SINE DIE HARD: The good and the bad during an ugly Legislative session
"From guns to needles to empty freight trains, Colorado’s 2019 legislative session has been, like so many others before it, a spellbinding morass. Here are a few of the most important, controversial and peculiar new laws to make it out of the Gold Dome this year, many with direct Aurora ties." "Colorado lawmakers delivered many of newly minted Gov. Jared Polis’ first-term priorities, but minority Republicans also claimed some victories by the last day of the session, especial
House panel advances bill softening sentences for drug possession
"Colorado lawmakers are moving ahead with drug-possession sentencing reforms as part of a broader effort to curb the opioid epidemic and drive down the state’s prison population." “We know that addiction is a public health issue,” said Rep. Leslie Herod, a Democrat from Denver who is sponsoring the bill. “We need to get people to the right place. And just putting someone in (the Department of Corrections) for simple possession is not doing that.” "The House Judiciary Committe
Last-Minute Senate Budget Deal May Not Withstand House Scrutiny
"But now it’s the House’s turn to take up the budget bill, and several Democrats, who hold the majority in that chamber, are skeptical of the late compromise." “When I heard of the deal that was struck, my question was, ‘where is the money coming from?’” said Democratic Rep. Leslie Herod of Denver, the chair of the House Finance Committee. “Putting it back on the governor’s office to find the funding... is not the way the process works. It’s very important that we understand
