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With the legislative session just around the corner, I wanted to share an update about what I’ve been working on this summer and some of my goals for the next session. < Back Speaker McCluskie: Connecting with Colorado: Progress and Goals for Legislative Session Sep 29, 2023 See more This op-ed appeared in The Flume on Sept. 29, 2023 . With the legislative session just around the corner, I wanted to share an update about what I’ve been working on this summer and some of my goals for the next session. While in session, I must spend most of my time in Denver, but I always look forward to the summer months when I can reconnect with our community. Recently, I held town halls and constituent meetings in Park, Summit, Grand, Jackson, Lake, and Chaffee counties. I feel incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to drive across Colorado’s most beautiful district and connect with the hard-working local families who are the heart of our mountain and rural communities. In this last session, we worked to save Coloradans money on what are often the three most expensive costs for families: housing, health care, and child care. We also passed legislation to bolster Colorado’s workforce, protect our air and water, and increase education funding to historic levels. This past session, we delivered real resultson the issues that matter most to Coloradans by: Investing a record amount toward Colorado’s K-12 public schools, which equates to more than $10,600 in per-pupil funding, reducing the Budget Stabilization factor by $180 million and a $30 million investment for rural schools. Establishing the wolf depredation compensation fund to compensate livestock owners and agricultural producers for the depredation of livestock and working animals by wolves. Sending Proposition 123 dollars out the door as soon as possible to provide funding for affordable housing across Colorado’s diverse communities. Investing $45 million over two years for aspiring professionals in high-demand fields to receive free college toward short-term degrees and industry certificates. Creating an insurer-of-last-resort or FAIR Plan for individuals and businesses who can’t get property coverage in the traditional market due to the threat of wildfire. Establishing a Colorado River Drought Task Force, which will make policy recommendations for a collaborative solution to future drought on the Colorado River. I am immensely proud of the bipartisan progress that I and the rest of the legislature have made, but we know there is still a lot of work left to do. I remain focused on making sure the voices of rural Coloradans are heard clearly at the Capitol. I am committed to ensuring that people can live where they work, afford a health care plan that doesn’t break the bank, obtain accessible, high-quality childcare options, and have access to sustainable water for agriculture, municipal use, and outdoor recreation. I look forward to continuing discussions with community members to ensure voices are heard ahead of this upcoming legislative session. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact my office at Julie.McCluskie.House@coleg.gov . Previous Next

Speaker Julie McCluskie today met with the Lake County Board of Commissioners in Leadville for a presentation on the county’s legislative priorities. < Back August 13, 2024 McCluskie Meets with Lake County Commissioners LEADVILLE, CO – Speaker Julie McCluskie today met with the Lake County Board of Commissioners in Leadville for a presentation on the county’s legislative priorities. The commissioners’ legislative priorities included school finance, improving access to grant opportunities for local governments, and a desire to engage with implementation of recent legislation. Commissioners also focused on funding for public safety and courthouses, housing affordability, and improvements to human services benefits delivery. “I always enjoy meeting with our county commissioners and hearing their priorities for the upcoming legislative session,” said Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon. “I’m committed to supporting our schools, local governments and Lake County residents, and I’m excited to continue working to invest in K-12 education and make our communities more affordable. I look forward to collaborating with the board of commissioners during the legislative session next year on these important priorities for Lake County.” Speaker McCluskie sponsored the new school finance formula, which significantly increases funding for rural schools and districts that serve more at-risk and special education students. The new formula will increase funding for Lake County R-1 by 14.4 percent a year by the time it is fully implemented. She has also sponsored legislation to protect residents in mobile home communities, increase housing affordability , and make it easier for high country communities to access Prop 123 affordable housing funds. Previous Next

< Back Lorena Garcia Representative Lorena Garcia is a member of the House Judiciary and Finance committees and represents House District 32 which includes Commerce City, unincorporated Adams County and Jefferson County. An activist and social justice leader, Rep. Garcia championed legislation to improve insurance coverage for the full range of reproductive health care, including abortion. In addition to reproductive justice, Rep. Garcia focuses on immigrant rights, translation and equity, K-12 education, and criminal justice reform.

Colorado Democrats worked hard to reduce property taxes and support hardworking families < Back Rep. Tisha Mauro: Delivering for Coloradans: A post special session debrief Dec 17, 2023 See more This op-ed was published in the Pueblo Chieftain on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. Rising property values have led to many Coloradans facing unaffordable property taxes, especially for those on fixed incomes and our most vulnerable communities. In Pueblo, residential home values have risen nearly 40% . During our four day special session in mid-November, Colorado Democrats delivered short-term, residential property tax relief while protecting funding for schools, fire districts and libraries and without using any of the state’s TABOR surplus that must be refunded to taxpayers. Overall, this new law provides more than $430 million in residential property tax relief. Specifically, we increased the property value exemption for multifamily and single family residential properties from $15,000 to $55,000 and decreased the residential assessment rate from 6.76% to 6.7% for the 2023 tax year. This means that you can now deduct $55,000 right off the top of your home’s value before the application of the newly lowered residential assessment rate and local mill levies. For a residential property worth $350,000 – slightly higher than the median home value in Pueblo – a homeowner will save $246 on their property taxes. This is in addition to $200 in cost savings from bipartisan legislation passed in the last two years to address rising property taxes ( SB22-238 and SB21-293 ) for a total of $446 of property tax savings for 2023 from legislation passed at the state capitol. While immediate property tax relief took center stage, we also championed legislation to develop more long-term, robust property tax solutions. The Commission on Property Tax will be composed of legislators, a property tax administrator and different local government and community leaders to map out long-term solutions to property taxes that have been rising since Coloradans voted to repeal the Gallagher Amendment in 2020. In addition to property tax relief, the legislature also ramped up support for hardworking families. After paying rent, groceries and gas, we know many Coloradans’ budgets are squeezed. As we continue to tackle our state’s affordability crisis, three more bills we passed during the special session will put more money back into the pockets of families who need it the most. SB23B-003 increases TABOR refunds for hardworking Coloradans by issuing refunds in equal amounts of $800 per single filer or $1,600 for joint filers for all tax filers. If we had not taken action, the wealthiest Coloradans would have gotten much larger refunds, and the rest of us would have gotten less. Under this new law, nearly 60% of Coloradans and everyone making under $100,000 will receive a larger refund. In Pueblo, nearly 90% of our residents will receive a larger TABOR refund, which taxpayers will see added to their state tax refund this spring., Colorado Democrats also doubled tax relief for low-income working families to 50% of the federal earned income tax credit, which will provide $185 million in targeted tax relief to low-and-moderate income Colorado families. Nearly half of Pueblo’s population could be eligible for this increased tax relief. To make sure vulnerable children don’t go without food this summer, we also ensured access to an additional $35 million in federal funds to expand the Electronic Benefits Transfer program, which helps families purchase groceries from SNAP retailers during summer months when child hunger is the most severe. Eligible Colorado families will receive $40 per child per month beginning in 2024. As evictions across our state rise, the need for emergency rental assistance is more dire than ever before. Emergency rental assistance works in two ways – it protects landlords from financial losses and prevents Coloradans from losing their homes. Coloradans facing eviction often have nowhere else to turn which leads to cycles of poverty, homelessness and myriad other life disruptions. During the special session, we stepped up to invest $30 million into emergency rental assistance, raising statewide assistance to $65 million this year. From Grand Junction to Denver and Pueblo and Fort Morgan, Coloradans statewide on the brink of eviction or late on their rent can take advantage of emergency financial assistance. We know this law will keep thousands of Coloradans housed in their communities and help many get back on their feet. Together, Colorado Democrats worked hard to champion thoughtful, impactful legislation that prioritizes our hardworking families while providing much needed property tax relief now. With the 2024 legislative session on the horizon, we are already gearing up, preparing legislation and working alongside community members to bring forward new ideas that will make Colorado a more affordable place for everyone to call home. Representative Tisha Mauro represents House District 46 which spans the majority of Pueblo County, including Avondale, Beulah, Colorado City and Rye. Previous Next

< Back April 22, 2019 HOUSE SUPPORTS EXPANDING ACCESS TO VOTING (Apr. 22) – The House gave preliminary approval to the Colorado Votes Act (COVA), a bill to expand access to voting and minimize long lines on Election Day. Colorado is a national role model for secure, accessible and fair elections, and this bill will expand upon the state’s successful model. “Colorado’s election systems are some of the best in the country, but we still have work to do to ensure we are giving every Colorado the access they deserve to participate in our democracy,” said Rep. Susan Lontine, D-Denver. “We must continue to break down barriers that prevent all Coloradans from voting and this bill is a step in that direction. I’m proud of the stakeholder work we conducted with the county clerks.” Of the voters who used VSPCs to cast their vote in 2018, 18 percent were first time registrants and additional 20 percent needed to update their registration. In other words, these voters didn’t receive a mail ballot or have the option to vote by mail or drop-off and had to rely on in-person service. In-person voters are more likely to be from underserved or marginalized communities. In 2018, an estimated 18 percent of in-person voters were people of color and nearly half were under 35 years old. In 2013, Colorado passed election reform that created formulas for the number of voter service and polling centers (VSPCs) by active voters, and gave voters in-person services for voting, ballot replacement, same day registration and updating their voter information, such as their addresses. COVA adjusts the formulas based on actual voter behavior since 2013, updating the VSCPS and voter drop box formulas to increase access to the ballot closer to Election Day, decrease VSPC requirements during the under-utilized early voting period, and increase resources for Election Day voting. Colorado’s smaller counties are largely unaffected by these changes. On Election Day, which are common in the larger Colorado counties, long lines have proven to be a deterrent to voting. In 2018, self-reported wait times by counties for Election Day was more than 30 minutes in the state’s biggest counties: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Denver, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, Mesa and Weld. This bill would increase the amount of drop boxes which are more popular in larger counties according to voter data. Here’s what the Colorado Votes Act does: COVA creates a new tier for the largest Colorado counties (Tier 0) to deal with longer lines in urban populations and college/university VSPCs, where there are traditionally long lines on Election Day. Creates three phases of VSPCs to be open: early voting (first week through Thursday of the second week) when services are least utilized, final weekend (final Friday and Saturday in the largest counties and Friday, Saturday and Monday everywhere else) when we see a measurable increase in voters using in-person services, and Election Day (includes final Monday for largest counties) when utilization is at its peak. Encourages public buildings, particularly on college and university campuses to make space available to the counties for VSPCs. Counties have increasing challenges in getting adequate space for VSPCs, particularly in higher education buildings. Larger campuses would also have to have a drop box for ballots. Increases voting hours on Election Day from 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. Allows district court to extend voting hours if there are issues at particular polling places that have interrupted access such as weather, technological problems, equipment failure, supply shortages, voter suppression activity, or other circumstance. Previous Next

< Back February 25, 2021 BIPARTISAN BILL TO HELP CONDUCT BUSINESS ELECTRONICALLY PASSESS COMMITTEE DENVER, CO– The House Business Affairs and Labor Committee today passed legislation sponsored by Representatives Shannon Bird and Matt Soper that would make it easier for entities to conduct business electronically. “With so much in our lives being conducted online at the moment, it just makes sense to give businesses the tools they need to conduct their affairs remotely,” said Rep. Shannon Bird, D-Westminster . “Building back a stronger Colorado means supporting small businesses in every area we can- big and small. Today we made strides towards bringing Colorado’s corporate and business law into the modern digital age, and I’m proud to have played a part.” HB21-1124 updates state law to allow businesses to conduct statutorily required activities electronically. The bill would update the Colorado Business Corporations Act and the Colorado Corporations and Associations Act to allow businesses and entities to electronically distribute notices required under these laws. It would also allow business to conduct shareholder meetings via remote attendance. HB21-1124 updates state law to allow businesses to conduct statutorily required activities electronically. The bill would update the Colorado Business Corporations Act and the Colorado Corporations and Associations Act to allow businesses and entities to electronically distribute notices required under these laws. It would also allow business to conduct shareholder meetings via remote attendance. Previous Next

< Back June 8, 2022 POLIS SIGNS ROBERTS’ BILL TO INCENTIVIZE WATER-SAVING TURF REPLACEMENT Law will save property owners money, conserve water, and create jobs DENVER, CO – Governor Jared Polis today signed Representative Dylan Roberts’ legislation to save property owners money on water-conserving turf replacement. “This new bipartisan law is a win-win: it will save Coloradans money on their water bills and reduce water use in the metro areas, all while promoting the innovative landscaping industry, ” said Rep. Dylan Roberts, D-Avon. “Water is the most precious resource we have, supporting industries and local economies in every part of our state. As a rural representative, I know that it is not fair to rely solely on the agriculture industry and rural Colorado for our water conservation goals. This turf replacement program is a proactive approach to water conservation that will give property owners new tools to join our efforts to conserve our state’s precious water.” HB22-1151 , sponsored by Representatives Dylan Roberts and Marc Catlin and Senators Jeff Bridges and Cleave Simpson, requires the Colorado Water Conservation Board to develop a statewide program to financially incentivize property owners, including local governments, special districts and nonprofit associations, to voluntarily replace non-essential irrigated turf with water-wise landscaping. Water-wise landscaping includes replacement turf and drought-tolerant plants that require less water to grow. This law aims to cut down on the amount of water used to maintain non-native grasses on private and commercial lawns, school fields and other ornamental outdoor spaces like road medians. Previous Next

< Back Rep. Amabile: We propose to outlaw encouraging someone to commit suicide Oct 1, 2023 See more This story was published in the Colorado Sun on Oct 1, 2023. Nearly 50,000 Americans completed suicide during 2022 – a stunning number, reflecting a continued rise in the suicide rate of some 35 percent over the last two decades. Numerical tolls provide a blunt gauge for societal problems, but numbers alone can make a problem feel remote and impersonal. People who lose a loved one to suicide experience shock and hurt that is both tender and omnipresent despite the passage of time. A healing instinct motivates us to want to prevent this pain from repeatedly occurring in our community. We have heard from fellow Coloradans reaching out to us as their elected representatives and asking, “what else can be done?” We are answering their call with action that honors the memory of lost loved ones and prevents more families in our state from experiencing this devastating tragedy. Unfortunately, online encouragement and easy access to life-ending materials can lead to unnecessary death by suicide. Last November, a Clear Creek County family’s 17-year-old son was struggling with chronic physical issues and common anxiety when he found a supportive community online that encouraged suicide. From there, he was directed to an online retailer who sold pure sodium nitrite, a substance which has few household uses but has become an increasingly popular suicide method. The price he paid to an online retailer who knew the pure sodium nitrite was being used for suicides was $13.99, shipped by two-day mail. Ingesting the compound, he died shortly afterwards. Sadly, this young man, a constituent of ours, was one of at least 222 people nationwide using this particular poison to complete suicide during 2022. Shockingly, there is an ecosystem online for people who want to complete suicide, outside and distinct from the legal path of medically-assisted suicide; there are deadly materials available online, shipped right to young people. For people feeling intense hurt, depression, or trauma, going online to find a way to heal is common. A web search for relief from a physical ailment generally leads to sites that recommend medication or a physician visit. But people struggling with suicidal ideation who seek help online can easily wind up in a web-based wasteland that offers advice on “how to” take one’s own life. And many heed that sick advice. We plan to introduce two bills in the upcoming General Assembly that could save lives and spare families from the enduring pain of suicide caused by this online reality. The first would explicitly prohibit encouraging an individual to complete suicide, not just by restricting the means as current law does, but by prohibiting advice and encouragement. The First Amendment cannot simply be tossed aside, of course, but we believe the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized the validity of restricting speech that is “integral to a criminal act.” The power of words directed at someone who is struggling to maintain mental equilibrium can be just as impactful as handing someone a loaded gun and our statutes should reflect that. Colorado’s End-of-Life Options Act permits qualified medical professionals to assist terminally ill adults to end their lives. But in “non-medical” situations, assisting with suicide is a criminal offense – manslaughter — in Colorado and most other states. However, due to vague language, prosecutors used the suicide manslaughter statute only four times in the last five years. This pales in comparison to the frequency of suicides completed after people receive instruction and encouragement to take their own lives. While difficult to document, with 1,287 people completing suicide in Colorado in 2022, numbers compel us to act. Our second bill would ban the sale of pure sodium nitrite to consumers and require any pure sodium nitrite product sold to carry explicit warnings of harm. Experts know that this type of suicide prevention, often referred to as “means restriction,” can be an effective method to reduce death. The Colorado Department of Health and Environment recently released, to health care providers throughout the state, an advisory on sodium nitrite, noting “an increase in suicide by ingestion of sodium nitrite in Colorado and across the United States.” We commend the Department for taking this important step and look forward to bolstering their efforts with legislation. We have just concluded September, which is Suicide Prevention month. September is not merely about remembering the harm suffered by so many Coloradans or about lending support to families impacted by limitless grief, but is also about taking tangible measures to interrupt the cycle of suicide, and we are ready to get to work. If you or a loved one is experiencing emotional distress, call the National Suicide Prevention Line at 988 or Colorado Crisis Services at text TALK to 38255, or access chat via coloradocrisisservices.org , where help and hope are available at any hour, any day. Previous Next

The House State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Committee today passed a bipartisan bill that would make state grant programs and tax credits more accessible. HB24-1287 passed unanimously by a vote of 8-0. < Back March 8, 2024 Bipartisan Rural Grant and Tax Credit Accessibility Bill Passes Committee DENVER, CO - The House State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Committee today passed a bipartisan bill that would make state grant programs and tax credits more accessible. HB24-1287 passed unanimously by a vote of 8-0. “From workforce to wildfire mitigation, we’ve created numerous grant programs and tax credits with the basic benefits of being a Colorado resident which frequently are unknown and unused,” said Rep. Bob Marshall, D-Highlands Ranch. “Through this legislation, we’re making grant program and tax credit information more accessible to everyone, especially in our rural communities, so we can connect more Coloradans with these resources.” HB24-1287 , also sponsored by Representative Matt Soper, R-Delta, would require state-funded or state-administered grant and tax credit opportunities to be made publicly accessible on a website. The bill would also create the Grant Assistance to Rural Communities Program to assist rural Coloradans in finding and applying for grants and tax credits. Previous Next

< Back April 2, 2021 BIZ AFFAIRS & LABOR PASSES BILL TO HELP COLORADANS BUILD CREDIT DENVER, CO– The House Business Affairs and Labor Committee today passed bipartisan legislation sponsored by Representatives Naquetta Ricks and Mary Bradfield that would help Coloradans build up their credit scores by opting into a pilot program to report their rent payments to credit reporting agencies. The vote was 8-5. “Building a credit history is essential for applying for a home loan, car loan, credit card, or nearly any other financial product that requires repayment,” said Rep. Naquetta Ricks, D-Aurora. “Too many Coloradans don’t have sufficient credit history, even though they pay their bills or rent on time. This bill would establish a pilot program to allow some Coloradans to use their rent payment history to build credit, creating a new way for consumers to raise their credit scores.” Insufficient credit history can be a significant barrier for Coloradans seeking to lease a home or access other types of capital. While there are many ways consumers can build a credit history and improve their credit score, common obligations like rent payments are not often reported to credit agencies and thus do not help a consumer’s credit score when they are regularly paid on-time. HB21-1134 helps Coloradans who pay their rent on-time improve their credit scores by establishing a pilot program that would allow some Coloradans to opt into reporting payments to credit reporting agencies. Previous Next

< Back March 19, 2019 E-SCOOTERS ZOOM SAFELY UP THE ROAD TOWARD HOUSE FLOOR (Mar. 19) – Rep. Alex Valdez and Rep. James Coleman’s bill to more properly regulate electric scooters passed the House Transportation and Local Government Committee with bipartisan support. “It’s time for Colorado to consider these scooters as an effective mode of transportation,” said Rep. Alex Valdez, D-Denver. “We need to include them in our larger strategy for better, more accessible transportation in our communities.” HB19-1221 will remove the current definition of electric scooters as toy vehicles and add them to the definition of motor vehicles. Through this, e-scooters can be used on roadways and will be regulated similarly to electric-assisted bicycles. “These scooters aren’t going away anytime soon, so it’s time we embrace them and help keep riders and pedestrians safe,” said Rep. James Coleman, D-Denver. According to a report from Denver Public Works, e-scooters have already traveled almost one million miles around Denver and could be headed to other communities in the future. Scooters also have the potential to reduce carbon pollution emissions. HB19-1221 passed by a bipartisan vote of 9-2. The bill now heads to the House floor. Previous Next

On July 1, 2025, bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senator Dylan Roberts, D-Frisco and Representative Michael Carter, D-Aurora goes into effect. SB25-024 adds 15 judges across Colorado to decrease wait times for court cases. < Back June 26, 2025 Bill to Increase Judges and Boost Access to Justice Goes Into Effect DENVER, CO – On July 1, 2025, bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senator Dylan Roberts, D-Frisco and Representative Michael Carter, D-Aurora goes into effect. SB25-024 adds 15 judges across Colorado to decrease wait times for court cases. “As a former deputy district attorney, I know how important it is to have an adequate number of judges serving our communities,” said Roberts. “Over and over again, we’ve heard from judges, attorneys, victims, and litigants who are hurting from an overburdened court system. Adding 15 new judges to Colorado’s judicial system is a major step forward that will help Colorado fulfill its fundamental duty to provide timely access to justice.” “The right to a speedy trial is guaranteed in our constitution, but the shortage of judges and other judicial staff makes it unrealistic to schedule cases in a reasonable timeframe,” said Carter. “When cases are continuously pushed back, justice for victims and their families is delayed, while potentially innocent Coloradans sit in jail awaiting trial. Our new law increases the number of judges, attorneys and other staff to cut down on wait times, protect the autonomy of judicial actors and improve access to justice.” SB25-024 , also sponsored by Sen. Lisa Frizell, R-Castle Rock, and Rep. Matt Soper, R-Delta, increases the number of district and county judges by 15 judges for criminal and civil court cases over the next two years. Beginning on July 1, 2025 and spread over the next two years, specific districts will be allocated the funding to hire more district and county judges. The new law also allocates funds for courts to hire public defenders, deputy district attorneys, sheriff deputies, behavioral health court professionals and support staff. Judicial Districts 4, 7, 13, 17, 18, 19 and 23 and Larimer, Douglas, La Plata, Mesa and Eagle counties will see at least one additional judge. Governor Polis and Lieutenant Governor Primavera have already made several appointments to fill the new judgeships, effective July 1, 2025. These include: Kelly J. McPherson to the 4th Judicial District Court, Sara S. Price to the 17th Judicial District Court, Stacy K. Guillon to the 23rd Judicial District Court, James X. Quinn to the 18th Judicial District Court, Kimbra L. Killin to the 13th Judicial District Court, and Richard E. Schmittel, Jr., to the La Plata County Court in the 6th Judicial District. In early 2025, Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Monica Márquez made a plea to the Colorado General Assembly to add judges during the annual State of the Judiciary address. Previous Next