Latest news with #SaraWilson
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Prescription drug donations would help uninsured patients under new Colorado law
State Sen. Lisa Cutter speaks in April during a bill signing at the Colorado Capitol. (Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline) A new Colorado law will let people donate their unused and unopened prescription drugs so that other patients can access them for free or a minimal cost. Gov. Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 25-289 into law on Wednesday, which establishes the state's drug donation program. 'Every year, the United States spends billions to dispose of unused prescription medicines from nursing homes, assisted living residences, hospices, and jails,' bill sponsor Sen. Lisa Cutter, a Jefferson County Democrat, said in a statement. 'Additionally, many left-over prescriptions are flushed down the toilet or thrown into the trash, which causes immeasurable harm to our environment and water supply. With this new law, we are creating a program to reduce waste, protect the environment, and help Coloradans access the medication they need.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The bill was also sponsored by Rep. Kyle Brown, a Louisville Democrat, and Rep. Emily Sirota, a Denver Democrat. It passed the House and Senate with bipartisan support. The program relies on the work from a task force on the issue created in 2022. Colorado technically already allows for re-dispensing of medication under limited circumstances, but there isn't an easy mechanism for patients to access those drugs. There is one program in the state, at a clinic in Colorado Springs, that accepts donated medications from nursing homes. Under the new law, individuals and institutions such as long-term care facilities, nursing homes and prisons will be able to more easily donate medicine to hospitals, clinics and pharmacies. That medicine would then be used to fill prescriptions for low-income and uninsured patients. In 2021, about 10% of Coloradans did not fill a prescription because of cost, according to a report from the Colorado Health Institute. The program won't allow for the donation of opioids, scheduled medications and medicines that require special storage conditions unless the recipient can ensure correct storage. The recipient of the donated drugs will be required to keep records of donations, keep the donated drugs separate from regular stock and have a licensed pharmacist inspect the donation. Forty-five states have drug repository programs in place, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, though the program scopes vary. Georgia's program, for example, has filled over 981,000 prescriptions worth more than $78 million over eight years. Wyoming's program has existed since 2007 and has helped about 29,000 patients. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Third car theft conviction means loss of gun rights under new Colorado law
The Colorado House of Representatives debates a property tax relief bill during a special session on Aug. 27, 2024. (Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline) People convicted of first-degree car theft in Colorado will be unable to have a firearm under a new law signed by Gov. Jared Polis on Monday. House Bill 25-1171 adds the offense to the list of crimes covered by the Possession of Weapon by Previous Offender statute in the state. POWPO makes it illegal to own a firearm for people with one or more of the listed convictions on their record. 'From now on anyone convicted of first degree motor vehicle theft (is) ineligible to possess a firearm, keeping guns out of the wrong hands and protecting our communities,' Polis said in a statement. 'I am proud of our work to improve public safety in Colorado, and with this bill signed into law, I look forward to continuing our bold progress to protect Coloradans and our communities.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A person can be convicted of first-degree vehicle theft only after two other vehicle theft convictions. The bill was sponsored by Reps. Shannon Bird of Westminster and Andrew Boesenecker of Fort Collins and Sens. Nick Hinrichsen of Pueblo and Dafna Michaelson Jenet of Commerce City, all Democrats. It passed the Legislature with bipartisan support. A 2021 law narrowed the scope of the POWPO application in Colorado, and while a 2022 law then added more felonies back to the list, it left car theft out. 'What we heard in committee from law enforcement is a plea. They are begging us, in these situations where you have someone who has been convicted three times of auto theft, they are asking us to please take the firearm out of the equation,' Boesenecker said on the House floor during bill debate. What we heard in committee from law enforcement is a plea. They are begging us, in these situations where you have someone who has been convicted three times of auto theft, they are asking us to please take the firearm out of the equation. – State Rep. Andrew Boesenecker As the bill made its way through the Legislature, Hinrichsen said that car theft is distinct from other property crimes and non-violent offenses left out of POWPO. 'When we look at punishments relative to crime, either in terms of sentences or in terms of restrictions, what we should be looking at is the severity of the action and the risk and harm done to the victim and community more broadly. When you're dealing with the theft of a vehicle, you're disrupting the entire life of an individual,' he said during the bill's first Senate committee hearing. The bill was amended in the House, under a change brought by Republican representatives, to allow a person to petition a court to restore their firearm possession rights after 10 years. 'This is the crucially important piece — for someone who has turned their life around, they can petition to get this removed,' Rep. Ryan Armagost, a Berthoud Republican who helped negotiate the amendment, said on the House floor. But that amendment ended up being a sticking point. Other crimes on the POWPO list do not have that restoration pathway for adults, creating equal protection concerns. Sponsors said, however, that the attorney general's office said the bill with the amendment is defensible if a legal challenge emerges. But the Senate stripped the amendment from the bill and passed a version without the restoration piece. The House then refused to accept the change and forced the Senate to decide, in the last hours of the session on May 7, to either pass the House version of the bill or allow the legislation to die. The Senate passed the bill. 'I appreciate the hard work of the House sponsors to work on deals that bring parties into agreement, that brought representatives to be able to get behind this policy that I believe will save lives in Colorado,' Hinrichsen said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
These housing policies passed the Colorado Legislature in 2025
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis spoke alongside legislative leaders at a factory-built apartment complex in Denver on May 8, 2025. (Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline) The Colorado Legislature had a smaller emphasis on housing policy this year following the passage of splashy land use laws in 2024, but lawmakers still advanced quite a few bills related to housing, particularly for renters and first-time homebuyers. Democrats enjoyed wide majorities in both the House of Representatives and Senate, and many of the bills passed this year had Democratic sponsorship and passed along party lines, though a few were bipartisan. The 2025 regular legislative session ended on May 7, and Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, has until June 6 to take action on bills. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Senate Bill 25-20 would allow third-party takeover of rundown apartment buildings that violate state laws around maintenance and habitability. The attorney general and municipal governments could petition the district court for a building to be put into receivership — during which a third party would manage and operate the property for a period of time — if the landlord demonstrates a 'pattern of neglect,' including if the property lacks working ventilation, heating, lighting, or door locks, or has other health and safety hazards. The receiver would be in charge of fixing the property's issues and the landlord could seek to end the receivership after 90 days. 'We know there is a relationship between landlords and tenants. The landlord provides a property and the tenant pays for it,' bill sponsor Rep. Mandy Lindsay, an Aurora Democrat, said on the House floor during debate on the bill. 'But in that agreement is that the property needs to be habitable.' The bill was partially a response to a dilapidated building in Aurora owned by CBZ Management, which had longstanding safety problems and was closed by the city last year. The building also became a flashpoint in the debate over the Trump administration's effort to conduct mass deportations. 'This bill gives tools to the attorney general and to cities and counties to be able to take care of situations where there is severe neglect,' Lindsay said. The bill was sent to the governor on May 2. House Bill 25-1004 would ban the use, sale and distribution of software that uses an algorithm to set rents. That would include companies like RealPage, which is the subject of a lawsuit from Colorado and other states. Those companies use internal aggregate data from landlords around the area and then suggest rent prices based on the market. A study from the Biden administration last year found that units priced with RealPage software are about $136 more per month. The bill passed both chambers on party-line votes, and progressive lawmakers and renters' rights groups are urging Polis to sign it. Lawmakers finally passed a bill related to construction defect lawsuits after multiple years of failed attempts. House Bill 25-1272 would give construction companies the choice to opt in to a program that would limit construction defect claims, which drive up project insurance costs and are said to be the reason condominium construction has plummeted in the state. To participate in the program, builders would need to agree to inspections during the building process and provide a defect warranty to owners. The idea is that issues would be identified and addressed during construction and any errors discovered after someone moves in could be fixed quickly. The bill was heavily amended to assuage some concerns from trial lawyers, home builders and homeowners. Sponsors hope the bill will encourage builders to construct more condominiums, which are often more affordable options for first-time buyers priced out of the detached single-family home market. 'This is a problem that I believe we have a moral obligation to fix,' bill sponsor Rep. Shannon Bird, a Westminster Democrat, said during the bill's debate in the House. 'When you have the financial security that comes from owning your own home, you're no longer at the whims of changing lease terms or increasing rents. We need to do better. Our state's best answer cannot be more taxpayer-subsidized affordable housing. The market needs to work.' The bill passed both chambers with widespread bipartisan support. It was sent to Polis on May 6 and it is almost certain he will sign it. The first bill Polis signed after the legislative session was Senate Bill 25-2, which concerns factory built, or modular, housing. Those structures are built in a factory to near completion and then transported to a building site. It is a faster method of construction with lower costs. The state will set regional building codes for factory-built structures, eliminating some of the stickiest red tape for these types of builds. 'We thought one of the key housing bills that we passed provides streamlining and uniformity to make sure that this kind of housing can be built at lower cost and quicker across the state, so that we don't have 600 different versions of modular housing. The big benefit is an economy of scale,' Polis said ahead of the bill signing Thursday. Polis has also signed House Bill 25-1090, which requires disclosure of something's final cost up front. That extends to rent costs, so starting in 2026 it will prohibit a landlord from not communicating to a prospective tenant extra costs on top of base rent for items like trash service, pest control and community amenity fees. The total price would need to be advertised as one complete, accurate number, so a consumer knows what to expect to pay. Sometimes, those extra fees are revealed after a person pays an application fee or signs a lease. These so-called 'junk fees' will be deemed a deceptive practice and a person could bring legal action against a landlord who violates the law. Earlier this year, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and federal regulators sued one of the state's largest landlords, Greystar, over its use of junk fees. 'Hidden 'junk fees' often add up to hundreds of dollars in monthly expenses for Coloradans, and this new law cracks down on these surprise costs to save people money,' bill sponsor Rep. Emily Sirota, a Denver Democrat, said in a statement after the bill signing. 'Whatever the 'junk fee' is disguised as, the goal is to hike up prices and drain money out of the pockets of hardworking Coloradans to increase corporate profits.' Other housing bills passed this year include policies to allow some multifamily buildings to have just one staircase, ensure the return of security deposits to tenants in more circumstances and require building codes to follow accessibility standards. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Colorado House gives initial OK to bill that would ease union formation despite veto threat
Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, a Denver Democrat, speaks about a labor rights bill at the Colorado Capitol on Nov. 19, 2024. (Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline) The Colorado House of Representatives on Monday gave preliminary approval to a bill that would eliminate a second election requirement, unique to the state, for union formation, four months after the legislation was introduced and two days before the end of the lawmaking term. After months of negotiation between labor and business groups, there was no deal reached among groups on opposing sides of debate around the measure, and the bill is the same as it was in January. That will set up a likely clash with Gov. Jared Polis, who has signaled opposition to the measure. Senate Bill 25-5 was a priority for progressive Democrats this year. It would alter union law in the state by removing a second election requirement to negotiate union security, the term used when everyone in a workplace is required to pay into the representation a union provides, regardless of membership. In Colorado, a 50% vote is necessary to form a union, as is federal law, but a second election requiring a 75% vote is required to negotiate union security in a contract. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Unions negotiate compensation, benefits and workplace conditions for all workers, not just members. That second election does not automatically require union security but allows it to be on the negotiating table. And workers could still decline to ratify a contract that includes union security. 'There is nothing in this bill that is requiring anything other than to be allowed to collectively bargain. And that is a decision and a choice that employees can make, and then that is a decision and a choice that everyone in that workplace can bargain over as well,' said bill sponsor Rep. Jennifer Bacon, a Denver Democrat. Bill supporters say the second election creates a massive barrier for strong union formation in the state and leads to Colorado's low unionization rate. 'Something is happening between that first and second election. We heard stories of what's happening between those elections. Workers are being dissuaded. Workers are being tantamount to intimidation,' Bacon said. 'That second vote has demonstrated that it is a tangible barrier to being able to collectively bargain.' The bill is also sponsored by Rep. Javier Mabrey, a Denver Democrat. It was sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, a Denver Democrat, and Sen. Jessie Danielson, a Wheat Ridge Democrat, in the Senate. 'This bill is about empowering Coloradans to stand up for better workplaces and to stand up for higher wages in an economy that is increasingly rigged against them,' Mabrey said, framing the vote in the context of growing wealth inequality and elimination of some workers rights and consumer protection efforts and the federal level. The bill was previewed last year and introduced on the first day of the legislative session. From the start, Polis expressed wariness of signing a bill that didn't reflect a compromise between labor and business. Representing workers who are ready for change, we came to the table in good faith but business walked away from a meaningful compromise that would have made our system fairer and safer for working people. – Dennis Dougherty, executive director of Colorado AFL-CIO The Senate passed an unamended version of the bill in February. It languished on the House calendar for about a month after moving through its committees, as sponsors and stakeholders continued to discuss potential compromises. That deal never came. 'Representing workers who are ready for change, we came to the table in good faith but business walked away from a meaningful compromise that would have made our system fairer and safer for working people,' Dennis Dougherty, the executive director of Colorado AFL-CIO, said in a statement over the weekend. Loren Furman, the president of the Colorado Chamber of Commerce, rejected that characterization. Business groups including Colorado Concern and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce were also involved in talks. She said the chamber offered three ideas that labor interests didn't agree to, and that chamber's members couldn't agree to the 'creative proposals' that the governor's office came up with, one of which she said would have bifurcated small and large businesses in the matter. 'At the end of the day, it's disappointing. I take this process very seriously and we have always tried to find a common ground or consensus on issues down here at the Capitol. This is a policy that's been in place for 83 years, and yet we still came to the table and offered significant compromises that would've helped labor unions be more successful,' she said. 'At the end of the day, it was really important to us that all employees have a say over whether or not these fees get withdrawn from their paychecks.' House sponsors moved forward on the bill despite the absence of a negotiation. The bill needs a final, recorded vote in the House before it heads to the governor to either sign or veto. Bacon urged Polis, as the 'figurehead of the Democratic Party' in the state, to sign the bill. Last year, Polis vetoed two labor-related bills, which drew frustration and sharp criticism from unions and Democrats. Republicans are uniformly against the bill. They generally agree with the Labor Peace Act, which established the second election, and view the 80-year-old law as a functioning compromise between labor and business. 'This (bill) is about forcing workers to pay union dues against their will, even if they want nothing to do with the union. It's mandatory, compulsory fees,' said Rep. Chris Richardson, an Elizabeth Republican. 'It's about compelling association and compelling speech, and that's wrong.' On Monday, Democratic Rep. Bob Marshall of Highlands Ranch tried to run an amendment to get rid of the second election and allow union security negotiations if at least 60% of workers voted for the union formation. A similar amendment was determined to not fit under the title of the bill during committee, and his amendment on Monday was also ruled out of the scope of the bill's title. The legislative session ends Wednesday. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Colorado House passes immigrant protections as Trump administration sues over ‘sanctuary' laws
People gather at the Colorado Capitol in Denver on Feb. 3, 2025, for the national "A Day Without Immigrants" demonstration, a response to President Donald Trump's policies that target immigrants. (Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline) The Colorado House of Representatives passed a bill Saturday to expand the state's existing protections for immigrants and further limit how local law enforcement can interact with federal immigration authorities. Senate Bill 25-276 passed on a party-line vote, with Democrats in favor. The Senate, which approved it in April, needs to sign off on changes made in the House before the bill heads to Gov. Jared Polis' desk. 'There is clarity in place of what happens when an (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) action takes place. Notice that I'm saying 'when,' because everyone here knows that there is zero sense of false hope, especially in our immigrant population. They know more than anyone here in this room that they are not living risk free,' Rep. Lorena Garcia, a bill sponsor and Adams County Democrat, said ahead of the vote. 'This bill is a declaration to our commitment to civil and constitutional rights in this state, for everyone who calls this state home,' she said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The bill would prohibit local government officials and employees from sharing personal identifying information about immigration status with ICE and would also limit where ICE can go within a public school, child care facility, hospital and library without a warrant signed by a judge. A House amendment removed the inclusion of 'surrounding areas' to those banned spaces. Public officials who intentionally violate that data sharing provision would be liable for a $50,000 civil fine, which would go to the state's immigration legal defense fund. The bill would also prevent local sheriffs from delaying a person's release from jail for the purpose of immigration enforcement, get rid of certain affidavit requirements for immigrants seeking in-state tuition or a drivers license, and allow immigrant defendants to ask that a guilty plea is overturned if they were not aware of immigration consequences of that plea when they made it. 'This bill does not provide immigrants with more rights than citizens, but it ensures equal treatment under the law,' bill sponsor Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, a Glenwood Springs Democrat, said. Democrats framed the bill as a response to the Trump administration's mass deportation efforts and increased detentions of immigrants without legal status, which they said are often imposed without the due process the bill tries to protect. 'When we violate due process, we violate justice,' Garcia said. An Aurora apartment building was the site of a chaotic immigration raid earlier this year, and dozens of international students in Colorado have had their visas revoked. There have also been coordinated drug and immigration enforcement efforts at unofficial nightclubs in Adams County and Colorado Springs, and it is unclear whether the people detained in those actions have a criminal history warranting arrest. 'One of the reasons why I appreciate this bill so much is that it is one of few that is really taking seriously the crisis that the federal administration poses for immigrants in particular and for marginalized people generally,' Rep. Yara Zokaie, a Fort Collins Democrat, said. Republicans, during the initial debate on the bill and on Saturday, argued that the bill could provoke the Trump administration to target Colorado and withhold federal money. On Friday afternoon, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Polis, Attorney General Phil Weiser and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston to invalidate the type of 'sanctuary' laws that prohibit coordination and information sharing between local officials and immigration authorities. 'This is super-sizing sanctuary policy,' Rep. Max Brooks, a Castle Rock Republican, said. 'When we consider this bill, we ought to be looking at the downsides, not just the emotional stories to be able to support it, but we need to look at what could potentially be the harm and the downstream negative impact.' Eric Maruyama, a Polis spokesperson, said in a statement Saturday that the 'Governor's office has expressed concerns about the original version of SB25-276, and has been working with legislators, as well as stakeholders, including law enforcement, throughout the process on amendments that would help gain the Governor's support. Colorado is not a sanctuary state, and Governor Polis continues urging Congress to secure the border and do their job and pass comprehensive immigration reform.' Once the bill is sent to Polis, he will have 30 days to sign or veto it. The legislative session ends Wednesday. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
