universal preschool, full day kindergarten, and investments in child care are saving families money.
Because of our work, Coloradans trust elected officials to GET THINGS DONE. Other states are watching us - they are seeing what’s possible when governors and legislatures do big things together.
For example, housing. We've cracked the land use code and invested hundreds of millions of dollars in affordable housing projects and ending homelessness.
This year, we will:
resolve the stalemate on construction defects reform,
tackle algorithms that drive up rent,
Ease red tape for religious institutions to build on their own land,
incentivize modular home construction,
and bring forward creative new approaches to driving down property insurance costs.
Let’s foster an even stronger economy in this state by lowering costs for businesses and working families, and finding fair opportunity for all.
Let’s do this by taking steps to eliminate wage theft, strengthen worker’s voices, and create low-cost pathways to college credentials, in the big blur between high school college career.
And just as we did last year with the quantum technology industry, we will seize opportunities to support innovative economic development, like (capturing the attention of the) Sundance Film Festival and driving millions of tourism dollars into local communities and businesses.
But folks, a less expensive Colorado is not our Colorado if we fail to protect our rights and freedoms.
When the Dobbs decision came down and the threat to overturn Roe v. Wade was clear, we responded by protecting abortion access in statute. This past November, the voters went one step further and protected that right in our state’s constitution.
Similarly, we heard the stories of concern from families in our state and referred a measure to the ballot safeguarding the freedom to marry. And again, voters overwhelmingly approved it.
This is leadership. This is Colorado.
We don’t know exactly what we will face from this new administration, but they have published their playbook and we are watching. We will be ready to do what is best for the people of this state because we’ve been here before.
No matter where we come from, all Coloradans want the same things: to put a roof over our family’s heads, put food on the table, and pursue the American Dream. Throughout our nation’s history, immigrants have been used as a political scapegoat to divide us and distract us from real challenges.
Immigrants are an integral part of Colorado’s diverse and thriving communities. Immigrants power our economy and make up 30 percent of our construction workforce, 12 percent of entrepreneurs, 11 percent of STEM workers, and eight percent of nurses in the state.
Coloradans do not support mass deportations, separating families, or detaining parents at their children’s schools. In addition to the devastating human cost, mass deportations will cause significant labor shocks and drive up the cost of health care, food, and housing.
Democrats and Republicans alike oppose deporting our friends and neighbors who have been here since childhood, built their lives here and are making our communities better places to live. My thanks to the many organizations supporting Colorado’s hard working immigrant families, like the Mountain Dreamers. Mountain Dreamers in Frisco, Colorado work to support immigrants and make the Colorado Dream a reality for more people in our High Country communities.
I want to especially thank their team with us today - Peter, Javier, Yerania, and Miriam.
Representative Velasco, who was born in Mexico and grew up in mobile home communities in the Vail Valley, and the Latino Caucus are leading our work on this issue, alongside the Aurora delegation, including Representative Ricks - the first African immigrant legislator - and we are so grateful to have their expertise and lived experience in the General Assembly.
Colorado will remain a safe haven from attacks on reproductive rights, voting rights, workers’ rights, LGBTQ rights, personal liberty, and civil rights.
It doesn’t seem all that long ago that Coloradans sent the first transgender lawmaker to the capitol. Now entering her final term, Representative Titone has served with grace and true leadership. I am thankful that Rep. Titone, along with Assistant Majority Leader Bacon, Representative Froelich, and Representative Garcia are ready to step up once again to protect Coloradans’ rights and freedoms.
Colorado is primed to lead. Where there is despair, we will light the way and offer hope.
We may face challenges from Washington, budget constraints, and distractions right and left, but I continue to find immense joy in doing the people’s work. I know you all do as well.
So …
Share YOUR story, listen to the STORIES of your colleagues and constituents, and let the stories move you,
keep your word,
be open with your colleagues,
fight for what you believe in,
be kind to all,
and above all else, hold space for defying gravity.
It is my privilege to open the People’s House and welcome you all to the 75th General Assembly.