Colorado lawmakers this week will include gun-free zones, increased funding for higher education and protections for renters.

Transgender and non-binary people would be better protected from harassment in Colorado under new bill

Transgender and nonbinary people would receive clearer protections under Colorado's anti-bias and harassment laws if a new bill becomes law.

Supporters say the bill is a simple legal fix to ensure that gender identity and expression are protected across state law, while also sending a message about Colorado's values. It is characterized as.

“(The bill) would ensure that non-binary and transgender people are considered and represented in every part of Colorado law, which is a sign that anti-transgender rhetoric and laws are currently spreading across the country. This is especially important right now,” said Garrett Royer, political director of LGBTQ advocacy. An organization called One Colorado. “It’s a very simple legal fix that will help the state continue to be a leader when it comes to LGBTQ rights.”
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Colorado Legislature set aside $7.2 million to fund long-term psychiatric hospitalizations

Low-income Coloradans with mental illnesses are facing longer hospitalizations after the state Legislature set aside funding to expand decades-old Medicaid rules.

Federal law requires Medicaid patients admitted to psychiatric facilities to be discharged after 15 days of hospitalization each month, or the facility will not receive payment. While the rule was intended to prevent hospitals from hoarding patients, advocates and psychiatrists say the rule instead prematurely forced hundreds of vulnerable Coloradans out of facilities. , they argue, relegating them to a cycle of homelessness, incarceration, and emergency room visits.
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Parks, bars, protests excluded from bill creating gun-free zones in Colorado

A proposal to limit where people can carry openly or concealed carry permits in Colorado was significantly scaled back Wednesday as backers battled to win key committee votes in the state Senate. .

The proposed bill would ban firearms from a number of locations, including stadiums, public protests, bars, places of worship, parks, and libraries. The ordinance was amended to prohibit firearms only in K-12 schools, polling places, state capitol buildings, and municipal buildings, but municipalities could opt out. Exceptions will be made for security and law enforcement.
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The Colorado Legislature's $40.6 billion budget caps tuition increases and includes money to prevent auto theft.

Colorado lawmakers on Tuesday unveiled a state budget that provides more funding for higher education, addresses long waiting lists for incapacitated prison inmates and increases wages for home health care workers.

These are among the highlights as lawmakers seek to spend about $40.6 billion in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The bill, which will now be introduced by the bipartisan Joint Budget Committee, is one of the few bills considered by the General Assembly each year to pass. — will move through the Legislature and to Gov. Jared Polis' desk in the coming weeks.
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'For Cause' eviction protection for renters overcomes challenge from moderate Democrats in Colorado Senate

Democrats in the Colorado Senate on Monday defeated opposition from within their own party and introduced a bill that would strengthen eviction protections for tenants. It cleared that hurdle nearly a year after a similar proposal was defeated in Congress.

The bill would generally give landlords of apartments and other housing a right of first refusal to renew expired leases. Landlords will need a valid reason for not granting a renewal, such as unpaid rent or major renovation plans.
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How Wyatt's Towing got around Colorado's new towing law and why lawmakers are pushing for more reforms

HB24-1051, introduced this Congress, would prohibit property owners from using automated emails to authorize towing. The bill also requires that the licensee must be the property owner or a third party collecting rent, and prohibits parking management companies from doing so on behalf of the tower.

The proposed bill aims to address what lawmakers and consumer advocates say the towers provide an economic incentive to remove as many cars as possible. They wanted to change the entire residential towing landscape by making property owners pay for towing rather than vehicle owners.
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Colorado plans to eliminate city restrictions on the number of people living together

Colorado lawmakers are banning occupancy limits in cities and towns across the state, allowing more roommates to live together as part of a Democratic push to reform local zoning regulations and address the state's housing crisis. He is poised to pave the way for a new home.

Roughly two dozen cities and towns in Colorado have the type of occupancy restrictions prohibited under HB24-1007, which passed the state Senate on Tuesday. The measure would prohibit local governments from limiting the number of unrelated people who can live in a house or apartment complex, except for health and safety reasons.
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Why Colorado is frustrating even cities that allow it by promoting high-density housing near transit

Colorado cities are prepared to go to court if necessary to block the state's efforts to overhaul local housing density regulations and allow denser development along rail and bus lines. .

Many local governments support the goal of concentrating residents in apartments near transit hubs and reducing driving, but mayors oppose state leaders, seeing them as interfering with local power. There is. It's the same local control issue that led to the defeat of a similar state push in the Colorado Legislature last year.

Lawmakers last month revived a transportation-focused housing density bill that passed the state House.
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Next year's state budget, gun control, Front Range trains and more will be debated in the Colorado Legislature this week.

This week, Colorado lawmakers will take on one of the only mandated measures, and the most expensive state budget ever.

The budget bill, known as Long's bill, sets out how the state will spend about $18 billion in general funds next year. As the proposal moves through both chambers, it also identifies some of the state's priorities, including eliminating so-called budget stabilizers that have left the state underfunded for education.
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