Oil and gas deal, gun reform bills advance; rent-setting bill fails and more from the Colorado legislature this week

Both approaches on construction defects reform appear headed for early deaths

Two bills to address construction defects appear destined to doom in the final days of the legislative session.

Senate Bill 106 was aimed at creating a middle ground between lawsuits and the chance for builders to remedy problems in condo and home construction, with the ultimate goal of lowering insurance costs and spurring more building. House Bill 1230, on the other hand, was designed to give homeowners a longer window in which they could sue over shoddy construction.
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Lawmakers have a lot left to do as oil and gas deal advances, police whistleblower bill sputters

A package of late bills seeking to calm a brewing ballot battle between environmental concerns and the oil and gas industry passed their first hurdle in a Senate committee Thursday — but the compromise did not bring Republican senators aboard.

“This is a significant step forward in ensuring that we are working together with industry to clean up pollution and reduce our ozone,” Sen. Faith Winter, a Broomfield Democrat and bill sponsor, said ahead of the vote on SB-229. She also pushed back on accusations that this was “a backroom deal”: “This came from over two years of working on different ways to reduce those things and we’ve been working a lot with constituencies, disproportionately impacted communities, with the regulators and with the industry.”
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Colorado Senate kills bill barring rent-setting algorithms as Democrats spar over company’s role in amendment

A bill aimed at barring landlords from using algorithms to set rents died in the Colorado Senate on Wednesday after a group of moderate Democrats joined Republicans to reject a more forceful House version of the measure.

The crux of the disagreement was an adopted amendment that bill backers charged had been written by a software company fighting the bill.

“I’m grateful for my colleagues who sided with renters, but ultimately too many Democrats sided with a corporation under investigation for price fixing against Coloradans who are feeling the worst of the housing crisis,” said Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat and one of the sponsors of House Bill 1057, in a statement.
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House passes child tax credits, new school funding formula; police oversight bill stalls

A proposal to remake the state’s school funding formula so that it prioritizes at-risk students passed a formal vote in the House today — and along the way found that some of its staunchest opposition has softened.

The bipartisan proposal, House Bill 1448, would give school districts more money if they are rural and also prioritize money based on the number of students who live in poverty, are English language learners or have special education needs. Overall, the first major update to the formula in more than 30 years would kick in more than $80 million to school districts in the next year, gradually increasing that over the next six years to $500 million per year.
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Inside Colorado’s debate over school funding changes — favored by Denver, but not Douglas County

Proposed changes to how Colorado doles out state education funding have divided school districts, pit rival Democratic-leaning education groups against each other and built bipartisan coalitions on both sides of the fight.

Lawmakers’ aim is to reshape the contentious formula used to determine how much money to send to local school districts — and how to divide it up. Among those that would receive an extra boost are rural schools and those with a high share of students in poverty.

If passed, House Bill 1448 would add another $84 million in school funding next year, eventually ramping up to $500 million more per year during a six-year implementation period. The proposal, sponsored by House Speaker Julie McCluskie and Rep. Jennifer Bacon, would tap into the school education fund to provide the additional money.
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Transit density bill advances, Democrats agree to income tax cut, sparring over rent-setting bill

After multiple delays set off feverish scrambling last week, the Senate’s Local Government and Housing Committee voted 4-3 along party lines to advance the centerpiece of Gov. Jared Polis’ land-use reform package Tuesday evening.

In a bid to improve housing affordability, House Bill 1313 seeks to beef up development in urban areas by requiring local governments to set density goals in transit-rich areas and to pick strategies to hit those goals. Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat whose concerns last week repeatedly delayed the bill, voted in support Tuesday, though she indicated her support wasn’t total.
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Gov. Jared Polis, lawmakers unveil new oil and gas fee in climate deal aimed at defusing ballot war

Leading Colorado Democrats and the state’s oil and gas industry announced a preemptive armistice Monday — one that seeks to defuse the latest round of dueling ballot initiatives and legislation aimed at the industry and its environmental impacts.

The proposals, described to reporters by Gov. Jared Polis and legislative leadership, include imposing a new per-barrel production fee on the industry and enacting new environmental standards. In exchange, the industry, lawmakers and several environmental groups agreed to abandon recent attempts at regulatory legislation and ballot initiatives that are backed by deep pockets.
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Democrats announce climate and energy deal, state budget signed, House passes gun-reform bills

After lengthy debates, the House passed two gun-reform bills. One, Senate Bill 131, would prohibit people from taking firearms into the state Capitol and certain other government buildings or offices; onto school and university campuses; and to licensed child care facilities.

Senate Bill 3 directs more than $1 million to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to investigate illegal gun sales, plus nearly $400,000 more for other purposes.

Republicans opposed both measures (as did a some moderate Democrats). They argued that the bill limiting where a gun could be carried would make those spaces less safe.
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