Gun-free areas, more funds for higher education and renter protections this week in the Colorado legislature

Colorado is considering a new bill to provide better protection from harassment for transgender and nonbinary individuals

Transgender and nonbinary individuals would gain more explicit protections in Colorado’s anti-bias and harassment law if a newly introduced bill becomes law. Advocates describe the bill as a simple legislative solution to

ensure that gender identity and expression are protected across state law , while also conveying Colorado’s values.“(The bill) ensures nonbinary and trans individuals are seen and represented in every part of Colorado law, which is especially important now with the wave of anti-trans rhetoric and legislation across the country,” said Garrett Royer, political director for LGBTQ advocacy organization One Colorado. “It helps the state remain a leader on LGBTQ rights with a very simple legislative solution.”

Colorado legislators allocated $7.2 million to support longer psychiatric hospital stays
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Low-income Coloradans with mental illnesses are

expected to receive longer hospital stays after state legislators set aside money to expand a decades-old Medicaid rule. Federal law mandates that Medicaid patients hospitalized in psychiatric facilities be discharged after 15 hospital days in a month or the facility doesn’t get paid. The rule was designed to prevent hospitals from storing patients, but advocates and psychiatrists argue that it instead

forces hundreds of vulnerable Coloradans out of the facilities prematurely and into a cycle of homelessness, incarceration and emergency room visits. In response to a canine respiratory disease outbreak, a Colorado bill aims at pet facilities
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A respiratory

disease outbreak that affected Colorado dogs last fall is prompting state lawmakers to find a legislative solution, but some pet care facilities say the proposed bill needs a lot more clarification to be effective. The bill, House Bill 24-1354, would mandate licensed pet facilities to

“make every reasonable attempt to notify” pet owners of an infectious disease outbreak within 24 hours of the facility learning about that outbreak. Parks, bars, protests excluded from bill that would create gun-free zones in Colorado
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A proposal to

restrict where people can carry firearms in Colorado, openly or with concealed carry permits, was narrowed substantially Wednesday as sponsors fought to win a key committee vote in the state Senate. The bill as introduced would have

prohibited firearms from being carried at a variety of places , including stadiums, protests at public locations, bars, places of worship, public parks, libraries and more. It was amended to only restrict firearms at schools, from preschool to college, as well as polling places, the state legislature and local government buildings, though local governments could opt out. It would allow exceptions for security and law enforcement.Colorado legislators still want to reduce RTD’s board, but reform plan has been scaled back
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Colorado lawmakers have

toned down their reform plan for the Regional Transportation District , but they are still aiming to significantly change the size and composition of its governing board.The supporters of the proposed law also are driven by a desire to

strengthen transparency within the expansive metro Denver transit agency and to align its efforts with the state’s broader policy goals. The legislation has been in the works for months and is set to be introduced in the coming days. Colorado lawmakers’ $40.6 billion budget limits tuition increases, includes funds for auto theft prevention
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Colorado lawmakers revealed a state budget proposal Tuesday that would

allocate more funds for higher education , address long waitlists of jail inmates with competency issues, and enhance pay for home health care workers.These are among the highlights as legislators

aim to spend about $40.6 billion in the next fiscal year, which starts July 1. The bipartisan Joint Budget Committee will now guide the bill — one of the few must-pass measures considered by the General Assembly each year — through the legislature and to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk in the coming weeks. “For-cause” eviction protections for renters overcome moderate Democrats’ challenge in Colorado Senate
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Democrats in the Colorado Senate thwarted a challenge from within their own party Monday and moved forward a bill that would

enhance displacement protections for tenants — clearing that obstacle nearly a year after the legislative death of a similar proposal. The bill generally would give renters of apartments and other housing a

right of first refusal to renew an expiring lease . Landlords would need to have a valid reason for not allowing them to renew, such as failure to pay rent or plans for substantial renovations.How Wyatts Towing allegedly bypassed Colorado’s new towing law — and why legislators are pushing for further reform
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HB24-1051, introduced this legislative session, would prohibit property owners from using

automated emails to authorize tows . The bill also would require that the authorizing party must be a property owner or someone from a rent-collecting third party — prohibiting parking management companies from doing this on the tower’s behalf.The bill, as introduced, sought to address what lawmakers and consumer advocates said was an

economic incentive for towers to haul away as many cars as possible . They wanted to change the entire landscape of residential towing by making property owners pay for tows rather than vehicle owners.Colorado poised to ban cities’ limits on how many people can live together
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Colorado lawmakers are ready to

prohibit occupancy limits in cities and towns across the state, clearing the way for more roommates to live together as part of Democrats’ push to reform local zoning regulations and address the state’s housing crisis. Roughly two dozen cities and towns in Colorado have the type of occupancy limits that would be prohibited under HB24-1007, which cleared the state Senate on Tuesday. The measure would prohibit local governments from limiting how many

unrelated people can live in one home or housing unit, except for health and safety reasons. Colorado lawmakers’ ban on so-called assault weapons is finally advancing after hitting a roadblock last year
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After a long committee hearing, a bill from Colorado Democrats to

prohibit the sale of certain rifles and other weapons known as assault weapons passed its first step early Wednesday and is now likely to be approved by the entire House. The bill, House Bill 1292,

was approved by the House Judiciary Committee with a 7-3 vote along party lines. This wide margin comes 11 months after the same Democratic-majority committee narrowly voted against a similar bill. Why Colorado’s effort to build more high-density housing near public transportation is upsetting cities — even those that permit it
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Colorado cities are prepared to legally oppose a state effort to

revamp local housing density regulations and permit more dense development along train and bus routes. While many local governments support the idea of concentrating people in apartments near transit stops to reduce driving, mayors are objecting to what they view as

state leaders interfering with local authority . This is the same issue of local control that led to the defeat of a similar state effort in the Colorado legislature last year.Lawmakers reintroduced the housing density bill last month and are advancing it through the state House.

Next year’s state budget, gun restrictions and Front Range trains under debate in Colorado legislature this week
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The Colorado legislature this week will

fulfill one of its only required actions — and by far its most expensive: The state’s budget. The budget package, referred to as the long bill, outlines how the state will

allocate around $18 billion in general fund dollars in the next year. It also indicates some of the state’s priorities — such as the elimination of the budget stabilization factor that has deprived state education funding — as the proposal moves through both chambers. Stay informed about Colorado Politics by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Spot.
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