< Back Michael Carter Rep. Michael Carter is proud to call Aurora home. His wife has taught in the community for over two decades, his three children attend Aurora Public Schools, and he practices law in Aurora to protect the community’s most vulnerable. Becoming a state representative is not his first experience in public service. Rep. Carter is a third-generation Army Veteran and he served as the Vice President of the Aurora Public School Board of Education. After receiving his law degree from the University of Denver, he worked as a public defender and a private criminal defense attorney. From safer schools for our students to affordable housing for working families, Rep. Carter is committed to developing policy solutions that work for all Coloradans and move our state forward. He will utilize his experience in the criminal justice system and K-12 public education to improve public schools and uphold the values of justice. Rep. Michael Carter is the representative for House District 36 serving Adams and Arapahoe counties and he serves as the Vice-Chair of the House Judiciary Committee and a member of the State, Civic, Military & Veterans Affairs Committee.

< Back Rep. Amabile: We propose to outlaw encouraging someone to commit suicide Oct 1, 2023 See more This story was published in the Colorado Sun on Oct 1, 2023. Nearly 50,000 Americans completed suicide during 2022 – a stunning number, reflecting a continued rise in the suicide rate of some 35 percent over the last two decades. Numerical tolls provide a blunt gauge for societal problems, but numbers alone can make a problem feel remote and impersonal. People who lose a loved one to suicide experience shock and hurt that is both tender and omnipresent despite the passage of time. A healing instinct motivates us to want to prevent this pain from repeatedly occurring in our community. We have heard from fellow Coloradans reaching out to us as their elected representatives and asking, “what else can be done?” We are answering their call with action that honors the memory of lost loved ones and prevents more families in our state from experiencing this devastating tragedy. Unfortunately, online encouragement and easy access to life-ending materials can lead to unnecessary death by suicide. Last November, a Clear Creek County family’s 17-year-old son was struggling with chronic physical issues and common anxiety when he found a supportive community online that encouraged suicide. From there, he was directed to an online retailer who sold pure sodium nitrite, a substance which has few household uses but has become an increasingly popular suicide method. The price he paid to an online retailer who knew the pure sodium nitrite was being used for suicides was $13.99, shipped by two-day mail. Ingesting the compound, he died shortly afterwards. Sadly, this young man, a constituent of ours, was one of at least 222 people nationwide using this particular poison to complete suicide during 2022. Shockingly, there is an ecosystem online for people who want to complete suicide, outside and distinct from the legal path of medically-assisted suicide; there are deadly materials available online, shipped right to young people. For people feeling intense hurt, depression, or trauma, going online to find a way to heal is common. A web search for relief from a physical ailment generally leads to sites that recommend medication or a physician visit. But people struggling with suicidal ideation who seek help online can easily wind up in a web-based wasteland that offers advice on “how to” take one’s own life. And many heed that sick advice. We plan to introduce two bills in the upcoming General Assembly that could save lives and spare families from the enduring pain of suicide caused by this online reality. The first would explicitly prohibit encouraging an individual to complete suicide, not just by restricting the means as current law does, but by prohibiting advice and encouragement. The First Amendment cannot simply be tossed aside, of course, but we believe the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized the validity of restricting speech that is “integral to a criminal act.” The power of words directed at someone who is struggling to maintain mental equilibrium can be just as impactful as handing someone a loaded gun and our statutes should reflect that. Colorado’s End-of-Life Options Act permits qualified medical professionals to assist terminally ill adults to end their lives. But in “non-medical” situations, assisting with suicide is a criminal offense – manslaughter — in Colorado and most other states. However, due to vague language, prosecutors used the suicide manslaughter statute only four times in the last five years. This pales in comparison to the frequency of suicides completed after people receive instruction and encouragement to take their own lives. While difficult to document, with 1,287 people completing suicide in Colorado in 2022, numbers compel us to act. Our second bill would ban the sale of pure sodium nitrite to consumers and require any pure sodium nitrite product sold to carry explicit warnings of harm. Experts know that this type of suicide prevention, often referred to as “means restriction,” can be an effective method to reduce death. The Colorado Department of Health and Environment recently released, to health care providers throughout the state, an advisory on sodium nitrite, noting “an increase in suicide by ingestion of sodium nitrite in Colorado and across the United States.” We commend the Department for taking this important step and look forward to bolstering their efforts with legislation. We have just concluded September, which is Suicide Prevention month. September is not merely about remembering the harm suffered by so many Coloradans or about lending support to families impacted by limitless grief, but is also about taking tangible measures to interrupt the cycle of suicide, and we are ready to get to work. If you or a loved one is experiencing emotional distress, call the National Suicide Prevention Line at 988 or Colorado Crisis Services at text TALK to 38255, or access chat via coloradocrisisservices.org , where help and hope are available at any hour, any day. Previous Next

< Back Jennifer Bacon Assistant Majority Leader Representative Jennifer Bacon is Assistant Majority Leader and represents House District 7, which includes the Denver International Airport and Denver’s far northeast neighborhoods. Assistant Majority Leader Bacon serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Education Committee. Lifelong advocate for youth, educational access and criminal justice reform, Assistant Majority Leader Bacon’s policy spanwide and prioritize making our state more equitable for all. During the 2023 legislative session, Assistant Majority Leader Bacon championed a law to extend Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) in Colorado to reduce gun violence. Other legislative highlights include extensive legislation to reduce air pollution, equal pay for equal work, improving workplace conditions, judicial reform, combating youth recidivism, and extended education programs to help all students succeed. Assistant Majority Leader Bacon is the Chair of the Black Democratic Legislative Caucus of Colorado.

< Back Lindsay Gilchrist Chair of the Health & Human Services Committee Rep. Lindsay Gilchrist has over a decade of experience in government and non-profit work in national and global public policy. In 2005, she traveled to then-Swaziland, Africa to volunteer with an organization working to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Rep. Gilchrist went on to serve as a Special Assistant to Senator Edward M. Kennedy and as a Professional Staff Member for the US House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health. While receiving her Masters in Public Policy, she worked for an international non-profit that works to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Rep. Gilchrist founded her own company in 2012 to work with organizations, foundations, and policy-makers to improve public policy in the United States and globally. Born and raised in Denver, Rep. Gilchrist has deep roots in House District 8, which encompasses central and northeast Denver, including the Park Hill and City Park neighborhoods. She is excited to bring her extensive policy background to the Colorado General Assembly to help tackle some of Colorado’s most pressing issues, including criminal justice reform, safeguarding LGBTQ+ rights, and passing effective gun violence prevention legislation. Rep. Gilchrist serves as the Chair of the House Health & Human Services Committee and a member of the House Education committee.

< Back Chad Clifford Rep. Chad Clifford represents House District 37, including Centennial, Greenwood Village, Foxfield, and areas of Unincorporated Arapahoe County. He serves as the Vice-Chair of the State, Civic, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee and a member of the Judiciary Committee. Rep. Clifford has experience as a police officer, business owner, Government Operations Lead for the American Red Cross, and volunteer in his community. He joined the legislature in 2024 and has passed legislation to create the Colorado Disability Opportunity Office, created workplace protections from egregious training repayment schemes, and removed record sealing fees to make it easier for people with a criminal record to move forward in life. His focus at the Capitol is to represent the people of House District 37 and advocate for the unique needs of the district.

< Back Speaker Julie McCluskie: A breakthrough session for the Western Slope May 18, 2024 See more This story was originally published in The Mountain Mail, which can be found here . What a year it has been under the gold dome. Lawmakers secured bipartisan victories on the issues we care about on the Western Slope. I was proud to lead the way on bipartisan legislation that will protect our water, increase funding for rural schools and boost rural economies. By working together the “Western Slope Way,” we delivered real results for high country communities. This year, we made Colorado more affordable by cutting taxes and saving people money on housing. We reduced property taxes, increased the senior homestead exemption and made it portable, created tax credits for families with children and extended income tax relief for senior housing costs. We also passed my bill to allow local governments to help convert short-term rental units to long-term rental or workforce housing to create more options people can afford. One of my proudest accomplishments in my entire time serving in the legislature is the new school finance formula I sponsored and that we passed this year. Colorado’s school finance formula has not changed since the early 1990s. For far too long, rural schools in Colorado have not received the funding they have needed, and a generation of students in our communities has not seen the resources in their classrooms that they deserve. The new formula we passed will increase funding for districts that serve more children in poverty and provide an additional $230 million to rural schools. Park County schools will see an increase of over 20 percent when the new formula is fully implemented. Salida will see a nearly 17 percent increase; Lake will see an increase of over 14 percent; Summit, Buena Vista and Platte Canyon will see 12 percent increases; and East and West Grand will see 28 and 17 percent increases respectively. School districts in our communities will finally see the equitable funding we have long needed, and I was proud to work with the school finance task force, school leaders and lawmakers in both parties to secure this bipartisan victory for the Western Slope, our students and our future. We also focused deeply on water issues. For Western Slope communities, the health of our waters is deeply tied to our way of life. From outdoor recreation and agriculture to tourism and high country industries, protecting our water is essential for our communities to thrive. Last year, the Supreme Court’s decision in the Sackett case left nearly 1 million acres of streams, wetlands and rivers in Colorado unprotected. I worked with Sen. Dylan Roberts, Rep. Karen McCormick, water advocates and industry partners to pass bipartisan legislation that will create certainty for communities by establishing state-level protections for our water. This new law will require permits for certain dredge and fill activities that pollute our waters while fully exempting agriculture and ranching. The legislature also passed bipartisan legislation I sponsored based on recommendations from the Colorado River Drought Task Force to enhance our water supply and protect Colorado water user interests, and we referred a measure to voters to invest an additional $7 million per year into the state water plan instead of returning that money to casinos. I’m proud of the steps we took at the legislature to bridge the rural-urban divide, protect our Colorado way of life and invest in rural economies. We extended tax incentives for businesses to hire workers in rural communities, invested in rural behavioral health care access and rural hospitals and fixed longstanding issues with conservation easement tax credits to continue these critical protections and justly compensate landowners. Finally, I sponsored legislation that created new tax credits to spur business development and new jobs in rail-connected communities with formerly coal-based economies. This will help keep up investment in the rail line that connects Northwest Colorado and Denver. Another bill I sponsored that we passed establishes a funding stream for a potential passenger Northwest Rail route to link Craig and Hayden to Steamboat and eventually Winter Park and Denver along those tracks. I’m proud of the bipartisan results we delivered for Colorado and Western Slope communities. The laws we passed this year will save people money, increase funding for our schools, protect our water, support our agriculture industry and boost our rural economies. We focused on the issues that matter for Coloradans, and we did our work the “Western Slope Way” by coming together, listening to the people of our districts and putting Coloradans first. Julie McCluskie represents House District 13, which includes Summit, Grand, Jackson, Park, Chaffee and Lake counties, and serves as speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives. Previous Next

< Back Kyle Brown JBC Member Representative Kyle Brown serves as a member of the Joint Budget Committee and previously served as Chair of the Health & Human Services Committee. He represents House District 12, which includes Lafayette, Louisville, Superior, Boulder, Gunbarrel, and Niwot. A Colorado native, Kyle has dedicated his career to improving the lives of Colorado families. He earned a Ph.D. in Genetics from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Georgetown University. His background in science and public policy informs his evidence-based approach to solving Colorado’s toughest challenges. Before joining the legislature, Kyle served on the Louisville City Council, where he championed affordable housing, climate action, and community recovery following the Marshall Fire and COVID-19 pandemic. As Deputy Commissioner for Affordability Programs at the Colorado Division of Insurance, he helped design and implement the Colorado Option, lowering costs and improving access to care statewide. He has also advised progressive U.S. Senators and Colorado governors on health care, education, and economic security. In the legislature, Kyle continues to lead efforts to lower health care costs, expand access to care, and strengthen mental health services. He is a strong advocate for reproductive rights, affordable prescriptions, and a fair, transparent insurance system. Kyle lives in Louisville with his wife and children.

< Back Kenny Nguyen Representative Kenny Van Nguyen is a member of the State, Civic, Military & Veterans Affairs Committee and the Transportation, Housing & Local Government Committee. Rep. Nguyen represents House District 33 which includes Broomfield, Weld, and Adams counties. Representative Nguyen was born and raised in Colorado to Vietnamese refugees from the Vietnam War. Rep. Nguyen is the first in his family to go to college, graduating with a dual degree in Political Science and Communication from the University of Colorado Boulder. Rep. Nguyen recently completed his Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Colorado Denver. Professionally, Rep. Nguyen has served as an AmeriCorps Service Member for the Boulder “I Have a Dream” Foundation. Rep. Nguyen served as the Executive Assistant to Colorado’s Lieutenant Governor, Dianne Primavera for over five years. Prior to being a State Representative, Rep. Nguyen was a Broomfield City Council for Ward 1 and previous chair to the Broomfield Arts, History and Cultural Council.

We’ve reached the crisis point for the Colorado River and the future of the American Southwest. We need creative solutions for living with a River that contains less water, yet has more demands for its limited supplies. < Back Speaker McCluskie: Taking Action Now to Secure Colorado’s Water Future Jul 10, 2023 See more This op-ed was published in print in the Denver Post in July 2023. We’ve reached the crisis point for the Colorado River and the future of the American Southwest. We need creative solutions for living with a River that contains less water, yet has more demands for its limited supplies. We’ve reached the crisis point for the Colorado River and the future of the American Southwest. We need creative solutions for living with a River that contains less water, yet has more demands for its limited supplies. As a resident of the High Country, I know we’ve had exceptional snowfall this year alongside a rainy spring, but one wet year will not solve a decades-long drought that is devastating the West. I represent the headwaters of the Colorado River, the source of water for more than 40 million people including 30 tribal nations – a resource essential to sustaining Colorado’s agricultural and Indigenous cultural heritage. Our entire state relies on the water that flows from here westward, or eastward through diversion tunnels to the Front Range. As the impacts of historic drought compound with increased demands, Colorado leaders have a critical role to play. Our rivers and streams are running at dangerously low levels, threatening everything from drinking water supplies, wildlife and agriculture to tourism and outdoor recreation. To facilitate a unified approach toward establishing drought resiliency, my colleagues Senator Dylan Roberts, Senator Perry Will, Representative Marc Catlin and I created the Colorado River Drought Task Force to protect Colorado’s water future. I recently made appointments to the task force, whose work will begin shortly. By the end of this year, the task force must provide recommendations for state legislation that will be considered in 2024 to address drought through voluntary and compensated reductions in water demands. I will be blunt: we need bold, inclusive solutions developed through careful collaboration of all those who rely on Colorado River water. The job of our appointees will not be easy, but we’re determined to see this through because our future depends on it. In the past 30 years, climate-driven drought has reduced Colorado River flows by 20%, with an estimated additional 30% reduction by 2050. Out-of-state interests are looking to profit by buying up water rights, growing communities are increasing demands on the river, and each of the Colorado River Basin states are gearing up to fight for as much of its water as they can. Just as the threats to our water are varied, so are the uses and demands on our supply. The Western Slope is home to generational farmers and ranchers who need water to provide food for the country. The state's agriculture industry contributes over $47 billion to our economy and employs about 195,000 people. While healthy rivers support healthy farms, they also support tribal cultural practices, and a vibrant outdoor recreation economy. Our rivers and streams support fishing, kayaking, and rafting, while reservoirs support snowmaking, swimming, and other watercraft sports. According to the organization Business for Water Stewardship, Colorado’s river recreation industry accounts for nearly $19 billion in annual economic output and creates 131,000 jobs. To protect Colorado’s water users, we must lead, otherwise we will find ourselves being led. The Colorado River Drought Task Force brings together state agencies, farmers, ranchers, water providers, water conservation districts, Tribal nations, environmentalists and others to make clear recommendations to protect Colorado’s water. The Colorado River touches everyone’s lives, it’s the fabric that weaves together the entire state, and is why the task force must listen, reflect and uplift the voices of our diverse state during the forthcoming public meetings. I expect nothing short of robust, sustainable solutions crafted by the task force helping all sectors of our economy prepare for the increasingly dire consequences of a hotter, drier future. Recommendations from this task force will allow Colorado to become more resilient to the demands of the River and help us adapt to preserve our Colorado way of life. As the first female Speaker from the Western Slope, protecting Colorado's stable water supply is always top of mind. It is now up to each of the members of this task force to be solution-oriented, emphatic, and creative. Future generations require nothing less, and I look forward to seeing recommendations later this year. Speaker Julie McCluskie represents House District 13 which includes Chaffee, Grand, Jackson, Lake, Park, and Summit counties. She is the first woman Speaker elected from the Western Slope. Previous Next

< Back Emily Sirota Chair of JBC Emily Sirota represents House District 9 in the Colorado Legislature as a social worker and proud progressive Democrat with years of experience working in government and in the southeast Denver community. Rep. Sirota is the Chair of the Joint Budget Committee and Vice-Chair of the Appropriations Committee. Before her election to the Colorado House of Representatives, Emily helped run an early learning center in Denver. She received her B.A. in Political Science from Indiana University and received her Master of Social Work from the University of Denver. Emily has previously worked in community organizing and policy development for Colorado non-profit organizations. Emily also served as a policy aide to a Democratic U.S. Senator, a Democratic congressman and a Democratic governor. In those roles, she worked on health care and budget policy, and helped oversee a program to expand health care benefits for workers and small businesses. As a Representative for House District 9, Emily has championed worker's rights, campaign finance and election reform, a healthy and vibrant public education system, environmental justice, and fiscal policy that prioritizes regular Coloradans, not the billionaires. Emily is married to writer David Sirota, and they are the proud parents of two amazing kids and their dog, Grover.

< Back September 19, 2019 SPEAKER BECKER ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMPION GWEN FARNSWORTH TO UTILITY CONSUMERS’ BOARD Senior Energy Policy Advisor at Western Resource Advocates (WRA) has decades of experience in renewable energy, energy efficiency and clean power policies. DENVER, CO– Colorado House Speaker KC Becker today announced that she has appointed Western Resource Advocates Senior Energy Policy Advisor Gwen Farnsworth to the Utility Consumers’ Board. “Gwen is a dedicated advocate for our environment and is exactly the kind of person Coloradans should have advocating for them at the Utility Consumers’ Board,” said Colorado House Speaker KC Becker, D-Boulder. “Gwen has led successful initiatives to reduce our reliance on dirty fuels while increasing the availability of renewable energy. I’m excited to see her continue her advocacy on behalf of small businesses and people across our state who are benefiting from cleaner, cheaper electricity.” “I’m thrilled to get to work on behalf of the people of Colorado,” said WRA’s Farnsworth. “We have an incredible opportunity to continue the progress we’ve made keeping electricity costs low while protecting our air and water and growing our clean energy economy. It’s a privilege to serve on this board, and I look forward to advancing policies that both protect our environment and benefit all Colorado consumers.” The Colorado Utility Consumers’ Board within the Office of Consumer Counsel of the Department of Regulatory Agencies is an 11-member panel that represents the interests of Colorado utility consumers and ratepayers to advocate for them before the Public Utilities Commission. The governor makes seven appointments to the board, one from each of the state’s seven Congressional districts. The four remaining members are appointed by the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House and the Minority Leaders of the House and Senate. Farnsworth’s appointment became effective September 4, 2019 and ends September 4, 2023. Previous Next

< Back March 17, 2022 BILL TO REDUCE YOUTH RECIDIVISM, PREVENT CRIME PASSES HOUSE DENVER, CO – The House passed a bill today on Third Reading and Final Passage that would improve public safety and prevent juvenile justice involvement. HB22-1003 passed by a vote of 41 to 22 and is part of the Colorado House Democrats’ first ten bills . “When it comes to public safety, we need to invest in communities first,” said Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, D-Denver . “This bill will provide funding for support and intervention programs to prevent youth recidivism and build a safer Colorado for everyone. This is a modern approach to public safety that will help us build safer communities and prevent more youth from entering the juvenile justice system in the first place.” “We’re taking a multi-layered approach to public safety and that includes making smart investments to reduce recidivism,” said Rep. Lindsey Daugherty, D-Arvada. “This bill invests in collaborative, community-based programs that give youth the support and services they need. We’re meeting Colorado’s youth where they are, making investments to reduce crime and delinquency and moving Colorado forward.” HB22-1003 , sponsored by Representatives Lindsey Daugherty and Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, would establish the Delinquency Prevention and Young Offender Intervention Pilot Grant Program. The program would award two-year grants to local governments, American Indian Tribes, school districts, charter schools and nonprofit organizations to fund projects that prevent crime among youth. Preference will be given to projects that demonstrate a community-based response involving collaboration with multiple agencies to reduce crime. Previous Next