DENVER (KDVR) — Lawmakers at the state Capitol are done with this year’s session.
Senators gaveled out around 10 p.m. Monday night after the House wrapped up around 9:45 p.m. No surprise that things did not end on a quiet note.
Lawmakers are leaving this year’s session thinking about walkouts, housing, property and how they can better work together in the future. The day after the end of the session, there were differing opinions about the work lawmakers did during their 120 days at the Capitol.
“This session delivered real results on the issues that matter to Coloradans,” House Speaker Julie McCluskie said Tuesday morning, reflecting on the session at a press briefing.
“We’re sad that the people of Colorado are not living a life that is any more affordable because of this legislative session, that in fact, life is not any safer in Colorado because of this session,” Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen said at the Senate GOP press conference.
“We were here about trying to make it more affordable for people to live in this state and make it into a more safe state. You know we heard the governor say, ‘We’re going to be in the top 10 (safest states). I don’t think he is getting to his goals. I mean, in fact, if it were me, I’d probably give the governor a D on this session for him,” Senate Minority Whip and Joint Budget Committee Member Barbara Kirkmeyer said.
Land use, property taxes and TABOR refunds
Gov. Jared Polis went 50-50 on his late-session, landmark pieces of legislation. The land-use measure he backed failed to make it out of the state Senate after it cleared the House with major changes.
“This was a session where we started a lot of conversations. We maybe didn’t quite get around to finishing all of them, but we started the conversation. It was a really important role that this session played in lining up the opportunity to come back and pass strong legislation to make sure that we address our housing affordability crisis,” said Senate Majority Leader Dominick Moreno, sponsor of the measure.
The governor’s proposal to help relieve Coloradans from high property tax rates and the flat TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights) solution passed without Republican support late Monday night. The bill introduced Saturday would make TABOR rebates the same amount for all Coloradans — rather than the tiered, original approach that would give back more money to higher earners — if voters approve of the property tax proposal.
Senate Republicans said threats of enacting rules stopped them from speaking on the bill through midnight. The final passage of those bills came after House Republicans walked out during the House vote on the property bill in protest about the measure passing too fast without enough input from the community.
“We see this happen all the time in democracy. We see it around Denver when we see protests out of our window all the time. We were out of tools. They had used all of their tools on us and we used all of our tools by simply protesting by walking out. So what we accomplished is we made a statement,” House Minority Leader Mike Lynch said.
At a post-session media availability, Polis was asked about the walkout.
“I don’t think walking out on a body is polite. There were times when I served in a legislative body in Congress where I wasn’t happy with what the majority party was doing, but I never walked out. I attended State of the Nation speeches by President Trump. I was there. Some of my colleagues walked out. I certainly understand their frustration, but I don’t think that’s something that is consistent with the spirit of democracy.”
While the measures surrounding property taxes, TABOR and land use stole the spotlight on the last day, other measures met their fate in the final days before lawmakers gaveled out.
Minimum age of juvenile prosecution
House Bill 23-1249: A bill designed to reduce youth involvement with the criminal justice system by changing the minimum age a child could be prosecuted by juvenile courts to 13, up from age 10, received an amendment striking the provisions around increasing the minimum age.
On the House floor, emotional House sponsors Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez and Rep. Ryan Armagost explained their disappointment in the measure not passing with the original intent. But they said they believe the funding and support of services will still help young people in the state.
Colorado Commission on Juvenile Justice
Senate Bill 23-158: A bill that would have kept the state Colorado Commission on Juvenile Justice alive passed the state Senate but did not make it out of committee to the House floor. Polis said the state is working on a plan to continue the work that the commission did, even without legislative authorization.
Criminal penalties for overdose deaths
Senate Bill 23-209: The bill would have enacted a penalty on a drug supplier when a person dies as a result of the use of a Schedule I or II controlled substance. The bipartisan measure died in the Judiciary Committee on Friday.
Casino loans to gamers
House Bill 23-259: The bill allows casinos to extend loans to gamers in amounts of at least $1,000. The bill initially failed when it came up for a final vote in the House Saturday night, but after Rep. Richard Holtorf moved for the House to reconsider the bill, citing his initial “no” vote as an error on his end, the House voted to allow a revote. Then the bill passed after Holtorf and two other Republicans changed their votes to “yes.”
Rep. Bob Marshall took to the House floor Saturday before the re-vote and said, “This is why people lose trust in our government.” He took to the floor again just before the session ended to protest the process used to change the vote on the bill, saying the vote needed a two-thirds majority per House rules during the last days of the session and called out members of the House for hypocrisy over their lack of transparency, as they accused the governor of the same offense.