(Malte Mueller/Getty Images) A bill to ease minimum parking requirements mostly along the Front Range cleared the Colorado Senate on Saturday after sponsors narrowed the number of areas where requirements would be eliminated.  House Bill 24-1304 passed on a 19-15 vote. Democratic Sens. Rachel Zenzinger of Arvada, Jeff Bridges of Greenwood Village, Chris Kolker of Centennial and Joann Ginal of Fort Collins joined Republicans in opposition. As introduced, the bill would have completely prohibited enforcement of parking minimums at apartment buildings and shopping centers within metropolita ..read more

DeeJay Johnson interacts with an election worker after voting on Super Tuesday in Denver, CO, March 5, 2024. Kevin Mohatt for Colorado Newsline One month ago, newsrooms across the state launched an ambitious project: invite the people of Colorado to tell us what they want politicians to talk about in this election, and use their answers to help guide the stories we tell. So far, more than 3,100 people from around the state have responded to that call and filled out the Voter Voices survey. “I’d like to see candidates focus not only on our rights as Americans, but also on our obligations to be ..read more

A line of Denver police officers blocks off a street in Denver on July 13, 2021 in order to deter a small group of protesters, citing safety concerns. (Moe Clark/Colorado Newsline) A Colorado bill that would have added protections for law enforcement whistleblowers died Friday on the House floor.  House Bill 24-1460 was rejected in a 31-33 vote after sponsors offered two third-reading amendments to create a working group to discuss what further law enforcement retaliation and whistleblower protections are needed. The amendments took all previous provisions out of the bill in hopes of sav ..read more

A view of the Colorado House of Representatives on April 19, 2023. (Quentin Young/Colorado Newsline) The Colorado House after tense floor debate Thursday gave preliminary approval to a new version of a bill that would add protections for law enforcement whistleblowers.  The original House Bill 24-1460 would have required that law enforcement agencies investigate allegations of misconduct made against their officers and prohibited retaliation against an officer who files a complaint.  An amendment from the bill sponsors — which completely strikes old language and creates new language ..read more

Minority Leader Paul Lundeen gives his opening day speech on the Senate floor of the Colorado Capitol on Jan. 10, 2024. (Chloe Anderson for Colorado Newsline) Colorado’s income tax rate could get cut in years that the state’s revenue exceeds a constitutional limit under a bipartisan bill lawmakers are considering during the last week of the state legislative session. The bill considers a Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refund mechanism that would reduce the state’s sales tax if the surplus exceeds $1.5 billion and the individual income tax rate when the surplus exceeds $300 million, after the state ..read more

University of Wisconsin-Madison protesters sit around tents on May 1, 2024, as police work to dismantle their encampment on Library Mall. (Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner) WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden responded Thursday to weeks of protest on college campuses calling for a ceasefire in Gaza with a brief statement that the right to protest should be protected, but “not the right to cause chaos.” “We are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent,” Biden said from the White House’s Roosevelt Room. “In fact, peaceful protest is in the best tradition of how America ..read more

Darryl Walker fills out his ballot while voting on Super Tuesday in Denver, March 5, 2024. (Kevin Mohatt for Colorado Newsline) As we stand at the precipice of yet another consequential election year, the future of our democracy hangs in the balance. With former President Donald Trump looming over the political landscape, the urgency to safeguard our electoral integrity has never been more pressing. Now is the time for action, for unity, and for unwavering commitment to the principles upon which our nation was founded. In this pivotal moment, one state shines as a beacon of hope: Colorado. Am ..read more

Rep. Lorena Garcia, an Adams County Democrat, speaks on the House floor at the Colorado Capitol on May 1, 2024. (Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline) The Colorado House approved a bill on Wednesday to give financial support to groups assisting the thousands of migrants who have made their way to the state in recent months, continuing an effort this legislative session to help respond to the situation. Nearly 40,000 migrants have arrived in Denver since December 2022, many on buses from Texas and other border states. Many have remained in the Denver metro area or continued on to another state, thoug ..read more

A line of Denver police officers blocks off a street in Denver on July 13, 2021 in order to deter a small group of protesters, citing safety concerns. (Moe Clark/Colorado Newsline) Advocates for law enforcement asked Colorado legislators to end consideration of a bill that would add protections for officers who accuse a fellow officer of misconduct, and they instead proposed a working group to collaborate on alternative legislation over the summer.  A letter addressed to Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon and state Rep. Leslie Herod, both Denver Democrats who sponsored House Bill 2 ..read more

UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, about a cyberattack on Change Healthcare, a subsidiary. (Screenshot from committee webcast) WASHINGTON — Capitol Hill lawmakers from both parties on Wednesday grilled UnitedHealth Group’s CEO over the largest-ever cyberattack on the U.S. health care industry, which has crippled payments to providers and pharmacies and left millions of patients clueless about whether their information is now on the dark web. A Russia-linked cybercrime organization dubbed “BlackCat” infiltrated a vulnerab ..read more