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Federal vaccine rules just changed. Colorado’s school requirements didn’t.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories, Uncategorized

Federal vaccine rules just changed. Colorado’s school requirements didn’t.

By RMV Staff | Rocky Mountain Voice When President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a new federal "Gold Standard" childhood vaccine schedule this week, it marked a major shift in federal vaccine recommendations. The administration's new framework reduces the number of diseases for which vaccines are routinely recommended for all children, moves several vaccines into high-risk or shared clinical decision-making categories, and encourages greater parental involvement in vaccination decisions. But for Colorado families, the announcement raised an immediate question: If the federal government has changed its recommendations, why haven't Colorado's school vaccine requirements changed? The answer lies in Senate Bill 26-032, legislation passed earlier this year ...
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Six Colorado Traffic Laws Take Effect With New Rules for Drivers and School Zones
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Six Colorado Traffic Laws Take Effect With New Rules for Drivers and School Zones

By Ethan Carlson | Denver7 Laws named for Magnus White and Liam Stewart are among six traffic safety measures now in effect, with four more set to take effect before year's end. DENVER — Six significant traffic safety laws took effect across Colorado on Wednesday, and the families who fought for them gathered at the State Capitol to mark the moment. Lawmakers, advocates and relatives of people killed in vehicle collisions joined AAA, MADD, The White Line and Bicycle Colorado at a news conference in the Capitol's West Foyer to discuss what the new laws mean for Colorado drivers. Among the laws now in effect is Magnus's Law, named for Magnus White, who was killed at age 17 on July 29, 2023, while riding his bicycle in Boulder. The law mandates that an offic...
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Three Colorado judges drew do-not-retain recommendations this year. State evaluators break with local reviewers.
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Three Colorado judges drew do-not-retain recommendations this year. State evaluators break with local reviewers.

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project I’ll be dipped: the judicial retention system does sometimes NOT recommend retention. The Colorado Politics article linked first below details a rarity in Colorado: three judges that the judicial evaluation committees (at least the local ones -- more later) recommend that voters do not retain. I say rarity, because I can only recall one other case in my time writing when this happened. I’ll leave it to you to read the article if you’d like. I went to get the information straight from the horse’s mouth and thus the three judges who didn’t get a retain recommendation are listed in links 2 - 4 below. Roughly speaking, the three are from the NE Plains, Crowley County, and Pueblo County.  The one that...
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Colorado Economy Holds Ground as Inflation and Labor Shortages Raise Concerns
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Economy Holds Ground as Inflation and Labor Shortages Raise Concerns

By Bernadette Berdychowski | The Denver Gazette Inflation is up again, job growth is slowing and geopolitical turmoil has added the effects of high oil prices to the state’s economy. Yet, despite those issues, Colorado’s economy continues to expand, according to a report from the University of Colorado Boulder released Tuesday. The state added 28,600 jobs in June, up 1% year-over-year, the report said. Twelve industries in Colorado saw job losses and eight saw gains, with the most job growth consistently in the healthcare and social assistance sector. Colorado’s economy in 2025 was largely defined by a period of uncertainty spurred by a slew of federal policy changes — from tariffs to federal worker layoffs — after President Donald Trump took office for his seco...
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Federal Court Asked to Block Colorado’s New Semiautomatic Firearm Requirements
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Federal Court Asked to Block Colorado’s New Semiautomatic Firearm Requirements

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics The Colorado chapter of the National Rifle Association is seeking an injunction to stop the state from enforcing a new law that took effect earlier this month. The new law requires anyone buying or selling certain firearms to first complete a safety training course offered through Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Under Senate Bill 003, the course is mandatory for anyone planning to purchase a semiautomatic rifle, shotgun or handgun with a detachable magazine. The Colorado State Shooting Association had filed a lawsuit last September, challenging the law’s constitutionality and arguing it places “unlawful burdens on the rights of law-abiding Coloradans.” “A government that makes you ask permission to buy a firearm ...
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Colorado Tightens Sports Betting Rules With Deposit Limits and Credit Card Ban
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Community News, Approved, State

Colorado Tightens Sports Betting Rules With Deposit Limits and Credit Card Ban

By Staff at Community News | Community News Colorado online sportsbooks must stop accepting credit card deposits and hold each customer to no more than six separate deposits per gaming day from Wednesday, Aug. 12, under a law signed by Gov. Jared Polis on June 2. The measure, Senate Bill 26-131, is one of the more prescriptive payment-side interventions any US state has imposed on licensed mobile sportsbooks. It does not cap how much money a bettor may move into an account; it caps how many times they may do it within a 24-hour window, alongside a package of marketing restrictions that reaches into push notifications and advertising aimed at people under 21. What the Colorado sports betting deposit limits actually do SB 26-131 limits online sportsbook customers ...
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Weiser’s Blueprint: More offices, in the name of streamlining
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Weiser’s Blueprint: More offices, in the name of streamlining

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Phil Weiser's plan for Colorado runs 109 pages. It promises, throughout the document, to make state government simpler, faster, and less tangled in its own rules. It also proposes a new set of offices, officers, and coordinating teams to carry it out. The Colorado Blueprint, the platform Weiser is running on for governor, tells voters he will cut red tape and streamline how the state operates.  Alongside those promises, he would appoint a Chief Innovation Officer, a Chief Housing Officer, a Chief Resilience Officer, a Director of Rural Affairs and Collaboration, and a new Office for Safe Communities to coordinate the agencies that already handle public safety.  Reading the document, the same theme shows up...
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Cherry-picking the rankings: A columnist’s case against Polis education claim
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Cherry-picking the rankings: A columnist’s case against Polis education claim

By Ari Armstrong | Commentary, Complete Colorado Colorado ranks 47th in crime and corrections, 45th in fiscal stability, and 39th in opportunity, according to U.S. News and World Report, Governor Jared Polis noted in July. Ha ha, just kidding! Polis proclaimed that “Colorado Ranked #1 in Education,” ignoring the low rankings in other categories and downplaying the fact that most Colorado students cannot read or do math at grade level according to state testing. You can see the U.S. News rankings for yourself. Colorado ranks as 17th “best state overall,” which I guess is kind of good? I mean, it’s the top half, right? Okay, sure, we got beat by Wyoming, Wisconsin, and Delaware, while our neighbor Utah took the #1 spot. Not embarrassing at all! Cherry pick...
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Colorado Customers Push Back as Xcel Seeks Another Rate Increase
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Colorado Customers Push Back as Xcel Seeks Another Rate Increase

By Allie Jennerjahn | Denver7 Denver7's Jefferson County reporter Allie Jennerjahn has more on Xcel Energy's proposed rate increase to $166 million, which customers say is making their bills already unmanageable. DENVER — Colorado residents are pushing back on Xcel Energy's latest request for a rate increase, with some telling Denver7 their electric bills are already stretching household budgets to the breaking point — especially during a stretch of intense summer heat. Xcel Energy proposed a $225 million rate increase that would have raised customers' monthly electric bills by about 6%. Last week, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) reduced that request to closer to $185 million. "A technical conference where Xcel will calculate the impact of the Commission...
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Judge Orders Griswold to Turn Over Records Tied to Taxpayer-Funded Consulting
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Judge Orders Griswold to Turn Over Records Tied to Taxpayer-Funded Consulting

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado A Denver District Court judge has given Secretary of State Jena Griswold until Thursday to comply with an open records request, or she could be held in contempt. The records involve consulting work, paid for with public funds. Griswold's office says it doesn't have the documents and it refuses to ask the consultant for them, claiming that would impose an undue "burden." Instead, the Secretary of State's office sent four employees and the Attorney General's Office sent three attorneys to court. The consultant was brought in two years after Griswold became Secretary of State. The office had become a revolving door. Griswold was on her second deputy secretary, third chief legal counsel and fourth chief of staff. An invoice in the court record ...
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