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Mid-term elections create drama-filled legislative session
Filled with drama and unexpected turns, 2018 has been a year at the Capitol not just to watch, but to participate in. Following the success of this year’s People’s Lobby Trip in March, where our members helped persuade a Western Slope legislator to change his vote in committee, WCC members have continued to have a vocal presence at the Capitol through phone calls, emails and remote testimony.
Mid-term election years at the Colorado legislature can be notorious for few meaningful bills being passed. For our legislators, their votes can be a deciding factor in their bid for re-election. For this reason, they run strong messaging bills to make a statement, knowing they aren’t likely to succeed. With split chambers at the Capitol, this situation results in bills being born out of dreams and nightmares.
With less than a month left in the session, we’ve already seen bills that pack that kind of political punch including:
- a requirement to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2035;
- a requirement of local governments to pay damages to mineral interest owners if a fracking ban is implemented;
- the creation of a class 4 felony for state or local elected officials who create, enforce or implement sanctuary policies; and
- the creation of a purple card which would allow undocumented individuals to work legally in the state of Colorado.
Governor Hickenlooper is not running for re-election this year. So, when he announced during his final State of the State address that among his top priorities was support for rural economies, he meant it — and the State Legislature has responded. Our Western Slope legislators have sponsored and passed financing for rural broadband by re-allocating money from a largely unused fund. Following that lead, a bill passed that will allow secondary providers the ability to install rural broadband if that location’s primary provider fails to install it. Additionally, we helped pass a bill to allow electric consumers the right to install, interconnect, and use energy storage systems on their property, allowing Colorado residents the ability to save money.
Yet even in bills WCC supports, including renewable energy, alternative fuel vehicles, and rural broadband, the devil has been in the details. With compromises and amendments made in both the House and the Senate, we’ve dug into the bills, testified in committees, met with our legislators, and watched them closely as they evolved, moving through the chambers.
While bills that have been political hot spots in the past have unexpectedly sailed through, other seemingly safe bills have been held hostage in partisan battles. A bill to create a task force to address youth experiencing homelessness died in committee along party lines. Currently, a bill to extend the continuation of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission teeters between life and death.
Jeriel joined the Western Colorado Alliance staff in February 2017 (back when we were still Western Colorado Congress), but you may remember her as our Canvass Director for the successful Minimum Wage ballot initiative in 2016! In her young career, Jeriel has worked with engaged citizens across Colorado on issues ranging from veterans' affairs, healthcare and women’s rights. Jeriel has called Grand Junction and the Western Slope home for 16 years, and enjoys running, hiking, biking and crafting with her daughter Emma.