Four big dynamics drove Colorado lawmakers’ session — from defending against Trump to boosting affordability

Another regular session of the Colorado legislature has adjourned for the year In the words of Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez Thank God it s over During the -day session Democrats pushed through several hot-button policies aimed at restricting the purchase of certain semiautomatic firearms further fortifying abortion rights and expanding protections for transgender Coloradans and immigrants A state senator from that party resigned under a cloud of assertions that she mistreated aides and falsified statements of promotion Lawmakers also nearly issued the first veto override of Gov Jared Polis seven-session tenure as part of a greater bucking of the state s chief executive that also included sidestepping his desire to delay new artificial intelligence regulations Like every year tensions rose at times both among elected functionaries and the general Republicans who cracked the Democratic supermajority in the House in last fall s voting process claimed mastery where they could One proposal controversial even among Democrats to launch a lawsuit challenging the Taxpayer s Bill of Rights died without a floor vote The trans rights bill lost various key provisions as the GOP minority rallied around parental rights Across the street from the Gold Dome budget writers from both parties trimmed hacked massaged and pushed off payments to balance a budget that started billion out of whack The session which concluded Wednesday didn t end with the fireworks or drama of fresh years But that detracts nothing from its consequence Here are several major takeaways Blue Colorado shores up defenses With the budget crunch acting as a fiscal check on any sweeping new agenda Democratic lawmakers instead devoted considerable time and ability to defending against current or likely impacts from new President Donald Trump s administration Democrats didn t invariably agree on how to shore up the state against Trump announced Sen Kyle Mullica a Thornton Democrat But doing so was still a priority across the Democratic majority s ideological spectrum Gov Jared Polis signs Senate Bill into law at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver on Thursday April Joined by state lawmakers and advocates he signed that bill which allows inhabitants funding of abortion and implements a voter-passed constitutional amendment and Senate Bill which aims to give more protections to abortion providers and patients Photo by AAron Ontiveroz The Denver Post There was a lot of cohesion to really try to make sure the people of Colorado were protected that we re not seeing that dysfunction at the federal level here at the state level Mullica explained We re going to continue to have to fight that depending on what we see coming out of Washington D C The product was a proactive defensiveness The largest part direct example the creation of a million fund which can be replenished by private donations to endorsement legal defense against federal action including for state representatives facing criminal investigations Democratic lawmakers also passed bills to enshrine into state law parts of the Obama-era Affordable Care Act and a Supreme Court decision protecting the rights of people with disabilities The Colorado Voting Rights Act a state-level imprint of decades-old federal protections against discriminatory voting roadblocks cleared the Capitol So too did a Democratic priority bill that could slow federal immigration agents work in Colorado particularly if they re not armed with warrants Our response to Trump s electoral process is about protecting people s civil rights whether that s a newly arrived individual from another country or a person from the LGBTQ group who deserves to have protections or our disability society House Speaker Julie McCluskie disclosed Thursday But there was fear too that those proactive measures would draw retribution House Republicans repeatedly raised the specter of Trump cutting state funding if Democrats passed policies the president didn t like and the caucus sent a letter to U S Attorney General Pam Bondi asking her to investigate Senate Bill the session s marquee gun bill To try to be confrontational to be prepared to sue at a moment s notice that to me is irresponsible Rep Rick Taggart a Grand Junction Republican declared of the majority s law It s much better to collaborate Though Polis has expressed reservations about making Colorado a target for Trump he defended legislators defensiveness Thursday This is significant work House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese center and House Republican lawmakers discuss the legislative session during a news conference at the Colorado State Capitol building in Denver on Thursday May Photo by Hyoung Chang The Denver Post Trimming budget and bracing for Congress cuts Colorado s billion budget gap hung over the Capitol even before lawmakers settled in for the first day of the legislative session And after the final gavel banged finances remained a lingering worry for lawmakers as they eyed next year McCluskie the House leader praised legislative budget writers for their work Thursday during her post-session remarks The state avoided making the deepest most-feared cuts to priorities like instruction and soundness care When the dust settled lawmakers had even increased funding for population schools and Medicaid providers But uncertainty about the future of the federal budget and how it will affect Colorado s Medicaid funding looms McCluskie disclosed Federal money makes up much of the state s Medicaid budget Our Joint Budget Committee made very hard choices but they made the right choices she disclosed They protected core services and as their good work came forward it was clear to us we could protect our safety net and our general schools But I will offer that the road forward is uncertain House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese a Colorado Springs Republican mentioned at a separate post-session event that she expected more cuts next year as Colorado battles what GOP members see as a structural deficit I think we will see in the June and September fiscal forecasts that the state s budget picture will continue to deteriorate disclosed Sen Barbara Kirkmeyer a Republican on the budget committee It s going to be a very telling year because we re going to have to make decisions necessary to prioritize the largest part essential parts of the budget The state s budget could be the impetus for a third special session of the General Assembly in as multiple years especially if federal cuts to Medicaid materialize Depending on what Congress does but almost certainly if various of these big cuts to Medicaid go through we would likely need to reconvene Polis reported Thursday It s in the hands of our congressional delegation Gov Jared Polis signs Senate Bill a measure making it easier to construct factory-built structures in front of the West Holden Place Modular Housing progressing in Denver on Thursday May Photo by Hyoung Chang The Denver Post Polis vs the legislature With roughly months until Polis successor is elected lawmakers this year began to treat the governor like the lame duck he will soon become The Joint Budget Committee largely set aside the governor s budget proposal including his contentious idea of privatizing the state s workers compensation insurer He d also sought a substantial review of the state s multiple regulations only for a watered-down version to pass after critics inside and outside the Capitol compared it to Elon Musk s DOGE effort for Trump A bill that would have cut tipped workers pay in Denver and other places to help restaurants was pulled to and fro before emerging as a neutered and battered compromise Another proposal to promote housing on church land faded on the Senate calendar Even one of Polis nominations for the state s Commission on Judicial Discipline was rejected Meanwhile lawmakers passed a labor bill that Polis has pledged to veto and lawmakers came close to overriding the governor s veto on a social media regulations bill All of that bucking is notable Polis has long been deeply enmeshed in lawmaking often to the frustration of Democratic legislators trying to manage the governor s frequent concerns The three branches of ruling body are three branches of ruling body for a reason commented Sen Julie Gonzales a Denver Democrat who sponsored multiple bills that drew concerns from Polis office She stated legislative Democrats had decided to fight back against Trump and she accused Polis of taking a more fawning approach to the president Solicited whether he was a lame duck Thursday Polis seemed unfazed He d successfully passed three-quarters of his housing agenda this year he declared That included bills making it easier to build larger apartment buildings on small lots a tricky debate about condominium construction that ultimately concluded and a proposal signed into law Thursday to standardize modular housing regulations a key step in boosting housing supply Polis joked that though not all of his priorities passed this session was better than That year his and the entire legislature s housing agenda collapsed in the final hours and days of the session This was one of the better sessions in terms of meeting the requirements of Coloradans the governor stated Promises to make Colorado more affordable The Democratic majority s members and their Republican counterparts entered the session pledging to address affordability Colorado voters have consistently ranked the state s high cost of living as a top concern Democrats stung by a polling that turned in part on economic concerns touted their commitment to lowering costs as the legislature returned to work in January Though both professed a focus on affordability Democrats and Republicans never agreed on how to achieve it The Republican plan included repealing a slew of laws including renter protections and shopping bag fees in the name of affordability Related Articles Gov Jared Polis coming labor bill veto will strain Democrat s labor ties and set stage for ballot fight Legal experts say Trump is unlikely to win Colorado lawsuit against sanctuary policies But he may not care Colorado legislature ends with an AI fizzle as delay falters further stoking talk of a special session Bipartisan vote kills governor s plan to lower homeowners insurance costs in Colorado Live updates Lawmakers pass Uber Lyft bill with plea for Gov Polis to sign it House sorts through failed AI delay aftermath The GOP unveiled the plan with a stack of single-dollar bills to represent the annual savings they revealed Coloradans could expect from the changes On Thursday the day after the session ended they displayed a bowl of shredded dollars to represent the loss of those measures Tragically but not surprisingly Democrats chase to stand against the people in Colorado and our efforts to bring relief Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen declared Democrats meanwhile celebrated the passage of act aimed at regulating certain hidden fees along with a heavily amended proposal to blunt price gouging in specific circumstances They also passed a bill to ban rent-setting algorithms that research shows drive prices higher for Denver renters But Polis is leery of the idea and with a veto feasible the bill went unmentioned during a celebratory news conference Thursday We passed decree to crack down on wage theft so that workers are paid for the work that they do and what they are owed House Majority Leader Monica Duran commented We boosted the incomes of workers in the home care industry and made it easier for workers on state construction projects to create bargaining agreements that increase pay and improve workplace conditions Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter The Spot