Due to the pandemic, this year has been unlike any other for Western Colorado Alliance’s Legislative Committee. Usually, we would take a trip to the legislature and visit the Capitol during the session. However, we were unable to do so this year.

What we were able to do instead was to spend our efforts creating a series of webinars called We Are the Change, which highlighted different bills as they moved through the legislature. As part of that effort, we invited special guests to speak on the behalf of the various bills we have followed.

Additionally, we have been conducting asynchronous interviews with special guests to provide quick informational videos about some of the most pressing legislative actions. Our Alliance has been able to take actions on countless bills, helping move them along in the legislative process, and helping provide the changes that our state needs going into the future.

Despite having numerous bills to focus on this session, we narrowed our interests down to three top priorities with varying issues being represented. The first was SB21-079: Deregulate Meat Sales Direct to Consumers. This bill enables ranchers to sell portions of their livestock in local markets rather than having to vend the entire animal. This would allow smaller local ranchers to easily be able to sell their meat to consumers without needing to get approval by a licensed public health agency, thereby helping smaller ranchers to more easily sell their livestock. The meat would have a disclaimer stating this.

Without this, it was becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to secure a public health agency inspector, making it impossible to sell their meat in portions at smaller prices. This bill allows local ranchers to do so, helping combat the environmentally unstable practices of agribusiness both on the seller and consumer ends.

The next bill was HB21-1131: Cooperative Electric Associations Governance Requirements. (What a mouthful!) This bill, simplified, would put basic democratic checks on the electrical companies such as Tri-State which distribute power to local cooperatives. The law will ensure that consumers have fair and appropriate representation.

Without these democratic checks, the cooperative boards were acting in the interest of the broader corporation rather than that of their constituents. Thanks to this bill, members of electric cooperatives will receive the representation needed to ensure fair pricing and local control for energy.

The last priority bill is HB21-1119: Suicide Prevention, Intervention, & Postvention. This bill hits particularly close to home for me, a young member of Grand Junction society who has seen the devastating effects of suicide firsthand. This bill aims to lower the suicide rate by enhancing care for those affected by suicide, as well as adding the concept of “postvention” to the state’s goals. Postvention looks at caring for those who have attempted and learning from them, giving us a better understanding of how to prevent future attempts while also caring for a person in need.

The great news is that all three of these bills not only have passed the legislature, but have been signed into law by the governor! It is clear that this has been a successful year for positive legislature, which is my personal takeaway so far.

As for immediate next steps, there are quite a few. (Don’t worry, they’re fun!):

First, the session might still be extended by the governor, or there might be a special session. This is so that we can finish the hard work we have all started (such as SB21-200).

And the Legislative Committee is excited to announce that we will be releasing a legislative scorecard, so look forward to seeing that by the end of the summer.

We also will be having a legislative celebration at some point in the near future, and we would love for anyone to come join us in the fun.

Finally, there are in-district meetings with legislators coming up, so we would love to have you meet and discuss with your representatives about the issues.

Thank you all for a great session!