Yet another shot at public health insurance and higher penalties on gun theft. How much is JeffCo paying for DEI? Livestream and catch up on what the legislature has done, is doing, and will do.
Couple of bills to share: yet another shot at public health insurance and higher penalties on gun theft.
I had a couple of bills to share with you, both of which I saw in the Colorado Politics article (a great read in general--there are other bills in the article plus context about last year's failed efforts).
The first bill below is yet another attempt to stuff public health insurance into this state. SB25-045 (linked second below) is titled Health-Care Payment System Analysis, but the bland title shouldn't fool you.
This bill is another inch toward a public option; a perennial effort that the progressive Democrats in the legislature have been working on for some time now. As I wrote about with this effort last year (see the third link below for context), the sequence for legislative efforts is often to do studies and plans first, later followed by law.
This bill builds on a previous study which (miracle of miracles) said that a public option would just be great for people in Colorado. If this passes, you can safely bet your lunch a bill to create a public health insurance plan in Colorado would be forthcoming.
This bill has its first committee hearing on 1/30 at 1:30 PM (see the bill's page). I am already signed up to testify on a couple of Ag bills that day so I won't be testifying in person. I did submit written testimony along with emailing the sponsors/committee members. This was easier than it seems: since the bill is the same and my thoughts are the same, I used last year's email. See that in my previous newsletter if ideas on advocating would be helpful to you.
The second bill below is a gun bill. I write a lot about the efforts of Democrats to punish law-abiding gun owners for the behavior or criminals or about how their gun control policy is not based on sound evidence. I don't write anywhere near as much about policy that I think could have a positive effect.
HB25-1062 linked fourth below is one of those bills. Skipping some detail (which you're welcome to read up on) this bill strengthens the penalties for gun theft. Given that stolen guns are, by a HUGE majority, the guns that are used in the commission of crimes, efforts to make it less attractive to steal guns is a good idea. On top of that, this effort actually punishes someone committing a crime instead of eating into rights of the law-abiding. I believe we need more efforts like these: this is the kind of policy that I think will have a net positive impact on gun violence and other crimes.
It's on my list to support. If you feel the same, share the link and bookmark it.
https://www.coloradopolitics.com/legislature/legislative-bills-return-in-2025-session/article_ffee006c-d376-11ef-9163-2b9870c5905a.html
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb25-045
https://open.substack.com/pub/coloradoaccountabilityproject/p/hot-chocolate-and-a-reason-you-should?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb25-1062
If you live in JeffCo, how much are you paying for DEI?
Oh, and how are the basics of government services going? Roads good, etc.?
I really enjoyed the Free State Colorado interview with Natalie Menten linked first below. Interesting info about JeffCo, but besides that Menten details how you can do a CORA request (or just ask) for information on how much your local government is paying, and for what.
Give it a try with your local government. If you find something interesting, please feel free to share. I know of at least one other reader who regularly checks up on his town (and it is a real hot mess down there!).
This video reminded me too of a post from last October where I looked at our state's union contract with the public employees union Colorado WINS. I linked to that below.
Similar to JeffCo, our state sure seems to spend an awful lot of time on DEI.
https://freestatecolorado.com/natalie-dei/
https://open.substack.com/pub/coloradoaccountabilityproject/p/how-much-will-you-pay-so-colorado?r=15ij6n&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Livestream and catch up on what the legislature has done, is doing, and will do.
While on the topic of Free State Colorado, I wanted to mention his weekly Sunday night livestream (see the YouTube link below for his channel, you will find it there).
Sundays during the legislative session Free State Colorado's Brandon Wark does a show from 7:30 to 9 PM. They discuss the latest news and upcoming important bills coming out of the state legislature.
Great way to stay caught up and/or prepare to get involved.