Hello everyone,
They’re back! On Wednesday, the 75th Colorado General Assembly convened for its second regular 120-day session. There were some new faces, some speeches, and the state budget is once again looming over the session.
There has been quite a bit of legislator turnover since they adjourned last May. Both minority leaders resigned. In June, Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen (R-Monument) resigned to lead a conservative nonprofit. A vacancy committee selected Lynda Zamora Wilson (R-El Paso County) to replace him in SD 9. Senate Republicans then elected Sen. Cleave Simpson (R-Alamosa) to replace Sen. Lundeen as the Senate Minority Leader. In September, House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese (R-Colorado Springs) resigned citing the toxic political environment. Ava Flanell (R-Colorado Springs) was selected by a vacancy committee to replace her. House Republicans then selected Rep. Jarvis Caldwell (R-Monument) to replace Rep. Pugliese as the House Minority Leader.
But these weren’t the only new faces on Wednesday. In HD 54, a few weeks before Minority Leader Pugliese resigned, Rep. Ryan Armagost (R-Berthoud) resigned earlier than expected to take a job in Arizona. A vacancy committee selected Scott Slaugh (R-Berthoud) to replace him. In SD 25, after Sen. Faith Winter (D-Broomfield) was tragically killed in an automobile accident just before Thanksgiving, a vacancy committee selected Rep. William Lindstedt (D-Broomfield) to replace her. A vacancy committee then selected Kenny Nguyen (D-Broomfield) to replace Rep. Lindstedt in the House. Finally, in HD 29 a vacancy committee selected Lori Goldstein (D-Westminster) to replace Rep. Shannon Bird (D-Westminster) who resigned to run for Congress. Twenty-eight of the 100 legislators have entered the legislature via a vacancy committee appointment.
Every year the first few days of the session are filled with a lot of speeches. On Wednesday, the leaders of each of the four caucuses gave a speech on their caucus’s priorities. This year, like last, affordability was a major theme. Then on Thursday, Governor Polis gave his eighth and final State of the State speech. During his almost 90-minute speech the Governor focused on his administration’s accomplishments as well as what he hopes to accomplish in his final year. On Friday, the leaders of the two federally-recognized tribes in Colorado – the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe – addressed a joint session of the House and Senate.
The slower pace will continue this week. Both the House and Senate are taking today off to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and no bills are calendared for committee to allow the committees to hold their annual SMART Act hearings. So far, there have been 90 bills introduced – 64 in the House and 30 in the Senate. Only 115 more days until the General Assembly adjourns sine die on May 13th.
Bill Skewes
Lobbyist