Colorado’s “Progressive” Clowns Trample on U.S. Constitution
Colorado’s legislative Bozos have decided to get clever—or what in Clownland passes for clever.
HJR 1023: Colorado lawmakers’ constitutional ignorance on display
When the federal government certified the Colorado Constitution as “republican” in 1876, the Colorado constitution limited the legislature more than TABOR does.
What Rep. Woodrow’s nasty Trump post tells us about ‘progressives’
“Progressives” advertise themselves as opposed to hate. Yet in my experience, some of them are very good haters.
Colorado Lawmakers Reintroduce Nuclear Feasibility Bill
The potential for introducing small-modular reactors (SMRs) to Colorado will get a second look at the state legislature thanks to a new bill currently being considered. HB23-1080, sponsored by Representative Ty Winter (R.) and Senator Byron Pelton (R.), would direct the Colorado Energy Office to conduct a feasibility study for the use of SMRs as […]
Five fiscal policy issues to watch in the 2023 legislative session
Voters gave Colorado Democrats a decisive victory in this year’s state races, yet they also passed Independence Institute’s income tax cut by approving Proposition 121. While they elect left-of-center candidates, they continue to expect low taxes and fiscal restraint by their government. As recently as 2018, Republicans controlled the Colorado senate and served as a […]
Backgrounder: $617 million in Hidden Taxes from 2021 Session
With the 2021 Colorado regular legislative session concluded, lawmakers have approved tax and fee increases on Coloradans of up to $617 million annually without voter consent. The new revenues are enough to give every schoolteacher in Colorado a $11,343.65 per year raise. The tax and fee increases amount to an average of $430 per year […]
Regressive Fees Fund Transportation Bill
Despite being awash with funds from improved revenues and billions of dollars in federal pandemic aid to the state, Democrat legislators have chosen to fund their transportation priorities with regressive new fees that disproportionately impact the poorest Coloradans. The $5.3 billion transportation bill (SB 21-260) working its way through the legislature this week will create approximately $3.8 billion in new […]
Murrey: Democrat deal on Prop EE benefits big tobacco, squeezes small biz
The greatest friend of big business is big government. Thanks to apparent backroom dealings with Colorado Democrats, big tobacco and big government are poised to win big in Colorado with the passage of the state’s new cigarette, tobacco, and nicotine taxes. Small business and the poor come out the losers. Last week, The Colorado Sun reported on […]
A Colorado Bill Uses “Levels of Scrutiny” to Protect Competition
Judicial protection from most economic regulations — even grossly unfair and anti-competitive ones — is so weak as to be nearly non-existent.
January 20 Colorado Energy Cheat Sheet: Billionaire Steyer plays CO politics; NM files intent to sue EPA over mine spill
Independence Institute associate energy policy analyst Simon Lomax has the latest on green billionaire Tom Steyer’s efforts to tilt the legislative balance in Colorado in 2016: San Francisco billionaire activist Tom Steyer is getting more deeply involved in Colorado politics than ever before. After spending more than $350,000 on research and polling in the Centennial […]
Solving Colorado’s Educational Finance Problem
The issue of public school finance is central to the debate over tax reform in Colorado. Several bills have been introduced in the Colorado Legislature that would significantly change the way in which Colorado finances our public schools. These bills call for replacing the property tax with a state income or sales tax as the major source of funding for the public schools.
