It is our tradition at the legislature to recognize the retiring members of the House and Senate at the end of session. This year we have eight members of the State Senate who are either termed out or not returning, including my mentor and good friend Senator Nancy Todd. In my tribute to her, I ended my comments by playing the song "One Day More" from the Broadway musical Les Miserable. The final verse sums up how I feel in this moment: 

Tomorrow we'll discover 

What our God in Heaven has in store 

One more dawn 

One more day 

One day more! 

Senator Nancy Todd receiving a tribute for her  16 years of service in the legislature

Had our legislative session run its normal 120-day course, we would have finished on May 6. Due to health and safety concerns connected to the pandemic, we recessed for several weeks and did not return until after the stay-at-home order was lifted. In our final three weeks, the legislature had quite a bit on our plate: we needed to rewrite the state budget to fill a $3.3 billion hole, pass the School Finance Act with a 25% reduction to the General Fund, and we needed to come up with legislation to address the negative impacts of COVID-19. 

Then, three days into our abbreviated session the country, including Colorado, erupted in protests over the death of George Floyd. The legislature took another brief recess to assess the situation and started drafting legislation to help increase police accountability. Yesterday, we passed SB20-217, a police reform bill that we think will help bring more transparency and accountability to policing. The measure was contentious at first, but different parties came together and worked out a bipartisan solution that was ultimately widely supported. 

In the midst of addressing police accountability, we were also under a deadline to complete and pass both the state budget and the School Finance Act. Unfortunately, due to the historic drop in revenue, we were not able to fund our state programs, including education to the same level as last year's budget. While per pupil funding went up, the budget stabilzation factor grew significantly. However, I am pleased to report that we managed to find a way to balance the budget without eliminating the Senior Homestead Property Tax Exemption. 

In addition to the police reform bill, we also took up a number of bills to address  hardship as a result of COVID-19. These bills included proposals to address mental health, provide financial relief for low-income Coloradans, establish a small business recovery loan fund, and prevent consumers from falling prey to price gouging. These bills were funded through the federal CARES Act money that Colorado received. 

Today will be our last day of the Seventy-second General Assembly. It was by far the weirdest, most stressful and difficult session of my legislative career, but it was filled with some good moments too. I will provide a legislative summary of the legislation I carried and passed this session in my next newsletter. Also, please join us next weekend for a legislative wrap-up at our town hall meeting with Reps. Kraft-Tharp and Titone. No matter how the session unfolded, it has been my greatest pleasure and honor to represent you in the state senate. Thank you!