(Colorado Newsline)

The Colorado General Assembly began its 75th regular session Wednesday, the start of a 120-day process to introduce, debate and vote on new state laws.

This year, Democrats hold a majority in both chambers, though they lost three seats in the House during the November general election. They have a 23-12 majority in the Senate and a 43-22 majority in the House.

The first day at the Capitol in Denver was largely ceremonial — uniformed military presented the United States and Colorado flags, Indigenous leaders conducted a land acknowledgement for the Capitol building, and party leaders addressed the chambers to lay out broad priorities. The first bills were introduced. Floor work wrapped up shortly after noon.

Some highlights of the morning:

Coleman elected Senate President

Democratic Senator James Coleman of Denver officially took the gavel as Senate president as the chamber unanimously elected him to the position. Coleman previously served as president pro tempore alongside former Senate President Steve Fenberg. Before he left, Fenberg passed along two miniature gavels to his successor in jest.

Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez nominated Coleman, and Minority Leader Paul Lundeen seconded him on the floor.

Coleman thanked previous Black lawmakers present in the chamber, including the first Black Senate President, Peter Groff, in his opening remarks.

“Thank you for being the first, and thank you for making sure you weren’t the last,” he said.

“I stand here as Senate President, a Black boy from Park Hill that some imagined would never be anywhere near this place, but here I am. Because of my faith, family and the opportunities yielded to me by a high-quality education, I am Senator James Coleman. There are tens of thousands of children like me waiting for us to see their promise and to make fulfillment possible. We can and we will.”

In the House, Speaker Julie McCluskie, a Dillon Democrat, was selected again as speaker, but the process was more partisan than it was in the Senate. Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, a Colorado Springs Republican, was also nominated for the job, and the support for McCluskie was limited to Democrats, as the 22 House Republicans backed Pugliese.

Republicans vote against election certification

Six House Republicans voted against a committee report to certify the results of the November 2024 election, a typically uneventful procedural vote to attest that the representatives in the room won their election.

Representative Ken deGraaf, a Colorado Springs Republican, opposed the report on the basis of a secure passwords leak in the secretary of state’s office last year. Passwords for voting systems across the state were posted publicly online for four months last year. An independent review and investigation from the Denver district attorney’s office concluded the posting was accidental and there was no resulting security breach or manipulation of equipment software.

DeGraaf and Republican Representatives Scott Bottoms of Colorado Springs, Brandi Bradley of Littleton, Stephanie Luck of Penrose, Larry Suckla of Cortez and Ron Weinberg of Loveland voted against certification.

Democratic Representative Andrew Boesenecker of Fort Collins argued that in addition to the review and investigation into the password leak, county clerks across the state certified the election and said votes were counted accurately. He asked the chamber to “stand against election denialism.”

“I have not heard any evidence presented as a member of the Legislative Audit Committee, as a member of this body or today that presents any evidence that shows that these votes were inaccurately counted,” he said. “The opposition to this motion is hard to understand as anything other than a denial of our elections and an attempt to reverse the will of the people of Colorado.”

Anticipation for potential Trump policies

In her opening remarks, McCluskie alluded to protections Democrats will pursue to guard against potential federal laws and policies from incoming Republican President Donald Trump. She specifically zeroed in on immigration, as Trump vowed during his campaign, including at an Aurora rally, to conduct mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.

“Throughout our nation’s history, immigrants have been used as political scapegoats to divide us and distract us from the real challenges. Immigrants are not only a part of our diverse and brighter communities, they are a critical part of our workforce,” she said. “Coloradans do not support mass deportations, separating families, or detaining parents at their children’s schools.”

She said Representative Elizabeth Velasco of Glenwood Springs, the Latino Caucus, Representative Naquetta Ricks of Aurora and the Aurora delegation are “leading the work on this issue.”

In her speech, Pugliese, who noted her father’s experience as an immigrant, said that Republicans support a legal path to citizenship.

“We are advocating for public safety, for our children to be safe in their communities, for our families to be safe,” she said. “We do support illegal immigrants who are violent criminals not being in this country.”

Republicans center affordability

Republican leaders pledged to pursue policies that increase affordability and lower the cost of living in the state. In particular, that means deregulation and repeal of various fees.

“We as a Legislature have to acknowledge the role that we have played in making Colorado unaffordable,” Pugliese said. “It is incredibly important that we have a conversation about fees. People are talking about these fees at the door, that they cannot afford to raise their families here.”

Lundeen had similar lines in his remarks.

“A 29-cent delivery fee here, a 10-cent plastic bag fee there — it adds up. These may seem small, but they are daily reminders to Coloradans that their government is nibbling away at their hard-earned money,” he said.

Fees in Colorado fund specific projects and issue areas. In an ultra-tight budget year, it is unlikely there will be any major appetite for revenue loss.

First bills introduced

Following the morning’s work of selecting chamber leadership and swearing in new members, lawmakers introduced their first batch of bills. These can often signal party priorities.

The first bills include Senate Bill 25-001, an effort to shield Colorado from erosion of the Voting Rights Act at the federal level. It would specifically codify protections for voters of color, LGBTQ+ voters, voters who don’t speak English, voters with disabilities and voters in the criminal justice system. It is sponsored by Senator Julie Gonzales of Denver, Representative Jennifer Bacon of Denver and Representative Junie Joseph of Boulder, all Democrats.

House Bill 25-1001 would improve wage theft protections with increased enforcement across all industries. It would raise the cap of wage theft claims that Colorado Department of Labor and Employment handles from $7,500 to $13,000. The bill is sponsored by House Majority Leader Duran of Wheat Ridge, Representative Meg Froelich of Englewood, Senator Jessie Danielson of Wheat Ridge and Senator Chris Kolker of Centennial, all Democrats.

Democrats are also running a bill to ban the purchase of firearms that accept detachable magazines. Colorado currently has a high-capacity magazine ban. Senate Bill 25-003 is sponsored by Senator Tom Sullivan of Centennial, Gonzales, Froelich and Boesenecker.

Democrats also introduced Senate Bill 25-005 to alter Colorado’s union law to eliminate a second vote for union security negotiations.

Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com.