Search Results

< Back Rep. Lukens: Increasing affordability across Colorado Aug 7, 2024 See more This story was originally published in the Craig Daily Press here . It is clear one of the most pressing issues for families across House District 26 and throughout Colorado is affordability. All of our community members deserve to live in our beautiful towns, but with the growing crisis of the high cost of living, many are struggling to make ends meet. From Eagle to Rio Blanco counties, I continue to hear your concerns about rising costs, and I am excited to share how we have turned those worries into action. This legislative session we focused on making Colorado more affordable. We are reducing the cost of housing, cutting taxes and making childcare, health care, transit and higher education more affordable. Housing Affordable housing is crucial for our Western Slope communities. This session, we passed two key bills to address this challenge. SB24-233, Reducing Property Taxes, is a bipartisan effort that will reduce over $1.3 billion in property taxes. This significant relief will help ease the financial burden on families throughout Colorado. We know Coloradans are searching for more affordable housing options, and recent legislation we passed will help us create more housing quicker. HB24-1036 boosts tax credits for modular, prefabricated homes which means more housing sooner in our community. Child Care Supporting Colorado families is a top priority of mine. I’m proud to have sponsored HB24-1237, Programs for the Development of Child Care Facilities. This law makes it easier to build and open child care facilities, addressing the critical shortage of affordable child care faced by the Western Slope. This will help parents access affordable child care while simultaneously supporting our local businesses and workforce. We also passed two tax credits to make it easier to raise children in Colorado. HB24-1134 expands the state Earned Income Tax Credit to help working families offset the increasing cost of raising children, and HB24-1311 will provide up to $3,200 per child to lower income Coloradans, offering significant financial relief to those who need it most. Additionally, HB24-1223 supports parents who may struggle to afford child care, making it easier for families to access this vital support. These combined efforts will make a real difference for families across House District 26, easing the financial pressure of raising children in our beautiful, but increasingly expensive, region. Higher Education Investing in education is an investment in our future. This year, we passed groundbreaking legislation to make higher education more accessible and affordable. HB24-1340 ensures that eligible students can now attend community college for free, and covers two years of a four-year degree at all public institutions in the state. This opens doors for countless students across House District 26. I sponsored HB24-1365, the Opportunity Now Grants & Tax Credit program, which will help students enter fast-growing industries. This initiative bridges the gap between education and our evolving job market, benefiting both our youth and our local economies. Another law I championed, HB24-1305, makes important changes for concurrent enrollment students. This will expand opportunities for high school students to earn college credit, easing the transition to higher education and potentially reducing the time and cost of earning a degree. These efforts collectively aim to make higher education more attainable for all Coloradans, regardless of their economic background or where they live in our diverse district. House District 26 From reducing property taxes to expanding educational opportunities, I am working hard to address the challenges faced by families across House District 26. As your representative, I am committed to continuing this work, ensuring that the Western Slope remains a place where people can afford to live, work, and thrive. Together, we can build a more affordable and prosperous future for our communities. Let’s keep in touch and keep making a difference in House District 26. You can contact me at repmeghanlukens@gmail.com , through social media or in person at one of my town hall meetings. I also send out more regular legislative updates through my newsletter, which you can join by emailing me. Onward! Rep. Meghan Lukens represents District 26, which includes Routt, Moffat, Rio Blanco and Eagle counties, in the Colorado House. Previous Next

Learn about career opportunities with the Colorado House Majority. Careers Applications for the Colorado House of Representatives Majority Office will be considered on a rolling basis for the following positions. We will contact you once positions become available. Legislative Aide Legislative Intern

< Back Cecelia Espenoza Rep. Cecelia Espenoza represents House District 4 in North/West Denver, a community she has Called home for over 30 years. Born to migrant farmworkers from Colorado, she was the first in her family to graduate from college and she went on to be the second Latina to pass the bar in Utah. She returned to Colorado as the first tenure-track Latina to teach law in Colorado. She was also the first Mexican-American to become an appellate judge on the highest immigration court in the country. She is focused on addressing the housing crisis, investing in our K-12 public schools, combating gun violence, and protecting reproductive rights while supporting the most vulnerable in our communities including: immigrants and refugees; and Colorado’s LGBTQ+ community. Rep. Espenoza serves on the Judiciary and State, Civic, Military & Veterans Affairs committees.

< Back Rep. McLachlan: ‘Long nights, in-depth debate, good legislation for Colorado’ Mar 1, 2024 See more This story was originally posted in the Durango Herald here . We are a third of the way through our time in the Legislature this year, and I anticipate the next two-thirds will consist of long nights, in-depth debate, dozens of meetings and some good legislation for Colorado. Several of the bills I am sponsoring are starting in the House, or have already passed through the Senate and headed my way. The flow is steadily increasing, as is the workload. In the House Business committee last week, I presented House Bill 24-1160 to continue a successful program, which increases the capacity building of small businesses. The Economic Development Organization Action Grant Program in the Office of Economic Development provides grants to Colorado-based economic development organizations that attract, retain, promote and expand local businesses. In the two years the initial program has been going, 55 organizations in 34 counties received money, helping businesses continue to support and guide local economic activity. The fund created 33 new businesses, and 612 businesses received assistance. Some 268 jobs were created and 19 more were sustained. The EDOs added 414 new members to their rosters, 669 relationships were maintained between EDOs and businesses, and 2,847 entrepreneurs started and maintained their businesses. We had compelling testimony from business leaders from around the state, and the bill passed unanimously. I am proud to not only promote the benefits of shopping locally, but am doing something about it. In the Education Committee next week, I am presenting a bill modeling the successful partnership between traditional and charter schools we have in Durango. The legislation, House Bill 24-1154, does not mandate, but opens the opportunity for other districts to run bonds with their Charter School Institute schools for capital construction, land or facility needs. As they do in Durango, the bond funds are split proportionately between the schools. As District 9-R discovered, asking voters for money for both charters and traditional schools helps all public school students. Rep. Ron Weinberg (R-Larimer) and I are getting an encouraging response as we head to our first public forum, and we’re hoping that continues. On March 14, I am running a bill to help address the recruitment and retention of Colorado teachers. It seemed the Colorado Department of Education website was too confusing if all a person wanted to know how to become a teacher, so we devised a one-stop-shopping model. The CDE and I have been working on a website for all potential teachers, whether they are in college, exploring options in high school, employed and ready to switch jobs or working at one school, looking at what is available at others. The website will be shared on all school district sites, who will be able to post their job openings for everyone, not just those in their geographical area. This makes finding relevant information a lot easier. Another bill I am running concerns principal and superintendent PERA retirees, who may want to fill an open position in a rural district. Two years after they retire, they can return to a school to work, without hurting their current PERA benefits. They will still pay into the system, as will the districts, so PERA will not lose money. When talking with district superintendents last fall, I heard about the necessity of this bill as rural schools, in particular, are affected most by the administrative shortage. I am happy to respond. Barbara McLachlan, D-Durango, is serving her fourth term in the Legislature, representing La Plata, Montezuma, Archuleta and San Juan counties. She has been a journalist and teacher. Previous Next

State-driven tax cuts have wildly different impacts on Colorado communities, so let’s leave it to local governments to make adjustments < Back Rep. deGruy Kennedy: After Colorado legislature’s latest special session is finished, we must restore local control over property taxes Aug 20, 2024 See more This story was originally published in the Colorado Sun here . Over my eight years representing Jefferson County in the state House, I’ve learned that good policy is about thoughtful stakeholding, delicate balancing, and, ultimately, hard choices. As the state embarks on yet another special legislative session on property taxes, those shaping this round of policy solutions should keep in mind the lessons we’ve already learned. Those are: All voices — including those not in the room — need to be considered, not just those with the resources to make their voices the loudest. Despite posturing to the contrary, proponents of the extreme, badly crafted measures are seeing the writing on the wall and are eager for a deal. And, state-driven policy on issues that are inherently local is fraught with problems. It needs to stop. Let’s start with the consensus-driven process that created Senate Bill 233 , the bipartisan property tax legislation we passed this year that will lower property taxes by $1 billion. Even as I struggled with some of the sacrifices we had to make to maintain strong support from across the aisle, the bill provides meaningful property tax cuts and a cap on future growth without undermining K-12 funding, which is still well below the national average. And it delivers more property tax relief to regular folks and small businesses without giving exorbitant tax breaks to the wealthiest homeowners and largest corporations. Importantly, it was the result of countless hours of public discussion. Fairness and inclusion should continue to be the guideposts for any new policy emerging from the special session. Lawmakers should not feel as though they need to put the interests of everyday Coloradans on the back burner in order to kowtow to whomever is bankrolling Initiatives 50 and 108 , the chaotic conservative measures that would create a fiscal trainwreck at the state and local levels. While it’s understandable that many stakeholders are afraid of the possibility that these measures might pass in November, polling shows they are headed toward defeat. I think proponents of 50 and 108 know that too. Otherwise, why would they express an openness to relatively small cuts in exchange for pulling down their ballot measures? I’ve always thought that the classic negotiation strategy of staking out an extreme position and wiggling back toward a middle ground was silly. Shouldn’t grown-ups just be able to sit down, put their cards on table, discuss their differences, and let the democratically elected representatives cast their votes? But that’s never what happens, because that’s not what serves the special interests. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a corporate lobbyist bluff their way through a negotiation. They come in hot, suggesting they have the upper hand and convincing legislators that the only way to get the votes for a bill is to cut a deal. Are the proponents of 50 and 108 bluffing? I don’t know. Maybe they’re willing to bankrupt state and local governments to prove a point. But I think they very much want a deal so they can claim victory for cutting taxes without having to spend millions of dollars on a campaign that may or may not succeed. The third lesson we should take from the thoughtful deliberations that went into crafting Senate Bill 233 centers on local control. What we need is stable state policy, restoring true local control to our duly-elected city councilors, county commissioners and district board members. They have the tools to engage with their voters and balance the impact of taxes with the needs of public services. And these communities are all different. Some have more residential while some have more commercial properties. Many rural counties didn’t see significant home value growth, and the property tax cuts hurt their ability to provide services when their constituents did not experience the same property tax increases seen elsewhere. Many local governments had passed voter-approved revenue changes in previous years. But many other local governments had never passed revenue increases, meaning their constituents were paying lower taxes to begin with. The 2023 value increases finally caught them up with their neighbors and allowed for investments that had been deferred for years, if not decades. Additional state-driven property tax cuts will have wildly different impacts across our state, and they will be permanent. That means that economic downturns could have serious consequences in communities. Our local leaders, on the other hand, have the tools to temporarily lower their mill levies in times like these. And they have the ability to focus on the needs of their own communities, allowing them to find the sweet spot between additional tax relief and funding their unmet needs. So, if the state is going to have one last hurrah in property tax policy, then fine. We’re well positioned to get a good deal that prioritizes regular folks and carefully balances statewide priorities like K-12 and higher education funding. But this should be the very last time. After that, we must restore local control over property taxes. Chris deGruy Kennedy of Lakewood was one of the prime sponsors of Senate Bill 233 and outgoing Colorado House Speaker Pro Tem; he is now the president and CEO of the Bell Policy Center. Previous Next

< Back Shannon Bird Rep. Bird represents House District 29, which includes both the Adams County and Jefferson County portions of the city of Westmister. Originally elected in November of 2018, she is now serving in her fourth term in the General Assembly. Representative Bird has previously served as a member of the Joint Budget Committee, the Appropriations Committee, the Chair of the House Finance Committee, the Business Affairs & Labor Committee, the Pension Commission, the Pension Review Subcommittee and the Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning Tax Policy. Growing and maintaining a strong state economy, housing affordability and high quality public education are Representative Bird’s three policy priorities. A few examples of her work in these areas include legislation that doubled the state’s annual tax credit for affordable housing, Colorado’s Occupational Credential Portability Program, which allows licensed professionals moving to Colorado to have an easier time transferring their licenses so that they can begin working sooner and the Small Business Recovery Loan Program, which established a $50 million low interest rate loan fund for Colorado small businesses recovering from the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic recession. She attended the University of Colorado at Boulder where she earned a B.A. in Economics. She later graduated from the University of Colorado at Denver, earning both an MBA and an MS in Finance. Representative Bird completed her education by earning a J.D. at the University of Denver College of Law. Representative Bird has served her community in numerous ways. She was the citizen chairperson for her school district’s bond and mill levy override campaign; served as board chair of the Five Star Education Foundation and also served on the Westminster City Council just prior to being elected to the Colorado General Assembly. She and her husband David are the proud parents of two children who attend Adams 12 public schools. Representative Bird also manages a menagerie of cats! In her free time, she is an avid reader, who loves to take long walks with friends and spend time with her family.

< Back Rep. Lukens: Friend of the Family Farmer Feb 27, 2024 See more This story was originally published in the Steamboat Pilot & Today here . Greetings from the state Capitol. We are about 50 days into the 2024 legislative session, and we have been busy creating laws that help Coloradans. Earlier this month, we hosted 4-H youth from Rangely to Vail, from Oak Creek to Maybell, at the state Capitol. Their advocacy and dedication is a fervent reminder as to why we need to continue supporting agriculture in Colorado. I am proud to work on many bills this legislative session that promote agriculture, a significant economic driver on the Western Slope. Our youth touched on essential questions regarding water, wolves and youth political engagement. These last two months at the state Capitol have flown by. It is an absolute privilege to be here representing House District 26, and I spend every day using my voice to represent the people of HD 26 and our Western Slope values. On many of our agricultural bills, I work closely with many stakeholders, one of which is the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, and I am proud to be a trusted partner and one of this year’s “Friend of the Family Farmer” recipients. It is important to me to advocate for our rural ranchers, farmers and community. Stewards of the Land In Northwest Colorado, we are surrounded by the most beautiful landscapes, which are central to our tourism and agricultural economies. My constituents are true stewards of the land in a multitude of ways, which is why I am bringing forward SB 24-126, Conservation Easement Income Tax Credit. Conservation easements are used for multiple purposes, including creating wildlife habitat, stream restoration and larger open space. In addition, conservation easements foster economic resiliency by keeping families on their land and thus supporting rural economies. We have dozens of examples of small-family operations who have not only been able to access the conservation easement credit, but have been able to keep their ranching and farming operations in production because they were able to permanently protect their land through conservation easements. Our agricultural economy Engaging with the 4-H youth reminds me that we must support not just the current agricultural producers but also the next generation. For this reason, I am proud of HB 24-1138, Tax Credit for Transfer of Agricultural Assets, a bipartisan bill which passed through the Agriculture Committee with unanimous support. Securing agricultural assets like agricultural land, water and livestock can often be an expensive and arduous task, particularly for beginning farmers and ranchers. This bill will establish a tax credit to incentivize agricultural asset owners to sell or lease their agricultural assets to a beginning farmer or rancher. With the increasing age of the average farmer and rancher, we need to do what we can to support the next generation of agricultural producers in Colorado. Challenges confronting rural agriculture This last year has not been easy, with the introduction of wolves on the Western Slope. I continue to hear about how concerned and stressed our community members are. As House Speaker Julie McCluskie, state Sen. Dylan Roberts and I fielded questions from the 4-H youth earlier this month, we could feel the impact of wolf introduction on them and our communities as a whole. Even before the wolf introduction, farmers and ranchers across the country have struggled with mental health issues and a lack of the necessary resources to get help. Therefore, another bill I am working on, SB24-055, Agricultural & Rural Behavioral Health Care, is a bipartisan bill that will create dedicated programs, foster community collaboration and provide crucial funding to support the mental and behavioral well-being of our farmers, ranchers and rural residents. Community engagement and collaboration Stay tuned for more bills coming to support our economy, our environment and education. I am working on a few more bills related to the preservation of water, protecting our youth from bad actors on social media, supporting affordable housing, incentivizing the creation of early child care facilities and promoting economic prosperity. Please contact me at repmeghanlukens@gmail.com with comments, concerns and questions. Also, please send me an email if you would like to be added to my newsletter for more frequent legislative updates. Let’s keep in touch and keep passing bills that make a difference. Onward! Previous Next

< Back Tammy Story Representative Tammy Story is Chair of the Capital Development Committee, member of the House Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources Committee and a member of the House Education Committee. She represents House District 25 which includes Evergreen, Conifer and parts of Jefferson County. In 2018, Tammy was elected to be the Colorado State Senator for District 16 and has continued her work at the capitol in the House. Her legislative priorities are education funding, student success and teacher pay. In addition to education, Rep. Story has championed multiple bills to mitigate wildfires, create healthier forests, improve natural gas pipeline safety and advocate for safe environmental policy.

< Back Jenny Willford Chair of State, Civic, Military & Veterans Affairs Representative Jenny Willford is the Chair of the State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Committee and a member of the House Energy & Environment Committee and represents House District 34 which includes Northglenn and Thornton. Rep. Willford advocates for a healthier Colorado by championing bills that reduce air pollution and prioritize clean, green technology while combat climate change. She also championed legislation that supports working families, improves the continuum of care for older adults and makes health care more affordable and safe for all.

Initiative 144 and 145 will reduce pet care in Colorado < Back Rep. McCormick: As a veterinarian and a lawmaker, please don’t let big businesses undermine Colorado pet care Jun 12, 2024 See more This story was originally published in the Denver Post here . Initiative 144 and 145 will reduce pet care in Colorado Forty years ago I swore a lifelong oath when starting my career as a veterinarian. Part of that oath affirms that I will use my scientific knowledge and skill to benefit society through the protection of animal health and welfare. It is with that oath, and my lifetime of service to animals and people that I must now sound the alarm to all Coloradans. There are two ballot initiatives being circulated collecting signatures for the fall ballot. These initiatives are being driven by big corporate interests from outside of Colorado. They are Initiative 144 and 145 and are being misleadingly sold to voters as a way to “increase access to veterinary care.” The General Assembly worked very hard this spring in a bipartisan, collaborative way, to develop a robust approach to how best to utilize tele-technologies like video calls in veterinary care. That bill was signed into law by the governor earlier this year, and it passed the House of Representatives unanimously. It is widely supported by veterinarians, veterinary technicians, farmers and ranchers, shelters and humane societies and animal caretakers. The bill strengthens and clarifies that veterinary telemedicine should supplement and not replace in-person care. We absolutely should use telehealth more and this law will make sure it is done right to protect pets. Initiative 144 also has to do with Veterinary Telehealth, but is a danger to pets. 144 would dismantle that well-structured law the governor just signed and eliminate the need for a doctor to ever see your animal in person. The ballot question essentially eliminates the most important tools your veterinarian has to get to the bottom of what is going on — their hands, eyes, ears, and nose. 144 would not benefit people or their animals and would create real safety concerns. It would only help corporate entities focused on profits, allowing them to push medicine to animal owners via online platforms. Animals would be the ones suffering in this situation as they would not be getting accurate care. The second ballot initiative, 145, also funded by outside corporate interests, will allow creation of a new animal health position called a veterinary professional associate or VPA. TA VPA is not licensed to practice medicine, has not gone through an accredited veterinary education program, has not passed a national exam, will not have sufficient liability protections, would not be able to prescribe medicines due to federal law, and will be under-trained through primarily an online master’s program. These VPAs would then be allowed to actually practice veterinary medicine on your pets, including surgery, diagnose diseases, interpret lab test results and prescribe a treatment plan, all without a license. Corporate interests want VPAs to practice medicine without the consumer protection safeguards that exist for licensed veterinarians. If this sounds crazy to you then you can understand my grave concern for the animals of our state for whom we are responsible. Skilled veterinary technicians are already more qualified than this contemplated VPA. They have comprehensive training, take a national exam and are regulated by the state. We passed another strong bipartisan bill to elevate and extend the skills of veterinary technicians with House Bill 1047. There has been over $633,000 granted to Colorado State University by Petsmart Charities to develop a veterinary mid-level position master’s degree. This degree program is not looking to be accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) who is responsible for accreditation of every single College of Veterinary Medicine in the country, including CSU’s, and for every school that graduates Veterinary technicians. In order for this master’s degree to work for Petsmart, who partners with Mars,Inc./ Banfield vet clinics, would need ballot initiative 145 to get on the ballot and pass. There has been over $255,000 contributed toward the effort to get these Initiatives on the ballot by the Issue Committee called ‘All Pets Deserve Care’ registered with the Secretary of State. This entity received its largest single donation of $250,000 from Denver Dumb Friends League. The details into DDFL’s financials to know where the $250,000 came from is not publicly available. Mars, Inc. who owns Banfield and VCA veterinary hospitals across the nation have funded studies in the past that have fed a narrative that the U.S. needs to create a new veterinary position in order to keep up with the demand for veterinary care. These studies have been disputed by many reputable veterinary economists since. But the narrative has taken off and is fueling this push to create a new veterinary worker who in reality won’t be prepared to help animals. We need more veterinarians and more veterinary technicians. Let’s focus on solving that problem. Karen McCormick is a state representative for House District 11. Previous Next

< Back Manny Rutinel Representative Rutinel is an environmental attorney, entrepreneur, first-generation American, and the proud son of a single mother. He represents House District 32, which includes the great people of Commerce City, Welby, and other unincorporated areas of Adams County. Rep. Rutinel's priorities are environmental justice, affordability, and civil rights. Rep. Rutinel received his J.D. from Yale Law School. After law school, he was an Attorney for Earthjustice, fighting to hold corporate polluters accountable. Before law school, Rep. Rutinel was an economist for the US Army Corps of Engineers, where he also served as a First Responder in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. He holds an M.S. in Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University and a B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Florida.

Colorado Democrats worked hard to reduce property taxes and support hardworking families < Back Rep. Tisha Mauro: Delivering for Coloradans: A post special session debrief Dec 17, 2023 See more This op-ed was published in the Pueblo Chieftain on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. Rising property values have led to many Coloradans facing unaffordable property taxes, especially for those on fixed incomes and our most vulnerable communities. In Pueblo, residential home values have risen nearly 40% . During our four day special session in mid-November, Colorado Democrats delivered short-term, residential property tax relief while protecting funding for schools, fire districts and libraries and without using any of the state’s TABOR surplus that must be refunded to taxpayers. Overall, this new law provides more than $430 million in residential property tax relief. Specifically, we increased the property value exemption for multifamily and single family residential properties from $15,000 to $55,000 and decreased the residential assessment rate from 6.76% to 6.7% for the 2023 tax year. This means that you can now deduct $55,000 right off the top of your home’s value before the application of the newly lowered residential assessment rate and local mill levies. For a residential property worth $350,000 – slightly higher than the median home value in Pueblo – a homeowner will save $246 on their property taxes. This is in addition to $200 in cost savings from bipartisan legislation passed in the last two years to address rising property taxes ( SB22-238 and SB21-293 ) for a total of $446 of property tax savings for 2023 from legislation passed at the state capitol. While immediate property tax relief took center stage, we also championed legislation to develop more long-term, robust property tax solutions. The Commission on Property Tax will be composed of legislators, a property tax administrator and different local government and community leaders to map out long-term solutions to property taxes that have been rising since Coloradans voted to repeal the Gallagher Amendment in 2020. In addition to property tax relief, the legislature also ramped up support for hardworking families. After paying rent, groceries and gas, we know many Coloradans’ budgets are squeezed. As we continue to tackle our state’s affordability crisis, three more bills we passed during the special session will put more money back into the pockets of families who need it the most. SB23B-003 increases TABOR refunds for hardworking Coloradans by issuing refunds in equal amounts of $800 per single filer or $1,600 for joint filers for all tax filers. If we had not taken action, the wealthiest Coloradans would have gotten much larger refunds, and the rest of us would have gotten less. Under this new law, nearly 60% of Coloradans and everyone making under $100,000 will receive a larger refund. In Pueblo, nearly 90% of our residents will receive a larger TABOR refund, which taxpayers will see added to their state tax refund this spring., Colorado Democrats also doubled tax relief for low-income working families to 50% of the federal earned income tax credit, which will provide $185 million in targeted tax relief to low-and-moderate income Colorado families. Nearly half of Pueblo’s population could be eligible for this increased tax relief. To make sure vulnerable children don’t go without food this summer, we also ensured access to an additional $35 million in federal funds to expand the Electronic Benefits Transfer program, which helps families purchase groceries from SNAP retailers during summer months when child hunger is the most severe. Eligible Colorado families will receive $40 per child per month beginning in 2024. As evictions across our state rise, the need for emergency rental assistance is more dire than ever before. Emergency rental assistance works in two ways – it protects landlords from financial losses and prevents Coloradans from losing their homes. Coloradans facing eviction often have nowhere else to turn which leads to cycles of poverty, homelessness and myriad other life disruptions. During the special session, we stepped up to invest $30 million into emergency rental assistance, raising statewide assistance to $65 million this year. From Grand Junction to Denver and Pueblo and Fort Morgan, Coloradans statewide on the brink of eviction or late on their rent can take advantage of emergency financial assistance. We know this law will keep thousands of Coloradans housed in their communities and help many get back on their feet. Together, Colorado Democrats worked hard to champion thoughtful, impactful legislation that prioritizes our hardworking families while providing much needed property tax relief now. With the 2024 legislative session on the horizon, we are already gearing up, preparing legislation and working alongside community members to bring forward new ideas that will make Colorado a more affordable place for everyone to call home. Representative Tisha Mauro represents House District 46 which spans the majority of Pueblo County, including Avondale, Beulah, Colorado City and Rye. Previous Next