We made it! The legislative session is finally finished and, with over 700 pieces of legislation introduced, a lot happened. In this important update, our Education Policy Center Director, Pam Bengino, covers the never ending assault on charter schools and parental rights. Dave Kopel, Independence Institute's Director of the Second Amendment Project, gives a run down on a plethora of gun grabbing bills. Jake Fogleman, Independence Institute's Director of Policy, has a piece in Complete Colorado highlighting legislation that impacts everything from privacy to fiscal policy. Lastly, be sure to watch the episode of PowerGab that focuses on energy legislation that will impact Coloradans' utility bills.
2024 Legislative session: The Horrific, the Great, the Better, and the Ugly. There were 108 education bills this session. Below is a summary of four of the 70 education bills that passed. The horrible anti-charter bill, HB 24- 1363, initiated by former legislators who are in lockstep with the teachers union, was defeated. If adopted, it would have slowed down future charter school growth and could have resulted in the closure of many existing charter schools. Pam Benigno, Director of the Education Policy Center, explains more in her Colorado Politics Op-ed. Another significant development in the 2024 legislative session was the passing of HB 24-1394. This bill ensures that the state provides the necessary funds to equalize the mill-levy override funding for charter schools authorized by the Colorado Charter Schools Institute. This is a positive step towards ensuring equitable funding for all public schools. Watch our PBS television broadcast from 2022 on the topic. The state’s school finance formula, which hadn’t been overhauled since 1994, has significantly changed via HB 24-1448. The legislation increased funding for at-risk students, English language learners, and children with special needs. Our education policy staff were the first in Colorado to advocate for school districts to adopt a student-based funding formula where extra funding followed students who needed it. Time will tell if districts actually use the funding to better serve the populations it is intended to help. In April, Governor Polis signed HB-1039, the non-legal name bill. The left-leaning legislature continues to undermine parental rights. Public school children now have the right to choose a non-legal name that reflects their gender identity. If anyone working in a school doesn’t comply, they can be charged with discrimination. School boards will decide whether parents are notified of the name change.
This legislative session, there were 11 gun control bills in the Colorado General Assembly. Dave Kopel focused on five of the worst, and submitted detailed legislative testimony about each of them. Partly as a result of Dave’s work, there were better outcomes for four of the five. Ban on so-called “assault weapons". Introduced by Colorado’s best-known Hamas supporters, Elisabeth Epps and Timothy Hernandez, the bill would have outlawed a huge number of ordinary firearms. Dave’s written testimony examined the alleged “findings” in the bill, and explained why some were false, and others were based on obviously anticonstitutional animus against gun ownership. For example, the bill complained that firearms in question allowed “ease of use”—as if the right to self-defense should be allowed only for experts. The bill was withdrawn by the Senate sponsor in committee. Bill to create safe zones for school shooters. The bill would have terminated Colorado’s FASTER program, which provides willing teachers and school staff with the same training in emergency medicine and active shooter defense that law enforcement officers receive. Currently, hundreds of trained Colorado teachers and staff are safeguarding their schools, because they know that waiting several minutes or more for the police to arrive can result in many fatalities. The bill was withdrawn by its sponsor before the first committee hearing. Mandatory insurance for gun owners. This ridiculous bill came from Rep. Steve Woodrow of Aurora, whose Twitter feed shows off his irrational and energetic hatred of gun owners. The bill would have required every gun owner in the state to buy a special insurance policy, which does not exist. It also would have allowed the police to search anyone, any time, to see if they were carrying the insurance policy with them. The bill’s numerous technical problems led to it not being called for a final vote before the legislative session ended. Making most of Colorado a safe zone for criminals. As introduced, this bill would have outlawed licensed firearms carry in much of Colorado. The bill was amended to ban licensed carry in government buildings and schools; as amended, the bill does not affect the FASTER program. Because of the bill, all institutions of higher education in Colorado will become safe zones for rapists, mass shooters, and other violent predators. The bill is very harmful, but it could have been much worse. Merchant category codes for stores that sell guns. This is the one bill that Dave’s written testimony didn’t affect. Currently, stores that sell guns along with other merchandise, such as sporting goods stores, are classified in general merchandise category. Now, they will be classified separately, regardless of whether your Bass Pro Shops purchase is fishing gear or ammunition. The bill is a first step to requiring banks to report firearms purchases to law enforcement. Additionally, the merchant codes serve as a de facto registration system for persons who may own guns. This is a step towards the Giffords lobby’s stated objective of confiscating all firearms.
In Complete Colorado, Independence Institute's Director of Policy, Jake Fogleman, gives a run down of the good, the bad, and the ugly of the legislative session. Ari Armstrong urges Colorado to build, baby, build. Lastly, Mike Rosen urges officials to ignore the "demands" of campus protesters.
Podcasts *Available on all major platforms* Did you know 46% of the voters in Colorado are unaffiliated? Have you ever wondered why? Hear from the experts at Independence Institute talk about the issues important to Colorado and how to bring some sanity to this increasingly leftist state.
Devil's Advocate with Jon Caldara is a current events show not to be missed. Each week it features lively - and sometimes heated - debates between elected officials, journalists, activists, concerned citizens, subject-matter experts, and hard-pressing host Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute. Jon is not afraid to express his "free-market" views, and his guests are not afraid to take on those opinions. It all makes for an informative, lively public affairs program.
This podcast includes several series of commentaries about the Constitution. Each series will cover a different aspect of the document. This series thumbnails the lives of 14 American Founders and their specific contributions to the Constitution. It covers both well-known Founders, such as James Madison, and those who are lesser known, but who exercised an out-sized influence.
PowerGab focuses on unique energy issues facing Colorado. Hosted by Amy Cook, Independence Institute's Energy and Environmental Policy Center Director, and Jake Fogleman, Director of Policy, PowerGab tackles the complexities of energy policy and solutions for a broad audience to educate and illuminate all while having a few laughs along the way.
If President Trump is convicted of a crime, can he still serve as president? Can they still prosecute him if he becomes president again? How is the judicial system being weaponized? What legal precedents are being set? We put these questions to the Director of Constitutional Jurisprudence at Independence Institute, Rob Natelson.
Director of Energy and Environmental Policy Center Amy Cooke and Director of Policy Jake Fogleman discuss Colorado's concluded legislative session and the changes that will have on upcoming utility bills.
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