Colorado lawmakers open the legislative session with a big hole in the state budget
Lawmakers are back to work at the Colorado State Capitol with Democrats maintaining control of both chambers.
The new session brought new leadership in the senate. Democratic state Sen. James Coleman of Denver took the gavel as President of the Senate.
Lawmakers also welcomed 23 new members, who will tackle some of the same old problems, including affordability.
A bill by Republican state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer of Weld County would repeal a law requiring cage-free eggs. Kirkmeyer also plans to make free universal pre-school, universal.
"We have spent more than twice the amount of money but we're not necessarily funding enough kids going into preschool. We didn't double the number of kids going to preschool full time," Kirkmeyer said.
Another bill eliminates certain fees in child care centers.
Republican state Rep. Rose Pugliese of El Paso County says many fees -- like the plastic bag fee -- also need to go.
"When you have 29 cents here, $4 there, 50 cents there ... it all adds up," Pugliese said.
On affordable housing, Republicans want to repeal a law requiring electrification of homes, while Democrats want to use proceeds from state investments to build more homes.
Democratic Sen. Jeff Bridges of Greenwood Village wants regional building codes for manufactured homes.
"There's no reason that a local government should be able to go in and say, "You know, I like it when my outlets are on the right side of the studs instead of the left side. You essentially have custom builds every time and then you lose the cost savings that you get from manufactured homes," Bridges said.
No legislative session is complete without a marijuana bill. Democratic state Sen. Judy Amabile of Boulder is the sponsor of a bill that would require marijuana packages specify the amount of THC per serving. Amabile also plans to crack down on psychedelic mushroom edibles and concentrates.
"Right now we have some people who are starting to manufacture candy, chocolate candy, that has psychedelics in it, and that is not what voters intended," Amabile said.
Protecting voting rights another top priority for Democrats like state Rep. Jennifer Bacon of Denver, who is worried about anti-discrimination policies being rolled back at the federal level.
"To be sure that all of the things that we fought for over the last 60 years are enshrined here in the state and that people are protected from being discriminated against," Bacon said.
But the budget battle will be the biggest fight. Lawmakers have a constitutional obligation to balance the budget.
Bridges, the chair of the Joint Budget Committee, says health care, education and prisons make up three-quarters of the general fund.
"We are doing our absolute best to cut the budget in ways that cause the least amount of harm to the people of Colorado, but when you cut a billion dollars out of $16 billion, someone is going to feel it. That's just math," Bridges said.
One of the most controversial bills this year is a measure that would make it easier for workers to unionize, and one of the most interesting new bills is a measure to create tax incentives to lure the Sundance Film Festival to Colorado.
Look for some familiar bills to be back, too, including measures to crack down on fentanyl, address construction defects and bar rent algorithms that critics say are a form of price fixing.
