As an adjective, the word final means the last one in a series of events, things or people, or coming at the end, such as the last in place, order or time. The legislature is now--no matter which day we end--in our final week. Despite the Memorial Day holiday and our shortened week, the last four days were chock-full of bills, hearings, motions, and debate. There have been 293 Senate bills and 330 House bills introduced, and there are 62 bills still in play. While the pace has picked up and the list of bills we are debating has lengthened, these final days are no different than what we usually face at this point in the session.

The final Senate bill introduced this session, SB21-293, concerns property tax classification and assessment rates, and has proven to be one of the more complex and controversial bills this session. The bill will temporarily reduce property tax assessment rates and allow people a delay in paying a percentage of their increased property tax bills. Lowering taxes is not necessarily controversial, although it will cost the state approximately $50 million in tax revenue, but the bill also proposes reclassifying residential and some nonresidential properties into subcategories. This change would potentially undermine another tax-reducing proposal that could be on the ballot in November known as Initiative 27. To learn more about the bill, I recommend reading this Colorado Sun article linked HERE.

The final House bill introduced this session, HB21-1330, is my bill concerning measures to support student success in obtaining postsecondary credentials. Unlike the final Senate bill, this piece of legislation received significant support in the House and passed unanimously out of the Senate Finance Committee on Friday. We know that the COVID-19 pandemic caused disruption to the lives of students and their families, the operations of the state’s colleges and universities, workforce, and economy. The bill authorizes federal American Rescue Plan dollars for students, postsecondary institutions, and other entities that fit into the postsecondary pipeline, with a focus on reengaging students so they may return to school and earn the degrees they started.

The word final, while more popularly used as an adjective, can also be a noun, such as anything final, the last of a series of contests, trials, or a final concluding examination. But for the state legislature, we tend to use the word final as an adverb, known as Sine Die. This Latin phrase means without a date. With no appointed date set for resumption, and our 120-day session spent, Sine Die--our final day of session--will be some time this week and no later than Saturday. Finally!

SB21-268 Public School Finance: The Senate concurred with House amendments to SB21-268 on the School Finance Act this week, finally passing the bill that funds the state's share of school finance. This year's act accomplished some big things such as increasing base per pupil funding for FY 2021-22 by $141.67 to $7,225.28. The budget stabilization factor--also known as the Negative Factor and represents the amount of funding deducted from the total program--decreased by $481.4 million, from $1.05 billion in FY 2020-21 to $571.2 million in FY 2021-22. Also, we increased funding to our at-risk students by changing the definition of at-risk pupils to include those pupils eligible for reduced-price lunch under the federal school lunch program, and added a new English Language Learner factor to the funding formula for all non-fully proficient ELL pupils. Lastly, we restored funding to numerous grant programs, increased funding for the Counselor Corps Grant program, and increased funding to the CSI Mill Levy Equalization Fund, bringing the total appropriation up to $494.8 million to CDE. We also increased funding to Special Education during the budget process. To see all the numbers and more details, read the fiscal note HERE.

HB21-1317 Regulating Marijuana Concentrates: House Bill 21-1317 concerning the regulation of marijuana for safe consumption was highly debated and hugely contested, but after a series of amendments the bill ended up passing out of the Senate with a unanimous vote of approval. The bill is intended to crack down on youth access to high-potency THC and represents one of the largest changes to marijuana policy since legalization. I listened closely to the debate as I was worried about whether or not the legislature had the authority to make some of the proposed changes, especially given that medical marijuana is in our constitution, but the debate was very clarifying and with the amendments we adopted I felt comfortable casting my vote in favor. You can read more HERE.

SB21-256 Local Regulation of Firearms: While I received quite a bit of communication both for and against SB21-256, the debate in the Senate was rather modest. Since I came to the legislature after serving on the Arvada City Council, I tend to have a fairly strong inclination towards local control. There are times when I believe the "patchwork of laws" problem can be compelling. For example, I saw problems with policies that left the regulation of plastics up to local discretion, particularly for our large supermarkets having to operate businesses in literally hundreds of locations, each under its own rules. Statewide rules to prevent that sort of interjurisdictional chaos seem reasonable, but I don't think we can apply the same logic when it comes to public safety. Current law ties the hands of local officials and prevents leaders who know their communities best from implementing the public safety laws their constituents want. I would not want all of Colorado to have to abide by the rules that best fit Boulder. With a couple of amendments that were adopted to clarify some issues, I voted in favor of allowing localities to adopt locally tailored solutions.

Colorado Comeback Cash vaccine drawing: In an effort to encourage more people to get vaccinated, Governor Polis announced the Colorado Comeback Cash Vaccine Drawing, where vaccinated Coloradans have the opportunity to win $1 million. The first winner, Sally Sliger, a healthcare worker and current resident of Mead in Weld County, is the first vaccinated Coloradan to win the drawing. There are still four more chances for Coloradans to win. Winners will be announced June 11, June 18, June 25, with the final winner being announced on July 7. Younger Coloradans ages 12 to 17 are eligible for the Colorado Comeback Cash Scholarship drawing. Five eligible Coloradans will be randomly selected to win a $50,000 scholarship each week for five weeks. Coloradans must be vaccinated by June 30 to qualify to win. For more information, click HERE or visit ColoradoComebackCash.com.

Where to find the COVID-19 Vaccine: To learn more about where you can get vaccinated visit: https://covid19.colorado.gov/for-coloradans/vaccine/where-can-i-get-vaccinated. Call the vaccine hotline at 1-877- CO VAX CO (1-877-268-2926).

Below you will find a list of bills that were introduced or acted upon last week. Updates and new bills are highlighted in red text. You can find a full list of all my bills on my website HERE or the state's legislative website HERE.

HB21-1330 Higher Education Student Success: Concerning measures to support student success in obtaining postsecondary credentials, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation. This bill was introduced, heard, and passed out of the Senate Finance Committee and referred to Appropriations.

HB21-1325 Funding Public Schools Formula: Concerning changes to the method for funding public schools, and, in connection therewith, amending the "Public School Finance Act of 1994" and establishing a school finance legislative interim committee. This bill was introduced, heard, and passed out of the Senate Finance Committee and referred to Appropriations.

HB21-1230 Create User-friendly State Internet Rules Portal: Concerning creation of a user-friendly state internet portal relating to state agency rules. This bill passed out of the Senate unanimously.

HB21-1104 Professional Educator Licensure Renewal Period: Concerning extending the renewal period for professional educator licenses from five to seven years, and, in connection therewith, making and reducing an appropriation. This bill passed unanimously out of the Senate.

Here are the latest press articles from this past week that touch on legislation I am sponsoring. Also, you can view the full list on my website by clicking HERE.

The Colorado Sun: Opinion: As Colorado lawmakers, we call on the legislature to invest $15 million to support workers and students affected by the pandemic

Colorado Springs Gazette: Two new three-digit numbers will connect Coloradans to mental health help

Colorado Politics: School Finance Act clears the House, with focus on poverty, literacy and risks

Colorado Politics: Two new three-digit numbers will connect Coloradans to mental health help

Denver Business Journal: $5.3 billion transportation funding bill heads to Gov. Polis

Chalkbeat Colorado: Overhaul of Colorado school funding may be in the works

Pagosa Daily Post: ‘Colorado Comeback’ Stimulus Update

News Nation USA: Colorado education interests spend millions on lobbying mostly to retain, gain funding

Colorado Public Radio: The Year That Democrats Left TABOR Behind: How Billions In New Spending Can Cut Through Colorado’s Conservative Firewall

Sky Hi News: Colorado public option health care bill passes Senate

We hope you can join us at our next legislative town hall meeting for a legislative wrap-up on Saturday, June 19 at 10:30 am. Unfortunately, we were not able to secure a location for an in-person meeting. Nevertheless, we hope you can join us for one last Zoom meeting.