Action Alert

2025 Testimony

SB25-063 Library Resource Decision Standards for Public Schools - STRONG SUPPORT

Mr. Chair and Members of the Senate Education Committee:

 

My name is Dr. Kathy Wilson. I represent the League of Women Voters of Colorado’s 1,800 members from across the state regarding SB 063. As a nonpartisan organization the League encourages citizen participation in government through education and advocacy. We urge you to vote YES on SB25 063.

The grounds for League advocacy decisions are our longstanding Positions. Our national position on Individual Liberties states:  The League of Women Voters of the United States believes in the individual liberties guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. The League is convinced that individual rights now protected by the Constitution should not be weakened or abridged.

Read the full testimony here.

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HB25-1102 Repeal National Popular Vote Compact - OPPOSE

 

I am Holly Monkman representing the League of Women Voters of Colorado. As you know, the League has been nonpartisan for all our 105 years. We oppose this bill.

 

Not only did the state legislature vote to join the National Popular Vote Compact, but the voters of Colorado affirmed the legislature’s decision by passing Proposition 113 in 2020.  This was a rare opportunity for the voters to weigh-in directly on a bill passed by the legislature & we believe it speaks loudly in favor of electing our President & Vice-President via national popular vote. In the view of the voters, both the state-by-state winner-take-all aspect of the Electoral College and the unequal weight of the electoral votes between states are viewed correctly as inherently unfair and unrepresentative.  Additionally, the number of electoral votes awarded does not fluctuate with voter turnout.  Colorado awards 10 electoral votes regardless of whether 1,000 or 3 million ballots are cast. 

Read the full testimony here.

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In opposition to HB25-1055 – Repeal Firearm Dealer Requirements & State Permit

Submitted by Rionda Osman, Boulder CO

I am the head of the Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention of the League of Women Voters of Colorado.  The League is a nonpartisan organization that encourages informed and active participation in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy.  The League supports policies to protect public safety, and, specifically, the League supports regulation of firearms for consumer safety. 

I submit this letter as testimony in opposition of HB25-1055 – Repeal Firearm Dealer Requirements & State Permit.  This bill seeks to repeal the provisions that regulate firearms dealers in Colorado, passed last year in HB24-1353 Firearms Dealer Requirements and Permit – CRS 18-12-401. 

The League of Women Voters of Colorado has registered a stance of ‘Strongly Oppose’ toward this bill. 

Read the full testimony here.

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SB25-055 - Youth Involvement in Environmental Justice

Thank you Senator Mullica/ Michalsen Jenet and Committee.

My name is Ann Sutton and today I am presenting the Support of the League of Women Voters of Colorado for SB25-055.

The Youth of our nation and of the world are the ultimate stakeholders in addressing the existential effects of climate change. Youth should be included in making policy and in developing actions to mitigate the long-term effects of global warming.  

Read the full testimony here.

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HB25-1069 Increase Stakeholder Participation

House Committee on State, Civic, Military, and Veterans Affairs

Chair: Representative Willford

Representatives Bradley, Feret, Mabrey, Wilford, Carter, Froelich, Ricks, Bottoms, Espenoza,  and Luck

 

Madame Chairperson and members of the committee:

 

Thank you for the opportunity to testify. My name is Linda Hutchinson and I represent the League of Women Voters of Colorado. The League is a nonpartisan organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in their government and influences public policy through education and advocacy.  Our membership includes over 2,300 members and spans the state of Colorado with 19 local leagues operating in several regions of the state.  The League of Women Voters of Colorado supports HB25-1069, Increase Stakeholder Participation.

Read the full testimony here.

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School Finance Adequacy Studies Results    

Dear Members of the Joint Education Committee:

 

My name is Dr. Kathy Wilson, and I live in Loveland, CO. As a member of the League of Women Voters of Colorado’s (LWVCO) Legislative Action Committee I am representing the League regarding the School Finance Adequacy Studies findings. LWVCO is a nonpartisan organization with 1755 members in 19 local Leagues spanning the state. We encourage active participation in government.

 

The LWVCO strongly urges you to create an Interim Committee focused on implementing the recommendations of the School Finance Adequacy Studies by developing Colorado’s Blueprint for Student Success.

Read the full testimony here.

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SB25-008 - Adjust Necessary Document Program

Dear Mister Chair and Members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee:

 

I am writing in Support of SB25-008 on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Colorado.

 

The League of Women Voters of Colorado (LWVCO) has been a nonpartisan organization for 105 years, encourages informed and active participation in government, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.  Our membership spans the state of Colorado with 20 local leagues operating in several regions around the state.

Read the full testimony here.

2025 Articles

 

Overview of SB25 – 001 – The Colorado Voting Rights Act

February 2025

 

LWVCO is proud to be part of a coalition of civic engagement organizations who have been at work for more than a year to develop legislation that would come to be known as the Colorado Voting Rights Act (COVRA).  With technical support from the Harvard Law School Elections Law Clinic, the COVRA coalition began developing legislation that would strengthen voter access and provide additional state-level protections to combat voter discrimination.

As voter access across the U.S. is being challenged and we see dilution of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, Colorado continues to lead the way in election integrity and voter participation, protecting the rights of all eligible voters.

This bill is a priority for voting rights and civic engagement organizations and a priority within the Colorado General Assembly.  Sponsored by Sen. Julie Gonzales, Rep. Jennifer Bacon, and Rep. Junie Joseph, the COVRA was introduced on the first day of the 2025 legislative session.  A hearing in the Senate State Affairs Committee is expected in mid-February.

Read the full article here.

2024 Articles

 

The Colorado Property Tax Saga

 

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Legislative Support for Passenger Rail and Other Transit Services

 

A funding boost from SB24-230 Oil & Gas Production Fees estimated at $169 million for fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27 will primarily support local transit operations through the existing Clean Transit Enterprise created in 2021. Passenger rail projects will be funded at approximately $33.8 million with priority given to completion of the northwest rail line to Longmont.

The Clean Transit Enterprise was created by passage of SB21–260 Sustainability of Transportation System, supported by LWVCO.  The primary business purpose of the enterprise and the cash fund is to reduce and mitigate the adverse environmental and health impacts of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions produced by motor vehicles used to make retail deliveries and supporting the transition to electric vehicles. SB 230 establishes three additional cash funds including rail funding.

 

Read the full article here.

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Why So Many Tax Credit Bills?

Why are there dozens of tax credit bills this session?

TABOR. TABOR who?

 

Suppose there are no taxes, and nothing deducted from your paycheck, so the $5,000 your employer pays is exactly what lands in your bank account each month. Further, suppose you want to give $10/month to the League of Women Voters of Colorado, added to your credit card bill. This will leave you $4990 each month for everything else.

Suppose, instead, your employer offers to withhold $10 each month from your paycheck, and forward your donations (along with all other employees’ League donations) to LWVCO. Then $4990 will land in your bank account each month. Since we’re assuming no taxes or other deductions, the League gets $10 and you have $4990 to spend on everything else whether your employer deducts the League donation before you get paid or you get your full paycheck and donate to the League through your credit card.

 

For any state or local government with a normally functioning fiscal system, that’s how tax credits work. There’s the same effect on what the state can spend on everything else if the state gives one person a $10 tax credit, or directly gives the person $10 from the budget. Tax credits are called tax expenditures because they have the same effect on the budget as direct expenditures. Colorado’s tax expenditure reports are here.

 

However, Colorado does not have a normally functioning fiscal system. It has TABOR, the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.

Read the full article here.

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The Critical Role That Housing Tax Credits Play In Financing Affordable Housing

By Kathy Smith

The League of Women Voters of Colorado strongly supports HB24-1434 (Expand Affordable Housing Tax Credit), a bill introduced this legislative session that would expand the Colorado Affordable Housing Tax Credit (AHTC) by allowing the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) to allocate additional tax credits through 2031.

The bill increases the amount CHFA can allocate for the following tax years:

•  $20 million in credits for 2024-2026;
•  $16 million in credits for 2027-2029; and
•  $10 million in credits for 2030-2031.

Read the full article here.

 

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An Historical View of Ballot Measures in Colorado

To make informed decisions in elections, the public needs accurate information.
By Gerry Cummins

Colorado has a long history of citizen activism often demonstrated at the ballot box. Prior to the 1912 election, all measures on the ballot were referred by the General Assembly.  A 1910 referendum on the ballot was approved by voters giving the power of citizen initiative and referendum to Colorado citizens.

In the 1912 election, there were 33 measures on the ballot. Eight measures were referred by the legislature and the remaining measures were citizen initiatives. Since that time we have continued to see numerous measures on the ballot. Certain topics have been repeated on the ballot over the years – taxation, funding for education, highways and other roads, state government, and elections.

Read the full article here.

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An Overview of Artificial Intelligence Concepts With An Eye Towards How AI Impacts Political Communication

To make informed decisions in elections, the public needs accurate information.
By Gaythia Weis

Deepfake AI:  What is referred to in the proposed legislation, HB24 1147, by the buzzword “deepfake AI” is actually a whole suite of technologies, including very realistic computer generated graphics, online social media which allows rapid and long distance spread of information or disinformation, as well as compositional techniques that can be based on generative large language model (LLM) artificial intelligence.

Read the full article here.

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What Is Proportional Representation?
– And How to Improve HB24-1177 County Commissioner Elections
By Celese Landry; Peggy Leech, LAC; Elections Lobbyists

“Better voter representation” is often promoted as a desirable goal by sponsors of election bills. LWV is a strong proponent of better voter representation – specifically, proportional representation.

Read the full article here.

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Legislative Preview 2024: Interim Committee Legislation, Governor’s Budget Request & the December 20, 2023 Revenue Forecast
January 8, 2024

As the General Assembly prepares to convene for the 2024 session in the next few days, work taking place throughout the 2023 interim is wrapping up. The Governor’s budget proposal was presented to the General Assembly on November 1, the interim committees presented their bill recommendations to the Legislative Council Committee on November 15 and the Joint Budget Committee was briefed on the 4th quarter revenue forecast on December 20th.

Read the full article  here.