Gun-free zones, more money for higher education and renter protections this week in the Colorado legislature

Transgender and nonbinary people would be better protected from harassment in Colorado under new bill

Transgender and nonbinary people would receive more explicit protections in Colorado’s anti-bias and harassment law if a newly introduced bill becomes law.

Advocates characterize the bill as a simple legislative fix to ensure gender identity and expression are protected across state law, while also sending a message about Colorado’s values.

“(The bill) ensures nonbinary and trans people are seen and represented in every part of Colorado law, which is especially important now with the wave of anti-trans rhetoric and legislation across the country,” said Garrett Royer, political director for LGBTQ advocacy organization One Colorado. “It helps the state remain a leader on LGBTQ rights with a very simple legislative fix.”
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Colorado legislators set aside $7.2 million to fund longer psychiatric hospital stays

Low-income Coloradans with mental illnesses are poised to receive longer hospital stays after state legislators set aside money to expand a decades-old Medicaid rule.

Federal law requires that Medicaid patients hospitalized in psychiatric facilities be discharged after 15 hospital days in a month or the facility doesn’t get paid. The rule was intended to prevent hospitals from warehousing patients, but advocates and psychiatrists say that it instead pushes hundreds of vulnerable Coloradans out of the facilities prematurely and into a cycle of homelessness, incarceration and emergency room visits.
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In wake of canine respiratory disease outbreak, Colorado bill targets pet facilities

A canine respiratory disease outbreak that sickened Colorado dogs last fall is motivating state lawmakers to find a legislative fix, but some pet care facilities say the proposed bill needs a lot more clarification to work.

The bill, House Bill 24-1354, would require licensed pet facilities to “make every reasonable attempt to notify” pet owners of an infectious disease outbreak within 24 hours of the facility learning about that outbreak.
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Parks, bars, protests stripped from bill that would create gun-free zones in Colorado

A proposal to limit where people can carry firearms in Colorado, openly or with concealed carry permits, was narrowed substantially Wednesday as sponsors fought to win a key committee vote in the state Senate.

The bill as introduced would have banned firearms from being carried at a slew of places, including stadiums, protests at public locations, bars, places of worship, public parks, libraries and more. It was amended to only ban firearms at schools, from preschool to college, as well as polling places, the state legislature and local government buildings, though local governments could opt out. It would allow exceptions for security and law enforcement.
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Colorado legislators still want to slim down RTD’s board, but reform plan has been scaled back

Colorado lawmakers have scaled back their reform plan for the Regional Transportation District, but they’re still aiming to significantly alter the size and composition of its governing board.

The backers of the draft legislation also are motivated by a desire to bolster transparency within the sprawling metro Denver transit agency and to align its efforts with the state’s broader policy goals. The legislation has been in the works for months and is set to be introduced in the coming days.
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Colorado lawmakers’ $40.6 billion budget caps tuition hikes, includes money for auto theft prevention

Colorado lawmakers unveiled a state budget proposal Tuesday that would provide more money for higher education, address long waitlists of jail inmates with competency issues and boost pay for home health care workers.

Those are among the highlights as legislators look to spend about $40.6 billion in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The bipartisan Joint Budget Committee will now usher the bill — one of the few must-pass measures considered by the General Assembly each year — through the legislature and to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk in coming weeks.
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“For-cause” eviction protections for renters overcome moderate Democrats’ challenge in Colorado Senate

Democrats in the Colorado Senate fought off a challenge from within their own party Monday and advanced a bill that would increase displacement protections for tenants — clearing that hurdle nearly a year after the legislative death of a similar proposal.

The bill generally would give renters of apartments and other housing a right of first refusal to renew an expiring lease. Landlords would need to have a good reason for not allowing them to renew, such as failure to pay rent or plans for substantial renovations.
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How Wyatts Towing allegedly circumvented Colorado’s new towing law — and why legislators are pushing for further reform

HB24-1051, introduced this legislative session, would outlaw property owners from using automated emails to authorize tows. The bill also would mandate that the authorizing party must be a property owner or someone from a rent-collecting third party — banning parking management companies from doing this on the tower’s behalf.

The bill, as introduced, sought to tackle what lawmakers and consumer advocates said was an economic incentive for towers to haul away as many cars as possible. They wanted to shift the entire landscape of residential towing by making property owners pay for tows rather than vehicle owners.
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Colorado poised to ban cities’ limits on how many people can live together

Colorado lawmakers are poised to ban occupancy limits in cities and towns across the state, clearing the way for more roommates to live together as part of Democrats’ push to reform local zoning regulations and address the state’s housing crisis.

Roughly two dozen cities and towns in Colorado have the type of occupancy limits that would be prohibited under HB24-1007, which cleared the state Senate on Tuesday. The measure would prohibit local governments from limiting how many unrelated people can live in one home or housing unit, except for health and safety reasons.
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Colorado lawmakers’ ban on so-called assault weapons is finally advancing after hitting a roadblock last year

After a marathon committee hearing, Colorado Democrats’ bill to ban the sale of semi-automatic rifles and other so-called assault weapons cleared its first hurdle early Wednesday morning and now is poised to pass the full House.

The measure, House Bill 1292, passed the House Judiciary Committee on a 7-3 party-line vote. The wide margin came 11 months after the same Democratic-majority committee narrowly voted to kill a similar bill.
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Why Colorado’s push for more high-density housing near transit irks cities — even some that allow it

Colorado cities are ready for a legal fight if necessary to stop a state push to overhaul local housing density rules and allow more tightly packed development along train and bus routes.

While many local governments support the goal of concentrating people in apartments around transit hubs so they drive less, mayors have objected to what they see as state leaders intruding on local power. It’s the same local control problem that led to the defeat of a similar state push last year in the Colorado legislature.

Lawmakers revived the transit-focused housing density bill last month and are moving it through the state House.
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Next year’s state budget, gun restrictions and Front Range trains under debate in Colorado legislature this week

The Colorado legislature this week will take on one of its only mandated actions — and by far its costliest: The state’s budget.

The budget package, known as the long bill, lays out how the state will spend some $18 billion in general fund dollars in the next year. It also reveals some of the state’s priorities — such as the end of the so-called budget stabilization factor that has shortchanged state education funding — as the proposal works its way through both chambers.
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