A Must Read Legislative Update

Recently, we celebrated three big wins that we’ve already had at the state legislature but noted that there are still many important bills waiting to make their way through the Capitol. A few weeks ago, we let you know we would be putting our live We Are the Change webinars on hold, in exchange for sending content directly to your inbox so you can take immediate actions. Well, this is the moment.

Over the past two weeks, we’ve been busy meeting with organizers at the front of the work on some of these bills and asked them to break down what they would do, why they are important and — most importantly — how we can help. Now we’re handing them to you to watch the conversations and take easy actions to see these bills make it through the state legislature.

SB21-072: Public Utilities Commission Modernize Electric Transmission Infrastructure
Join our legislative liaison Sol Malick and I as we discuss infrastructure needs to elevate renewable energy around that state, and the potential benefits it could have to bolstering our Western Slope economy.

What can you do?
This bill has passed the Senate and is waiting to move through appropriations to head to the House Floor for its final vote. Please call your representative and urge them to support this bill.

Click here to find your legislator!

HB21-1266: Environmental Justice Disproportionate Impacted Community
Join our legislative intern, Daniel Haas, as he meets with Earth Justice’s Colorado Policy Advocate Becca Curry to discuss the effects of environmental injustice on disproportionately impacted communities, and what this bill would do to elevate equity as we address the climate crisis.

What can you do?
This bill is scheduled to be heard on the House Floor today and will move to the Senate next. Please call or email your Senator and urge them to support this bill.

Click here to find your legislator!

SB21-087: Agricultural Workers’ Rights
Join Board President of the Hispanic Affairs Project Tom Acker and myself as we discuss the current conditions our agricultural workers are experiencing, and what this bill would do to give farm workers the same basic protections afforded to most under the Constitution.

What can you do?
Click here to review a full brief on where Colorado’s Ag workers are exempted and/or excluded from Colorado state statutes and regulations.

SB21-116: Prohibit American Indian Mascots
Join former West Slope Youth Vote intern Johneth Price and Executive Director of North Dakota Native Vote Nicole Donaghy as they discuss the importance of SB21-116 which would ban the use of American Indian Mascots in public schools, including colleges, around the state.

What can you do?
It’s likely we will see this bill pass, and as allies we can help guide the conversation moving forward. This important issue can’t fall into the narrative of “cancel culture,” and the more we understand about the harm and stereotypes that American Indian mascots perpetuate, and the more we understand how our own language can impact a community, the better we can view changes as positive reconciliation instead of censorship. For this bill, we are asking you to be brave in conversation with friends and family and encourage folks to consider the positive outcome this bill could have for our Native communities.

If you’d like to go above and beyond the actions we’ve suggested, or if you’d just like to take a look around the state legislature, here are some helpful links to get you there.

Colorado Legislature Website

Find My Legislator

Watch & Listen Live

Sign Up To Testify

Contact Gov. Polis’s Office

After you’ve had a chance to view our conversations and take some actions, I’d love to hear from you! What did you like about these bills? Which conversations inspired you the most? What do you want to see more of in the future?

I say it often, and I mean it wholeheartedly every time. This important work starts and ends with our members. Thank you to our legislative team and our regional issue committees that have hand-picked bills we deem vital to creating healthy, just, and self-reliant communities across Western Colorado, and thank you to YOU, for engaging in the work and making a real difference in shaping the legislative landscape of Colorado.