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House Committees today passed three bills to support Coloradans seeking homeowners insurance in wildfire prone areas, mitigate wildfires and create job opportunities to improve forest health. < Back April 17, 2023 House Committees Pass Bills to Mitigate Wildfires and Support Homeowners DENVER, CO – House Committees today passed three bills to support Coloradans seeking homeowners insurance in wildfire prone areas, mitigate wildfires and create job opportunities to improve forest health. “In Colorado, we’re taking tremendous steps to not only mitigate wildfires, but make it possible for homeowners in wildfire prone areas to purchase property insurance,” said Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, sponsor of HB23-1288. “We need to be prepared for the next wildfire disaster and our legislation to create a FAIR insurance plan makes sure Coloradans can receive proper homeowners and commercial insurance that protects their livelihood.” “As wildfires become more frequent and destructive, we need to do everything we can to ensure homeowners are properly insured in the wake of a disaster,” said Rep. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, sponsor of HB23-1288 . “Our legislation creates a pathway for homeowners in wildfire prone areas to receive insurance that protects their property, livelihood and the place they call home. Without this legislation, many Coloradans will be left with no homeowners insurance and we’re stepping up to make sure Coloradans’ property is protected from the next wildfire disaster.” HB23-1288 , sponsored by Speaker McCluskie and Representative Amabile, passed the House State, Civic, Military & Veterans Affairs Committee by a vote of 8 to 1. This bill would create the Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plan Association, a nonprofit, unincorporated legal entity, to ensure Coloradans with homes and commercial properties located in wildfire zones can receive homeowners or commercial insurance. As destructive wildfires become more frequent in residential areas, many Coloradans struggle to find a private insurer that will cover their property at all. This bill would make sure Coloradans can find a carrier to insure their homes and commercial spaces as wildfires grow in frequency and destruction across Colorado. “We’re working to continuously improve Colorado’s wildfire response to protect our homes, businesses and neighborhoods,” said Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, sponsor of SB23-161 . “This legislation will allow Colorado to purchase a second Firehawk helicopter, reducing our state’s rapid response time to quickly combat and put out wildfires in difficult terrain and keep our communities safe.” SB23-161 , sponsored by Speaker McCluskie and Minority Leader Lynch, passed the House Finace Committee by a unanimous vote. This bill would allow the state to purchase a second Firehawk helicopter, ensuring the Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) has at least one Firehawk available for rapid response at all times. Firehawk helicopters are considered the most technologically advanced firefighting aircraft available and this bill would improve the state’s ability to respond to catastrophic wildfires. “Wildfires in Colorado are now a year-round threat and we need to ensure the state forest service has the workforce to keep us safe,” said Rep. Marc Snyder, D-Manitou Springs, sponsor of SB23-005. “Colorado’s made important progress when it comes to wildfire mitigation, and we’re furthering our efforts to protect communities by boosting our state’s forest health workforce. This legislation streamlines workforce development and recruitment within the state forest service so we can continue to mitigate wildfires through excess brush removal and other tactics that help us maintain healthy, more resilient forests.” SB23-005 , sponsored by Representative Snyder and Minority Leader Lynch, passed the House Agriculture, Water & Natural Resouces Committee unanimously. This bill would improve Colorado’s forestry workforce by directing the Colorado State Forest Service to develop educational materials on career opportunities in the industry for students in high school, and creates a workforce development program within the State Forest Service to increase internship opportunities within the timber, forest health, and wildfire mitigation sectors. The bill will also bolster the state’s wildfire mitigation capacity development fund to create and expand forestry programs specifically at Colorado Mountain College, as well as community colleges, technical colleges, area colleges, and public institutions of higher education in order to increase the state’s forestry workforce. SB23-005 would also work to increase the number of qualified educators at these institutions to deliver a wildland fire prevention and mitigation course or program. Previous Next

< Back May 5, 2022 MULLICA BILL IMPROVES HOSPITAL PREPAREDNESS Legislation applies lessons learned from COVID-19 Pandemic to ensure health facilities can meet increased demand for care DENVER, CO – The House today passed legislation sponsored by Representative Kyle Mullica, an ER Nurse, to improve hospitals’ and health facilities’ preparedness to meet increased demands for care. “Colorado’s nurses and health care providers stepped up during the pandemic in truly unimaginable ways to save lives and keep our hospitals staffed,” said Rep. Kyle Mullica, D-Thornton, an ER Nurse. “I’ve never seen so many colleagues tired and worn out from their shifts at the hospital, and it happened time and time again with every new surge in cases. This legislation will require hospitals to have plans in place to meet increased demand for bed capacity to alleviate pressure on nurses and ensure that gravely ill patients don’t have to wait in hospital lobbies because there aren’t any beds.” HB22-1401 , which passed the House 37-27, requires every Colorado hospital to have a plan to meet nurse staffing needs. This aims to mitigate the concerns of health care staff regarding hospitals’ ability to meet patient needs when demand surges. It applies lessons learned from the pandemic to enable hospitals to quickly surge their capacity. Hospitals will have to report their nurse staffing plans to the Department of Public Health and Environment and publicize them on their website. They will also have to evaluate their plans quarterly to address feedback and or complaints from health care providers. The bill also requires hospitals to report the number of beds they are able to staff, their current bed capacity, and instances where staffed-bed capacity exceeds 80 percent. If hospitals do not take corrective action to address failures to meet required staffed-bed capacity or vaccine and testing capacities, they could face fines from CDPHE. Previous Next

< Back December 16, 2020 ER NURSE REP KYLE MULLICA RECEIVES COVID VACCINE DENVER, CO — This morning, House Democratic Caucus Co-Whip Rep. Kyle Mullica received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center in Denver. As an emergency room nurse, Rep. Mullica is a frontline health care provider with direct contact with COVID-19 patients and is among the first people in Colorado to receive the vaccine. “Receiving the COVID-19 vaccine today means I’ll be able to continue and expand my work in the ER,” said Rep. Mullica, D-Northglenn. “It also means that the end of this pandemic is finally within reach. The vaccine is not only safe and effective, it is the cornerstone of our plan to beat this pandemic once and for all. I’m grateful to all of my fellow frontline health care workers who have been on the front lines in hospitals across the country. It’s been a long year battling this virus, but the end is in sight.” Last session, Rep. Mullica was the sponsor of SB20-163, a bill signed into law earlier this year that aims to boost Colorado’s low immunization rates by streamlining our vaccine exemption process. In his role as an ER nurse, Rep. Mullica worked in the Cook County Jail in Illinois, where he cared for patients during a critical COVID-19 outbreak in April and May. Previous Next

< Back March 11, 2021 AVANZA PROPUESTA PARA EXPANDIR EL ACCESO AL VOTO La propuesta legislativa crearía una línea de ayuda para traducir las boletas electorales y requeriría que ciertos condados impriman boletas en idiomas aparte del inglés DENVER, CO– El Comité de Asuntos Cívicos, Militares, del Estado y de los Veteranos en la Cámara de Representantes hoy aprobó HB21-1011, una propuesta legislativa para expandir el acceso al voto y mejorar la participación electoral al expandir el acceso a las boletas electorales multilingües. La propuesta avanzó con un voto de 6 a 3. “Existen decenas de millares de personas en Colorado que tiene el derecho de votar, pero que efectivamente se les niega el acceso porque no hablan muy bien inglés y viven en alguno de los condados en donde los materiales electorales solo se proporcionan en Inglés,” dijo la Representante Yadira Caraveo (D-Thornton). “Yo estoy comprometida a asegurar que nuestro gran sistema electoral sea aún más accesible para todos, y esta propuesta nos acerca a poder garantizar que así sea.” HB21-1011 le daría a todos los votantes acceso a una línea de ayuda que proporcionaría traducción de boletas electorales en los idiomas principales del Censo. Además, requeriría que los condados en donde un idioma minoritario sea hablado por al menos 2,000 votantes elegibles o el 2.5% de los votantes elegibles impriman boletas electorales en ese idioma, ya sea en copias físicas o electrónicamente. Previous Next

< Back April 6, 2022 REP. HEROD STATEMENT ON PASSING OF FORMER STATE SEN. GLORIA TANNER DENVER, CO – Representative Leslie Herod, D-Denver, the chair of the Black Democratic Legislative Caucus of Colorado, today released the following statement on the passing of former State Senator Gloria Tanner, the first Black woman elected to the Colorado Senate: “Senator Tanner was a trailblazer whose determination and commitment to Colorado improved the lives of all people in our state, and I join Coloradans in mourning her passing. Gloria’s tireless devotion to serving our community uplifted the lives of so many Coloradans and families. Gloria was a mentor to us all. As the founder of Colorado Black Women for Political Action and the co-creator of the National Organization of Back Elected Legislators, she fostered an entire generation of leaders who will continue her legacy and make their mark on our state and nation– just as she would have wished. Topday, we celebrate her life and legacy as she ascends to join our ancestors.” Previous Next

< Back January 26, 2023 Committee Passes Bill to Boost Access to Tax Credits DENVER, CO - The House Business Affairs and Labor Committee today passed legislation requiring employers to provide information on the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit to their employees. “Between a global pandemic and the economic turbulence that followed, many working-class families are still struggling to pay for critical necessities,” said Rep. Mary Young, D-Greeley/Evans. “This bill aims to expand awareness of the tax credits we’ve recently increased in order to boost the incomes of more hardworking Coloradans. We’ve built the infrastructure, and now we’re spreading the word so that every Coloradan who is eligible for financial assistance through our tax code knows they can claim their Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit.” “One of our top priorities this session is to make Colorado more affordable,” said Rep. Lindsey Daugherty, D-Arvada. “Under this bill, employers will provide important information to their employees that will connect them with the economic assistance that they are eligible for. Colorado Democrats boosted tax credits for hardworking people by closing loopholes that primarily benefited the wealthiest individuals and largest corporations, now we’re making sure people know they are available to them.” HB23-1006 , which passed by a vote of 11-0, instructs employers to provide information about federal and state earned income tax credits and child tax credits to their employees. The notice must be provided at least once a year in English or any other language used to communicate with the employee. This bill builds on legislation passed by the General Assembly in recent years to make Colorado more affordable for working-class families. Representatives Mary Young and Lindsey Daugherty previously passed SB22-182 to help Coloradans file for and receive their earned income tax credits and child tax credits. Colorado Democrats passed HB20-1420 and HB21-1311 , which doubled the state's Earned Income Tax Credit and funded the Child Tax Credit, saving hundreds of thousands of Colorado families money. ### Previous Next

Majority Leader Monica Duran and Representative Sheila Lieder today will receive awards at Colorado AFL-CIO’s Second Annual Labor Day Labor Champion Award Dinner to celebrate their work in passing laws to better support workplace conditions and boost wages for working Coloradans. Majority Leader Monica Duran will receive the State House Labor Champion Award and Representative Sheila Lieder will receive the Rising Star Award. < Back August 31, 2023 Majority Leader Duran, Rep. Lieder to Receive Awards for Championing Labor Laws Denver, CO - Majority Leader Monica Duran and Representative Sheila Lieder today will receive awards at Colorado AFL-CIO’s Second Annual Labor Day Labor Champion Award Dinner to celebrate their work in passing laws to better support workplace conditions and boost wages for working Coloradans. Majority Leader Monica Duran will receive the State House Labor Champion Award and Representative Sheila Lieder will receive the Rising Star Award. “Elevating the voices of hardworking Coloradans and advocating for better workplace conditions at the Capitol has been one of my biggest priorities as a legislator,” said Majority Leader Monica Duran, D-Wheat Ridge . “I grew up watching my mother and her siblings stand alongside labor activists like Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, fighting for safer working conditions, fair wages, and the right to unionize. Receiving this award is a marker of the progress we’ve made in recent years to protect Coloradans and foster workplaces that we all deserve.” “I’ve dedicated my career to improving workers rights’ and advocating for working class people to fight for a fair workplace on their own,” said Rep. Sheila Lieder, D-Littleton . “I proudly passed laws this session to crack down on child labor violations and improve workplace safety so children and their families can pursue justice. I’m honored to receive this award, and I look forward to continuing to make Colorado a leader in workers’ rights.” Majority Leader Duran has passed laws to strengthen worker protections since being elected to the Colorado State House in 2018. Many of her laws protect and improve workers’ rights to receive pay for their work, including establishing a statewide prevailing wage for public projects ( SB19-196 ), prohibiting a property owner from withholding more than 5% of the contracted pay from a contractor ( HB21-1167 ), increasing wages for Home Care Workers ( SB19-238 ), and modernizing the wage theft process to make it easier for workers to receive their earned wages ( SB22-161 ). Additional laws that Majority Leader Duran has sponsored include ensuring compliance with plumbing laws to better protect Colorado plumbers ( HB19-1086 ), requiring a standardization of apprentice to supervisor ratio for electricians and plumbers to improve the quality of apprenticeship programs and ensure workers’ safety ( HB22-1346 ), creating clear and fair working standards for the energy industry to support workers transition into the clean energy sector ( SB23-292 ), and establishing the Direct Care Workforce Stabilization Board to ensure workers are being paid appropriately and working fair hours ( SB23-261 ). Representative Sheila Lieder has spent decades fighting for workers’ rights, serving as the President for the Denver Area Labor Federation, Vice President of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, and a policy director for Communications Workers of America. In her first year at the legislature, Rep. Lieder passed HB23-1196 , a law to strengthen Colorado’s child labor protections by allowing children, or their parents, to pursue justice and accountability for workplace violations. She also carried laws that raise awareness of apprenticeship opportunities to graduating students ( HB23-1212 ) and requires improved data collection on apprenticeship programs to better connect Coloradans to good-paying, stable jobs ( SB23-146 ). Previous Next

< Back June 24, 2021 POLIS SIGNS LEGISLATION TO CURB YOUTH ACCESS TO HIGH POTENCY MARIJUANA New law advances research, addresses diversion and helps educate consumers DENVER, CO – Governor Jared Polis today signed legislation sponsored by Speaker Alec Garnett and Representative Yadira Caraveo, a pediatrician, that seeks to address youth access to high-potency cannabis products. “Working with patients, doctors, parents, students, teachers and the marijuana industry, Colorado is leading the way in addressing youth access to high potency cannabis,” said Speaker Alec Garnett, D-Denver. “The reality is that it’s too easy for Colorado’s youth to access high potency mairjuana when they shouldn’t be able to, and we don’t have the full picture of how these products impact the developing brain. With Governor Polis’ signature today, it will be harder to divert products from the medical marketplace into the hands of our youth. This law will help educate consumers about high potency cannabis, and it will advance critical research that will give us a better understanding of how high potency products impact developing brains.” “Doctors like myself, school-based providers and parents have all seen firsthand how some of our younger Coloradans have experienced health issues after consuming high-potency marijuana products,” said Rep. Yadira Caraveo, a pediatrician. “I’m proud that Governor Polis signed this critical law today, which will make a big difference by strengthening the doctor-patient relationship, cracking down on looping and diversion, advancing critical new research and better educating consumers on high-potency products while ensuring we protect patients’ access to medical marijuana.” The law will advance research into the impact of high potency marijuana on the developing brain, address diversion of cannabis concentrates purchased in the medical marijuana marketplace and educate consumers about concentrates through visual representations of a recommended serving size and public awareness campaigns. Advances Research: The law funds and advances critical research into the impact of high-potency cannabis concentrate products on the developing brain and on physical and mental health. It requires the Colorado School of Public Health to conduct a systematic review of the current scientific research into the effects of high-potency THC marijuana and concentrates and identify gaps in order to conduct new research. Under the law, a new scientific review council of doctors and experts will review the report and make recommendations to the General Assembly on appropriate evidence-based regulatory changes and the funding of additional necessary evidence-based research. Addresses Diversion of High-Potency Products: The law cracks down on “looping” and diversion by reducing the amount of medical concentrates someone can purchase in a day and requiring the Marijuana Enforcement Division’s seed-to-sale tracking database, METRC, to update at the point of sale, instead of at the end of each business day. The data collected is confidential and cannot be shared with anyone except when necessary to complete a sale. Enhanced Doctor-Patient Relationship: The law adjusts medical marijuana recommending practices by requiring doctors to specify a daily quantity authorization if it is above the maximum allowed for the patient’s age and to consider a patient’s mental health history when making a cannabis recommendation. For patients ages 18-20, the law requires two physicians from different medical practices to diagnose the patient as having a debilitating or disabling medical condition after an in-person consultation, and the patient must attend a follow-up appointment every six months after the initial visit unless that patient is homebound. Real-Time Medical Marijuana Purchase Reporting: Through a practice known as “looping,” consumers can purchase the daily limit at multiple dispensaries, circumventing the limits and increasing youth access to high-potency cannabis products. The law will crack down on “looping” in the medical marketplace by requiring medical marijuana stores to immediately record transactions in the seed-to-sale inventory tracking system. This will allow the system to identify discrepancies with daily purchase limits, access and retrieve real-time sales data and alert medical mariuana stores if a sale to a patient has exceeded their daily purchase limit for that business day. Reduced Daily Purchase Amounts: The law will limit daily medical marijuana concentrate purchases to eight grams for patients 21 years and older and to two grams for patients between the age of 18 and 20. Patients who had a medical marijuana card before the age of 18, patients who are homebound, for whom a physician has recommended a higher daily authorization, or for patients for whom going to a medical marijuana store on a daily basis presents significant physical or geographical hardship are exempt from these new limits. Consumer Education and Protection: The law will help better educate consumers about high-potency THC marijuana and concentrates by tasking the Colorado School of Public Health with developing a public education campaign, requiring MED to create a tangible education resource on the potential risks of concentrates and that shows visual representations of a recommended serving size be included with every sale and by prohibiting advertisements targeted toward Colorado youth. Previous Next

The House today advanced legislation in a preliminary vote to secure eviction protections for Coloradans who rely on public assistance programs. < Back April 12, 2023 Eviction Protections Advances in House DENVER, CO - The House today advanced legislation in a preliminary vote to secure eviction protections for Coloradans who rely on public assistance programs. “Rapidly rising rents and increasing demand for housing are some of the biggest issues Coloradans are facing today,” said Rep. Junie Joseph, D-Boulder. “This bill will help protect renters from being pushed out of housing options over issues that could be worked through with better communication. Landlord-tenant mediation for eligible lower-income communities and Coloradans with disabilities would create a process that works for all parties involved and curtail the need for an eviction.” “People with disabilities are twice as likely as their able-bodied counterparts to be impoverished,” said Rep. David Ortiz, D-Littleton. “Communities that are reliant on critical safety net programs are the most susceptible to the threat of eviction and the most at-risk for homelessness. It’s essential that we protect our most vulnerable communities that might not have the financial or legal resources to fight against the eviction process, especially in the middle of our housing crisis.” HB23-1120 would require a residential rental agreement to include mandatory landlord-tenant mediation if the renter receives supplemental security income, federal social security disability insurance, or cash assistance through the Colorado Works program and discloses that information to the landlord in writing. Nonprofits and landlords with less than five single family homes and less than five total units are exempt. Under the bill, residential rental agreements are prohibited from including a waiver of mandatory mediation and must include language stating that a residential tenant who receives cash assistance has a right to mediation conducted by a third party at no cost, before their landlord files an eviction complaint with the court. Renters who receive cash assistance and have provided written notice to their landlord would be protected from being removed from the property by law enforcement officers for at least 30 days after the entry of judgment, except in cases of substantial violation or if the landlord has less than five single family rental homes and less than five total rental units. Previous Next

< Back March 25, 2019 HOUSE APPROVES BIPARTISAN VALDEZ BILL ON CDOT (Mar. 25) – The House unanimously approved a bipartisan bill that would create a study to help determine what is the best method to pay Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) engineer contractors, through an hourly rate or through a fixed bid amount. “This bill is about transparency and accountability, and will create fairness and efficiency for CDOT,” said Rep. Donald Valdez, D-La Jara. “We need to make responsible investments in transportation and this is a good government bill.” The current practice is for CDOT outside engineers that are contracted with an hourly rate. SB19-076 would create a study to see if changing the payment method to a fixed bid amount would improve current concerns of cost efficiency of CDOT projects. SB19-076 was also sponsored by Rep. Janice Rice, R-Grand Junction. It passed unanimously through the House and now heads back to the Senate to vote on the bill with the amendments added in the House. Then it will head to the Governor’s desk. Previous Next

< Back June 8, 2021 HOUSE INVESTS IN WILDFIRE MITIGATION, PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE On the heels of one of the worst wildfire season in Colorado’s history, House makes bold investment DENVER– The House today passed Representatives Snyder and Froelich’s bill to invest millions into wildfire prevention and mitigation efforts. The bill passed by a vote of 59-4. “Last year’s fire season ravaged our forests, threatened homes, and displaced wildlife like no other year before,” said Rep. Marc Snyder, D-Manitou Springs, sponsor of SB21-258. “The realities of our changing climate mean that we can expect upcoming fire seasons to be just as dangerous, and with this bill we’re making sure that Colorado will be prepared. We are committed to preventing and mitigating fires before they get out of hand, and the funds we approved today will allow us to do just that.” “Every dollar spent on wildfire mitigation can mean another home left intact, another habitat protected, or another life saved,” said Rep. Meg Froelich, D-Englewood, sponsor of SB21-258. “As we work to tackle the underlying issue of climate change, which has made our wildfires even deadlier threats, we have to make sure our state is poised to take on the critical threat of wildfires. A year after the worst fire season in our state’s history, we’re taking bold action to invest in mitigation and keep Colorado prepared.” SB21-258 creates the Wildfire Mitigation Capacity Development Fund in the Department of Natural Resources to support wildfire mitigation, expand workforce capacity through investments in Colorado Youth Corps Association and the Department of Corrections SWIFT program, coordinate cross-boundary wildfire mitigation efforts, facilitate engagement with other property owners, and connect priority wildfire mitigation projects with available resources. Additionally, the bill creates the Hazard Mitigation Fund to assist local jurisdictions in obtaining the matching funds required for certain federal hazard mitigation grants. Finally, the bill dedicates almost $30 million across various wildfire mitigation and response funds to help the state bolster wildfire prevention, detection, and response. Previous Next

< Back March 9, 2020 PFAS BILL MOVES FORWARD Bipartisan legislation ensures that PFAS-based firefighting foam won’t pollute groundwater when tested and puts tough restrictions on future use of PFAS firefighting foam DENVER, CO– Representative Tony Exum’s legislation to protect communities and firefighters from PFAS contamination today passed the House Committee on Energy and Environment by a vote of 11-0. “PFAS is a dangerous chemical that is harming our communities and firefighters across the state,” said Rep. Exum, D-Colorado Springs. “This bill will help us identify all the facilities that use PFAS substances. It will prevent more of these chemicals from entering our groundwater by placing strict limits on their use and by ensuring that when they are used, they are collected and disposed of property.” HB20-1119 sets out clear guidelines for when AFFF fire fighting foam (PFAS-based firefighting foam) can be tested, requiring that all AFFF foam be collected and properly disposed of after testing. The bill also requires the state to certify and register every facility that possesses PFAS fire fighting substances and to create standards for the disposal and capture of these substances when they are used so that they do not contaminate groundwater. The bill provides the state with information about where PFAS is being used and stored across the state to mitigate and prevent future contamination. To obtain a certification, a facility must prove that it follows the standards for the capture and disposal of PFAS substances. Training and testing with AFFF fire fighting foam is one of the leading causes of PFAS contamination and exposure. Elevated levels of PFAS contamination have been found on and near US military bases across the country due to decades of lax testing and training standards for disposing and handling of AFFF fire fighting foam on installations. While the military and private companies are working to create a fire firefighting foam that does not contain PFAS, AFFF is still the only product available that can efficiently and effectively combat jet fuel and other extreme, or high intensity fires. Airports and other facilities that use jet fuel, or other highly combustible materials, need to test their fire suppression systems, and at times, train with AFFF. The bill ensures that when they do, the AFFF doesn’t end up in the state’s ground water. Previous Next